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Amp for Acoustic Zen Crescendo 2 ?

Hello all,
I have these speakers for 2 months now and want to move on to a tube amp of 50 - 60 wpc or so, or a SS amp that fits the bill..  My current amp is an Ayre V-5xe.  I'm looking for an amp to sweeten up the top end and has a midrange that does vocals full and articulate, even if that means colored.  The Ayre is a great amp but I think there is a better match out there.  I'll have to save up for used, under $5K.  I'm especially interested with what actual owners would say, as well as their system specifics, but all comments welcome.  Acoustics and speaker placement are fixed and substandard.  That's just the way it goes at our house.
I'm using a steel arm VPI TT with Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, ARC PH-7 and REF 3.  Thanks.

wlutke
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grannyring
6,505 posts
 
@wlutke 

Did you purchase an amp as yet? If you should decide to buy SS, then I saw this set of amps that are just spectacular. They offer the type of sound and improvements you mentioned in your first post. They would be a great pairing with your speakers.  Monoblocks, but with a smaller foot print. 

Understand if you want a tube amp as they are also wonderful. Just another option should you need it. 

Electrocompaniet amps are very musical, tube like, SS amps.  I do not know the seller at all as an FYI.  

Model AW180. US Audio Mart 


grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,505 posts
 
Here is the link.   

http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649369326-electrocompaniet-aw180/
wlutke OP
728 posts
 
grannyring,
Thanks for the heads up.  I'm still saving up.  I probably wouldn't go for that pair anyway.  One looks like it was dropped in a parking lot!

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,505 posts
 
Yeah, the seller is getting a new face plate for it or so the listing says.  
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Wlutke 7-24-2017
I've researched the Lyngdorf and the idea of room correction is appealing.  God knows my room could use it.   On the other hand the idea of sending square waves to the speakers and having them do the smoothing curbs my enthusiasm.  No D/A conversion?  It could be the future.  I'll wait and see for now.
While Lyngdorf's writeups could be interpreted to mean that square waves are being sent to the speakers, I'm pretty certain that is not the case.  If it were the case the 2170's excellent THD numbers would be absurdly poor, not to mention that it would make most speakers decidedly unhappy :-)

Most likely the design uses a combination of an inductor and a capacitor at its output to filter out the high frequency (ultrasonic and RF) content of the pulse width modulated square waves, just as is done in pretty much all other class D amps.  That amounts to converting the square waves to sine waves, or in the case of a music signal, to a combination of sine waves at various frequencies.

Regards,
-- Al
 

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