System that sounds so real it is easy to mistaken it is not live


My current stereo system consists of Oracle turntable with SME IV tonearm, Dynavector XV cartridge feeding Manley Steelhead and two Snappers monoblocks  running 15" Tannoy Super Gold Monitors. Half of vinyl records are 45 RMP and were purchased new from Blue Note, AP, MoFI, IMPEX and some others. While some records play better than others none of them make my system sound as good as a live band I happened to see yesterday right on a street. The musicians played at the front of outdoor restaurant. There was a bass guitar, a drummer, a keyboard and a singer. The electric bass guitar was connected to some portable floor speaker and drums were not amplified. The sound of this live music, the sharpness and punch of it, the sound of real drums, the cymbals, the deepness, thunder-like sound of bass guitar coming from probably $500 dollars speaker was simply mind blowing. There is a lot of audiophile gear out there. Some sound better than others. Have you ever listened to a stereo system that produced a sound that would make you believe it was a real live music or live band performance at front of you?

 

esputnix

the JC 1+ puts around 300 watts at 16 ohms and can handle even higher  impedance with absolute aplomb.

@rauliruegas That amplifier is designed to operate as a voltage source. The Sound Lab has an impedance peak of about 30 Ohms in the bass. That means that if the JC-1 makes 300 Watts into 16 Ohms it will be a little bit more than half that into 30 Ohms. Being a voltage source, it will cut its power by half with each doubling of impedance.

 

@rauliruegas Pardon me for continuing this sidebar.

@mijostyn I assume you will not be placing your new Atmasphere MA-2s under the floor as with the JC1s.  While heat dissipation is important, I'm more thinking you will want to be able to keep an eye on the tubes.  I did have a situation with a tube amp where if I had not been able to see a problem as it occurred the consequences would have been very unpleasant.

As a 25 year user of an Atmasphere OTL, I can tell you that with these amps  a failing tube signals its demise rather gently. But keeping them in open air for ventilation and in plain sight is a good idea.

@atmasphere , I should have phrased that differently. It is the SLs that do not like making bass. The MA 2's should be fine driving the SLs in the bass because the impedance is so high. I am not asking the MA 2's to drive 2 ohm subwoofers.

@rauliruegas , I had Velodyn subs for the better part of a decade. The surrounds corroded and they literally fell apart. I can not quote you figures but I do know that given appropriately large drivers in well constructed sealed enclosures distortion levels are easily under 0.5%. It is only when using smaller drivers in flimsy enclosures that distortion becomes a problem.  An amplifier that has tight control over the driver like the JC 1s with their damping factor over 1000 will result in excellent performance far in excess of what any Class D plate amplifier can provide assuming a large driver in a well constructed enclosure of which there are very few. The Velodyns do not qualify as a well constructed enclosure. No commercial subwoofer excepting the Magico Q series qualifies. If you commission me I will build you a knock out set of subwoofers. 

@jetter , they will be exactly where the JC 1 are. There are two cooling fans for each amp. I will know right away when a tube fails as the power in that channel will drop enough to skewer channel balance. It only takes a dB or two to change balance enough to alert me to a problem. I am not at all worried about it.