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Amp recommendations to drive Martin Logan Prodigy?

I need some input here please. I want to upgrade my Bel Canto 200.2 Evo amps. They are great amps but with the system I have right now: Audiomeca Mephisto II cdp, Wytech tube pre-amp and the ML Prodigy, they seem to have become the weak link.
I am a fan of Atmasphere amps, but since my speakers are low impedance 4 Ohm, this is not the amp to go for. (If I had the funds I would upgrade to the top Soundlab electrostats, which are 8 Ohm. They would be a perfect match for the Atmasphere amps. Well, maybe one day)
But back to my original question: I would love some monoblocks with my power hungry ML Prodigy, so one amp I looked at is the Electrocompaniet Nemo. The Mark Levinson 33 is a nice amps also, but above my budget.
Any other amp ideas to get the most out of my speakers?
tekunda
jeffloistarca
1,004 posts
 
I've been through many amps, the BAT VK500 drives my ML Quest Z's very easily. Terrific amp that can be had used for ~$3000.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
I envy your dilemma. The nominal impedance is probably not an issue for most "big tubes", it's the drop to 1 ohm at the high frequencies which potentially causes problems. I greatly enjoyed the Innersound - very, very fast "clean-sounding" power - with the smaller (and less sensitive but higher min. impedance) SL3s but went with "big tubes" - if min. impedance had been a problem, I would have gone with the Innersound. Better, I think a pair of used Innersound ESL stereo amps bi-amping the Prodigies would sound wonderful and be competitive on price. Perhaps other 'goners could answer this question: Would tubes work if used with an active crossover up to a certain point (say 10kHz) and separately-powered ribbon tweeters taking over the high frequency load above that?
brianw
373 posts
 
I'm with Kirk930. The Tube Research would be your best bet, however, the GT100 Mono-blocks start at $19K. I have a friend that has CLS with GT100's, and it works well.

Soundlab has electrostats that start at around $4K, which is less than the valhalla cable that you've been messing around with. Maybe the entry level Soundlab would more suit your needs and offer more of a choice in amplification. Maybe the Atmasphere amp/inexpensive Soundlab is the way to go? Help anyone?

Good luck in your quest, however, remember that should you make these changes you'll most likely change your opinion of the ultimate cabling, (as cables are system dependant).
overtureaudio's avatar
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overtureaudio
11 posts
 
We have achieved the best results using Spectral amplifiers. They have the fastest response of any amp and the fastest settling time. The result is a larger sound stage and far greater clarity than conventional solid state amps. Krells, Mac's etc. are powerful but to slow for this speaker. The Levinson amp is a good one but on the dark side for this speaker. The M-L team heard our set up and said it was the best they had ever heard. Of course to achieve the best results the entire system must be examined. The larger Classe Audio amps have also given very good results. We would suggest that you stay away from tubes in this case. Hope this helps.
kirk930's avatar
kirk930
285 posts
 
why stay away from tubes i ask? do you sell any tubes? if so do you really think that the spectral sounds more like you are their than tubes?
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