Hello Geojap. I own 1977 & 1983 pairs of KlipschCornwalls. Mcintosh autoformer amps match up very well sonically with Klipsch Heritage speakers in my opinion & others at the Klipsch Forum. I first used a Mcintosh MC7150 (150 watts x 2-early 90's vintage) autoformer amp with the 1977 Cornwalls with a Mcintosh C38 preamp, Mcintosh MCD 7009 cd player, Pioneer Elite PD 65 cd player, Mcintosh MR 77 tuner. Last July, 2002 I bought a mint 6 month old pair of Welborne Labs SET 2A3 Moondog amps with the Ultimate upgrade package off of Audiogon. Bought a mint Welborne Labs Revellie tube preamp this year from Audiogon. SET amps sound fantastic with Heritage Klipsch speakers. Several months ago I bought a mint Llano Phoenix mosfet/tube hybrid amp (300 watts x 2 @ 8 ohms-600 Watts x 2 @ 4 ohms) off of Audiogon. The Llano Phoenix is a Class A, 2 gain stage amp & uses no negative feedback. It uses separate boxesfor the current (mosfet output) & voltage sections of the amp. My LLano Phoenix has the VA2 voltage box which uses 6SN7, 6SL7 & 12SN7 tubes. I have JAN Slyvania 6SL7 WGT, GE 12SN7 GTA, Raytheon 6SN7 GTB & Sylvaia 6SN7 GT tall tops. Rolling tubes does change the sonics of the amp. I like the Llano Phoenix better than the Mcintosh amp. Better dynamics-low end bass response is stronger & it also has better high end extension in the treble. Way overkill in power for the Cornwalls but it sounds very good to my ears. I have a harem of old speakers that I also switch in & out that can use the Llano power-double Advents-1979 & 1980 vintage, JBL LX 55 speakers-1992 vintage 3 way large bookshelf speaker- 10" woofer-5" midrange-1" titanium tweeter. I have the JBL's hooked up now & they sound very good with the Llano Phoenix amp. And several other speakers. I am going to buy a third preamp sometime in the future so I can set up a third system with my old Mcintosh MC 7150 amp. Check out the Klipsch 2 channel forum. Regards, Mike
Help with very low noise, SS amp for La Scalas?
I just bought a pair of Klipsch La Scalas and like them enough to build a system around them. I need some suggestions regarding the appropriate amplifier.
I really don't want to get into the tube amps. I've had them before and they are nice and warm, but I want to keep it simple and not mess with them. I also want the extreme clarity that clean, natural solid state will provide.
I need a SS amp that will provide 50-85 WPC and have a S/N ratio of >= 105 dB. The La Scalas are very efficient (104dB/W/m) so I don't need a lot of power at all, but I still want as much as would be prudent. I was looking at Bryston amps, the 3B-ST and 3B-SST but they are a little too powerful for my speakers, at 120 and 150 W/Ch. They have excellent noise floors though, at 105 and 110 dB above the noise floor. I'd like to get a very neutral, non-grainy amp that will pair with my Muse Model One preamp. I need to replace my CD source, but plan on getting something mildly musical and warm, like a Muse 296/8 pair, McIntosh MCD 7010 or Myryad player.
What other amps are out there that will have such a low noise floor and neutral presentation?
As an aside, I'm really impressed with the La Scalas after listening to them for only a few days. I can see they have the clarity, imaging and detail that approaches my previous ribbon speakers. I had Apogee Stages and some tall Maggies and have always looked for something that will mimic their detail and soundstage, but be less finicky and require less maintenance. Once I get the correct components and I replace the crossovers with the ALK design, I expect these to image as well as ribbon speakers with much more dynamics. The only weaknesss I see in these speakers, when properly set up, is that the bass does not extend very far at all. That doesn't bother me because I'm not a bass-o-phile, but it is noticable.
I really don't want to get into the tube amps. I've had them before and they are nice and warm, but I want to keep it simple and not mess with them. I also want the extreme clarity that clean, natural solid state will provide.
I need a SS amp that will provide 50-85 WPC and have a S/N ratio of >= 105 dB. The La Scalas are very efficient (104dB/W/m) so I don't need a lot of power at all, but I still want as much as would be prudent. I was looking at Bryston amps, the 3B-ST and 3B-SST but they are a little too powerful for my speakers, at 120 and 150 W/Ch. They have excellent noise floors though, at 105 and 110 dB above the noise floor. I'd like to get a very neutral, non-grainy amp that will pair with my Muse Model One preamp. I need to replace my CD source, but plan on getting something mildly musical and warm, like a Muse 296/8 pair, McIntosh MCD 7010 or Myryad player.
What other amps are out there that will have such a low noise floor and neutral presentation?
As an aside, I'm really impressed with the La Scalas after listening to them for only a few days. I can see they have the clarity, imaging and detail that approaches my previous ribbon speakers. I had Apogee Stages and some tall Maggies and have always looked for something that will mimic their detail and soundstage, but be less finicky and require less maintenance. Once I get the correct components and I replace the crossovers with the ALK design, I expect these to image as well as ribbon speakers with much more dynamics. The only weaknesss I see in these speakers, when properly set up, is that the bass does not extend very far at all. That doesn't bother me because I'm not a bass-o-phile, but it is noticable.
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- 10 posts total
- 10 posts total