2. amps-preamps
  3. 176966-171024

Help picking an amp to work with my system

I recently obtained some Martin Logan ESL X speakers and absolutely love them.  That said, they are part of my surround sound system, so I use them for both, listening to music, and then when I want to do movies, they become the left and right channel of my surround sound.

I’m currently Bi-Amping them off of my Denon 4520ci receiver, but have had issues with them starting to distort if played at around 95db on a heavy bass song, within halfway through the song.  I posted about it in another group, but my post was deleted.  I believe the receiver I’m using just doesn’t have the capabilities RMS to keep up with that draw (Astronauts in the Ocean by Masked Wolf is a perfect example of a song that will sound crisp in the beginning and halfway through, start to distort).

I still need my receiver for surround functionalities, but for these two speakers, I was considering getting a dedicated 2channel amp and use the receiver as the pre-amp for them.  Does anyone have any recommendations on an Amp that’s affordable and clean?  I was thinking a Peachtree Nova 300, hopefully I can find one open boxed/used.  Would this unit fit my needs, or would it be pushing it with these speakers even using that amp?

maverick3n1
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,573 posts
 

I have ESLs and they are not that hard to drive. They are 91db same as the ESLX. I have driven mine with a 25 tube amp. However they do go down to 1.6 ohms at high frequencies. The Nova300 might not like that, I'm not sure. I am a little concerned about playing those at high levels. You don't want to start arcing the panels by pushing too hard. IMHO, you'll need a really robust amp that doubles down and is comfortable with low impedances (expensive). 

maverick3n1 OP
26 posts
 

Supposedly they need to be played at 90+ DB for something like 45 hours to actually break them in, so is 95db really that high of a volume considering the break in requirement?

maverick3n1 OP
26 posts
 

From the manual:

BREAK-IN
When you first begin to play your EM-ESL speakers, they will sound a bit bass shy. This is due to the high quality, long-life components used in our woofer. Our custom made, butyl surround woofer requires approximately 72 hours of break-
in at 90 dB (moderate listening levels) before any critical listening. The break-in requirements of the crossover components (and, to a lesser degree, the stator) are equivalent.

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