ICE Amps for classical music?

"For driving class D amps, I have preferred SS Roland Capri ... over my tubed ARC Ref 3."

Hello Guido,

I also owned Roland Capri but after purchasing Spectron Musician 3 amps I got Joule-Electra LA-300ME line stage and this combination is much, much better then that with Capri. Try this preamp with your Roland 312 and you will be literally shocked how MUSICAL it will sound.

Mike

Thank you Michael, Joule-Electra has an excellent reputation and the matching with Spectron comes highly recommended by Simon Thacher. I experienced a similar performance leap migrating from Capri to the Rowland Criterion reference pre for feeding the Rowland 312. It is probably an issue of consistent voicing across the product line, as much as it is the degree of isolation of the power supply, the type of transformer coupling of inputs and outputs that pretty well avoids any impedance mismatch, and I could go on waxing poetic on technical detail. . . . Lots of paths to Nirvana, isn't it? G.

The nuforce looks like it would be a little weak ( power wise) for an 1 ohm ribbon or planer type speaker.

Not saying it can't but it would appear 500 @ 1 is about what is needed for good dynamics.

Specifications:

*
Configuration: Mono Input:
RCA and true balance XLR
*
Power output (see Power FAQ)
Ref 9 V3 / Ref 9 V3SE

Power/Load 8 ohm 4 ohm 2 ohm
Peak Power ) 325W 650W 1300W (20 msec)
RMS Power 175W 335W 335W

*RMS power denotes maximum continuous power. Peak power denotes an instantaneous power boost. Note that typical listening normally requires about 15W of power. These high power amplifiers provide more than sufficient power for just about any speakers on the market.

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Interesting to hear of other recommended brands , so far we have .

Bel Canto
Nuforce
H2O

Others ?

From the Rowland side you can likely add: Model 501 monos + twin PC-1 rectifiers, Continuum 500 integrated, Model 312 stereo, Model 301 monos. 301 Yields 90Amps peak per chassis. . . Other models half as much. 501s works best front-ended by PC-1, because it does not incorporate PFC in the power supply regulation.

Worth pointing out that most manufacturers are a somewhat conservative lot, and may not admit support for 1 Ohm loads in product literature. . . usual caveat emptor I guess. G.

Weseixas, my speakers are Intuitive Design Summits 89db @4ohms minimum, so in my case the amps are pretty much loafing along.