Tekton Double Impacts

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......

Porscheracer,

While it goes against convention I can confidently say the MZ2's one watt drives the DI's beautifully with no flatness, distortion or loss of dynamics or bass. Nelson Pass could probably explain how it does so but I can't. There's an art and science to everything. I can attest to the art and how wonderful the MZ2 sounds but not to the science as to how it does. Frankly I don't care about the science, only the sound matters to me. I was TOTALLY skeptical about the MZ2 being able to drive the DI's properly but figured I'd need it for a pre amp anyways so why not try? It's been eye ( and ear ) opening! I guarantee that if you tried it you'd be as shocked and perplexed as I. I'll let others here explain how one watt is sufficient to drive HE speakers but trust me when I say it produces some of the most musical sound within its limits.....which is a sound level of about 95 db in my room with my listening position 7.5' away. 

The DI's will sound great with a powerful quality SS amp, but don't rule out that they won't with one watt......physics or not. As good as my 220 watt Kismet Monoblocks were ( and they were very good) I prefer the MZ2 driving the DI's. You might prefer the SS amps but if you heard the MZ2 with the DI's you would be quite impressed. 

Hi Mac,
You raised such an interesting yet complex point, the very legitimate notion of science versus "art ". These are two serious entities that matter if one wants to create a superior quality and "sounding " audio component. Where does one end and the other begin? What percentage does science and art each contribute? One thing is certain, both aspects are required.

No question that solid engineering principles and application are mandatory for the good measurements, reliability, safety and quality of construction. I definitely believe that good engineering is a requirement for good sound as well. Yet when it comes to sound quality there’s undeniably more involved to complete the process.

For example Stereophile reviewers Art Dudley (particularly so) and Michael Fremer have raved about certain amplifiers that sound absolutely marvelous in their opinion. These amplifiers are subsequently tested by JA and obvious flaws in measured performance are inevitably exposed. What is going on here?

Is it the "art" factor that made these amplifiers sound so exceptional to the respective reviewers despite their relatively poor test bench results?
Then there are the amplifiers that test and measure in excellent fashion and yet disappoint when actually listened to.

Mac you raised a very compelling point. This is why I will just listen and judge what I hear. If we aren’t buying audio products based on how they sound reproducing music, what then is the criteria? I for one can't just rely on science and math alone.  If this were the solution the perfect amplifier  (or any audio product) would be available based on the proper calculated math equations.  Art is a profound factor. 
Charles