Integrated amp for Eggleston Andra II

Hi,

Just received my Andra II's this month.
Tried several amps on them.
Audion 300b SET and VV52B ( both with volume controls) monos cant move them , neither on biamp configuration. Since I dont like PP tube amps went in other direction.
Class D ICE units. Bel Canto s300i was acceptable but something missing.
Then used the S300i just for highs and connected a s300 for bass. Adding the right power cords the result was astonishing. Im quite sure will go for ref1000´s plus a passive preamp then if it dont work use a tubes pre.

The result at this point pleases me a lot. Cant tell if is better than my Tannoy canterbury + SET amps but for sure are on the same league or better.
Anyway straight and simple , one of the best speakers out there.

Hi again,

After several tests changing electronics with the Andra II´s ,
my best results were with a Jadis Pre JPL and a Bel Canto s300.
Since the 300 BCD series has a low input impedance , them need a preamp or spurce with low output impedance and high gain.
The results were outstanding on a 18x23x7.5 room. It´s a very dry room where deep basses are almsot impossible to get.
The BCD + jadis fills the room easily , with nice tones , deep and controlled bass , etc..
The nice thing is that the BCD s300 is cheap and runs cold.

Probably there are better preamps there for this purpose .After trying EAR834 deluxe, JRDG consonance , Spectral dm-6 and my own Audion Premier line the winner was clear .
Since the demanding matching impedance/gain of the BCD and Andra power requirement, the best were obtained through the Jadis .

Jprice - I read your posts on the mac vs rowland thread and remembered your comments from this thread. Am thinking of an integrated for the Andra IIs as well and wondered if you still think the Continuum was still a good choice or do you think the mac would be the better choice now? Thanks for any insight

Jgless,

I no longer own the Rowland - and I sold the Eggleston Andra II speakers as well. I'm now using the McIntosh MA7000 on a pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos. I really like this combination and I'm (now) quite pleased with the Mac amp. But, as you are aware, the Mac puts out 250 watts of power at 2, 4, or 8 ohms and the Rowland starts off with 500 watts at 8 ohms and increases dramatically as the impedance lowers.

Considering the power-hungry nature of the Eggleston speakers, I can't help but thinking that the much more powerful Rowland might do a better job overall than the Mac on those speakers. This, however, is pure conjecture and is not based on experience or comparison.

I really loved the Continuum on the Eggleston speakers.

Great, thanks for your advice. That is the way I was leaning, so I might just give it a try and see.