Tekton Double Impacts

Hi Porscheracer,
I have no doubt that a higher powered transistor amplifier is the right choice for your satisfaction and peace of mind. You must select what is most appropriate and reassuring. I’d however be wary of citing the laws of physics to make your case. You know what you want and believe high watt solid state will get you there, go for it.

For you to write that the 1 watt LTA MZ2-S will sound "flat" is in direct contradiction to what Mac, Kenny,Lancelock , Teajay and others have reported based on actually listening. Personally I will always place more weight on one’s actual listening experiences than on the one whose’s opinion is based on theory and conjecture

I’ll concede you could hear the 1 watt MZ2-S and may not care for it (simply not to your taste) but that would not invalidate what others here have reported. My gut feeling is that it is as good as they have stated.
Charles .

I am not saying anything about my requirements room size or amplifier choice. The physics part is that it takes power to move the voice coils in the various drivers. Even if you listen at low volume levels.

Look at section 2 here:

http://sound.whsites.net/articles/pwr-vs-eff.htm

To quote:

"To reproduce a signal with a 10dB crest factor cleanly (without clipping distortion) means that if your average level requires 10W, the peaks will need 100W - a 100W (minimum) amplifier is needed to get 10W of clean undistorted average electrical energy."

That's the physics part!

Porscheracer, Yes I see where you’re coming from and having people posting here with different perspectives is a good thing. I do accept certain foundational principles but only to a limited degree. I’ll admit that the further I’ve gone along in this endeavor the more I’ve come to rely on my ears. There’s been too many experiences where what "should have been" is defeated by what "was" the case based on listening.

I get the point of the many articles about clean amplifier power and low distortion figures etc. Based on that line of reasoning Halcro amplifiers should have been phenomenal sounding and the standard by which other amplifiers are judged. It didn’t work out that way, not by a long shot. Many variables matter in achieving superb sound quality from an amplifier.
Charles

What I am posting about has nothing to do with the "sound" of an amplifier. That is different than the power of an amplifier and what is considered "clean" power.

Let’s assume for a minute that the 1 watt is enough to drive the DI speakers with no clipping distortion. That means that they are only using .1 watts at their average level. Are you ready to go there? .1 watts???

This is when I start to worry about what people are reporting and have a hard time believing it. IF a 1 watt amp is working well for someone with these speakers, either the music has no dynamic range or their ears aren’t hearing the clipping. Or, they listen at whisper sound levels. Yes, tube amps do usually clip much less obtrusively than solid state. But there are limits......

I am not saying you need 400 watts per channel. But 1 watt, on paper when you do the math, comes up on the wrong side of what is enough power.

I don’t even have my speakers yet. They should be here on Tuesday or Wednesday. I will have two Vidar amps ready to test. I will try them in a monoblock setup that has 400 watts a channel at 8 Ohms (not rated at 4 Ohms) and with a single Vidar at 200 watts per channel at 4 Ohms. One Vidar has more than enough power but I like the advantages you get in monoblock mode. When using one Vidar you have to use SE inputs while in monoblock mode you use XLR inputs.

Has anyone compared the stock Double Impact setup to the $300 upgrade version? I was just curious if anyone heard a difference. I ordered the $300 upgrade......