Doggie,
THe BC ref1000m has very high damping factor, 1000, perhaps the highest of any amp I know of. That was a selling point for me in my application with my large OHM 5 speakers that are known to benefit from high damping.
Do you know damping factor of the NEmos? I am guessing it is significantly lower.
That would account for the perceived leanness in the bass with the BCs. It is a godsend with the right speakers that benefit from high damping, like the larger OHMs I use, but may result in perceived leanness with some others that do not require high damping. I suspect the Thiels might fall into the latter category but not sure, the B&Ws less so.
WHen I first heard my BC ref1000ms on my Dynaudio monitors, my first reaction was what happened to the bass? What happened is it was more highly damped yet correspondingly more articulate than ever before.
ANd yes, I agree that use of a tube pre-amp works very well to help balance things out.
I use the ref1000ms with both large OHMs and small Dynaudio and Triangle monitors. The Dynaudios draw me in every time, though some might still consider the bass to be towards the lean side. Even more so with the Triangles. With the large OHM 5s, pretty much close to perfection I would say.
SO bottom line system synergy top to bottom is important and damping factor of amps should be a major consideration.
Also consider that the EC Nemos list for almost $30K a pair from what I read. THe BCs go for $6K. That's a big difference in cost. One would expect the Nemos to hold an edge, however slight that might be. If a tube pre is all that is needed to bring the two closer in performance, that is still quite a trick for the BCs. Not to mention the huge differences in size, weight, and power consumption. Those are really the things that would lead one to go Class D over a high performence monster amp. I know it was in my case. It's truly a David versus Goliath type scenario! Pretty amazing!
THe BC ref1000m has very high damping factor, 1000, perhaps the highest of any amp I know of. That was a selling point for me in my application with my large OHM 5 speakers that are known to benefit from high damping.
Do you know damping factor of the NEmos? I am guessing it is significantly lower.
That would account for the perceived leanness in the bass with the BCs. It is a godsend with the right speakers that benefit from high damping, like the larger OHMs I use, but may result in perceived leanness with some others that do not require high damping. I suspect the Thiels might fall into the latter category but not sure, the B&Ws less so.
WHen I first heard my BC ref1000ms on my Dynaudio monitors, my first reaction was what happened to the bass? What happened is it was more highly damped yet correspondingly more articulate than ever before.
ANd yes, I agree that use of a tube pre-amp works very well to help balance things out.
I use the ref1000ms with both large OHMs and small Dynaudio and Triangle monitors. The Dynaudios draw me in every time, though some might still consider the bass to be towards the lean side. Even more so with the Triangles. With the large OHM 5s, pretty much close to perfection I would say.
SO bottom line system synergy top to bottom is important and damping factor of amps should be a major consideration.
Also consider that the EC Nemos list for almost $30K a pair from what I read. THe BCs go for $6K. That's a big difference in cost. One would expect the Nemos to hold an edge, however slight that might be. If a tube pre is all that is needed to bring the two closer in performance, that is still quite a trick for the BCs. Not to mention the huge differences in size, weight, and power consumption. Those are really the things that would lead one to go Class D over a high performence monster amp. I know it was in my case. It's truly a David versus Goliath type scenario! Pretty amazing!