|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
I am a newbie to tubes and am toying with the idea of active horizontal biamping with a tube amp on top. I mave a Mark Levinson #336 (350/700/1400 wpc into 8/4/2 Ohms respectively) that I can use on the bottom driving a pair of Magnepan 3.6's.What brand/model of tube amps would you recommend on top and why (McIntosh, Audio Research, Atma-shere, Sonic Frontiers, etc.)? The amp needs to be stable to a 3 Ohm load to handle the midrange/tweeter combination.
Thanks in advance,
TimP.S.
Some people refer to SS amps have a "Tube-Like" sound. How would you compare a Jeffrey Rowland 10 sound to tubes?
Follow Ups:
Hi Tim. Teach me to answer threads too early; goes in one eye and out the other. The Maggies aren't a gentle load, quite a swing as far as impedance in the mid/treble. Your active crossover is going to help a lot as far as integrating the two amps. You'll need to look for something with plenty of power if you like to listen loud, or if your room is large, etc. (lots of variables involved here). Probably 80-100 watts per channel and up, which still gives you a ton of choices. Voice the top end as per your listening preferences. Consider Quicksilver et.al. for that vintage "tubey" sound, or VTL, Cary, etc. for a more "neutral" tone, even ARC for a more "modern" sound. These are just generalizations, of course; only your ears can tell you what is "right". I voiced the mid/top of my ribbon speakers without the bass speaker connected till I got what I wanted. Repeated the process on the bass. Then tweaked till I got a seamless blend and great overall sound. Room interactions played a large part. Beg/borrow/steal (not really) a good tubed power amp from a dealer with a return policy so you have a starting point and frame of reference. Do the same with one of the warmer sounding SS amps, and that'll give you a clearer picture of where you want to go. Trust your ears.
While the ribbon is not as pleasant for amps as the old-school aluminum wire/mylar tweet I had on my MGIIs (very Euphonic but sloooow; diametriacally opposite of ESL63s or a nice alnico Jensen 1950s unit' s "snap") it is not an especially difficult load as it is non-reactive/capacitative and is a PERFECT candidate for Biamping as driver blending while be far easier. Skip McIntosh altogether. They're nice to look at and the 50W2 actually sounds good (in that it can sonically, with power supply work, run with the "big dawgs" of vintage audio-- Fisher 125 AX and other great Freed-iron based Fisher gear, certain Scott "laboratory" amps, Fairchild 255, Heath W5/W3 etc and the 400 VDC is supercool for WE 350Bs) but the Macs achilles heel is grainy treble-- the MC30 and MC60 suffer the least (save for the 50W2) but there you hit Mac amps other issue; they have to be really throwin' down the watts to have that deep, wide tube soundstaging. Were I you, I would check ebay periodically for a WHITEHOT amp called the Krohn-Hite (Hight? My brain is oatmeal) lab amp. It uses 4 6550s in pure class A to make a conservative (!!!!) 50 watts, and as it was often used to drive AC motors at precise speeds and to run shaker tables, the fabulous output tranny has 1, 2, 4 and 8 ohm taps. I saw one go for under $75 w/ buy it now two weeks ago.... these amps will rock your world!!! Otherwise, ARC amps are nice... I wouldn't rule out a used 300B based amp; this would give you a true glimpse of audio Nirvana. Chris
You don't mention the speakers you're using, which is going to be critical in selecting a tube amplifier, nor do you suggest what you are trying to accomplish. With your Levinson amp, and the output power you already have, I don't think horizontal biamping will be a very rewarding experience. If you really want to biamp, get a second matching Levinson amp and biamp vertically. Of the amps you mentioned, I wouldn't use the McIntosh or the Sonic Frontiers on the top end (I use an 80 watt SF for the bass portion of my speakers, the only thing it does really well). I believe the Jeff Rowland is more on the warm side, if that's what you're seeking, as is Conrad Johnson. Audio Research is fairly neutral, depending on which amp you choose. No experience with AtmaSphere. If you do this you'll have to make allowance for setting the gain on at least one of the amps to keep the speakers balanced sound-wise, and you may still have a heck of a time with imaging a phase relationships. If it was mine, I'd try bi-wiring from you existing amp first, and don't be afraid to try different speaker cables for top and bottom to tailor the sound. Identical cables are often better, but not always. Still not satisfied? Get a matching Levinson. Just my 2 pennies.
"... you'll have to make allowance for setting the gain ..."I have a Bryston B10 Sub Pro electronic XO which Magnepan recommends for the 3.6's. The electronic XO allows provides a +/- 5dB gain adjustment on the "midrange/tweeter" section relative to the bass section.
FoolNo1,See my comments interlaced below.
Thanks,
Tim"You don't mention the speakers you're using..."
I believe I memtioned Magnepan 3.6's, sorry if I wasn't clear about this.
"... nor do you suggest what you are trying to accomplish ..."All around improvement in sound, a better, more natural sound that what I currently have.
"... get a second matching Levinson amp and biamp vertically ..."This has always been an option, but a lot of people rave over tubes as well as some use/suggest horizontal SS/Tube combos for bass reinforcement. I am new to tubes, thus looking for experienced help.
"... I'd try bi-wiring from you existing amp first ..."I have been bi-wiring from the get-go using Harmonic Tech's Pro-9 Plus. My MugShot is posted for a description of the rest of my system.
He mentioned Magnepan 3.6's
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: