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Shindo Montrachet EL34 amp -- can it handle impedance of Snell Type A?

I have a Shindo Montrachet EL34 amp and Vandersteen 2wq subs that cross at 100hz with passive first order MP-5 crossovers. I either need to sell the amp or sell my Quad ESL-63 speakers, which I also love, because the authorized Shindo dealer tells me the Quads could damage the Shindo (it is really designed for higher efficiency 16 ohm Shindo speaker loads). I believe the Quads drop to 3.5 ohms or so in the bass and rise quite high in the treble.

I have an opportunity to acquire an old friend -- Snell Type A speakers. I am not worried right now about the Shindo's ability to "drive" the Snells in terms of power/dynamics. But I am concerned that the Snells could also present difficulty/danger for the Shindo due to impedance. The Snells have a minimum impedance of 4 ohms, but I do not know the exact maximum or the full impedance curve. I'm trying to find out, if anyone knows the impedance curve.

Does anyone know if the Snells would be safer with the Shindo than the Quads are? Does the fact that the Snells are a dynamic speaker and not an electrostatic inherently make it easier for the amplifier to stomach?

Thanks for any thoughts. Again, not looking for sound quality advice or speculation. I will be able to listen to the Snells before buying. But I don't want to endanger the Shindo amp.
montaldo
jperry
2,458 posts
 
Why don't you just call the Shindo distributor, Tone Audio, or a Shindo dealer and just ask?

Shindo is designed to work best with speakers 8 ohms or greater, that are high efficiency speakers. The low impedence (less than 4 ohms at certain frequencies) and low efficiency of the Snells is not a good match for Shindo amplifiers.
montaldo OP
202 posts
 
I confirmed that the Snells are a 4ohm nominal load so they just are not suitable for the Shindig. Too bad. Thanks very much for everyone's advice 

Now I need to either find a new amp or other speakers ... But I do not like most speakers, so I may have to sell the  beautiful Shindo so I can stick with my Quads. Ouch.  (I did buy the Snell's just to have because they were a great deal and I love them).


bradf's avatar
bradf
329 posts
 
I see you have the Shindo Montrachet EL34 amp for sale here on AG.
I was thinking that the Auto transformers sold by Anti-Wire may be a solution to matching your speakers to the Shindo, by increasing speaker impedance. I am sure you already have given this some thought, but hadn’t seen it come up in the conversation/post. Even though the autotransformer would make the amp load non detrimental, I am not sure what tonal/timber changes they may cause; something you would have look into . http://anticables.com/autoformers
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