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Looking for 200 watt Amp to drive Dynaudio Heritage speakers

Hi Everyone - 

BACKGROUND 


A few years ago, during Covid and after having worked for so many years without really treating myself to a sound system, I took the plunge and started purchasing audio equipment. Unfortunately, I was a terribly uninformed audio buyer and dove in with some purchases that were not terribly well considered. Oh well. 

So here we are today... I have a pair of Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers that I was considering selling.

The Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers require power to open up. Driven at 100 watts, they sound a little anemic and the treble dominates at lower levels. So they ended up in the closet for the last year with plans to sell them. In retrospect, the dealer I purchased them suggested a lower wattage amp than was advisable. 

For my primary system, I'm now running QLN Prestige Three speakers with a Conrad Johnson Classic 120 EL34 amp, LTA Microzotl preamp, Merason DAC1 and Innuos Zenith. The sound of this system is wonderful - ethereal, nuanced, great soundstage and imaging. Very relaxing combo. 

I'm thinking of cycling the Dynaudio into circulation for a few months a year to change things up. I'm looking for a 200 Watt Solid State Amp. But here's the thing, I'm getting older and lugging heavy things around - especially when stairs are part of the equation - is terribly unappealing. 50-55 pounds is pretty much my limit right now.  

I had some Pass Labs amps in for home demos and the thing was a back breaker. I think it was 80 pounds or so. My days of pseudo body building are over... so lugging that thing up and down stairs is something I NEVER want to do again. 

QUESTION FOR THE FORUM 

Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced solid state 200 watt SS amp - no more than 50-55 pounds - that I can use to enjoy these Dynaudio Heritage Speakers? Class AB or Class D, obviously. For weight considerations, I'm really open to a Class D amp, assuming it sounds good. 

Budget is $5K or under - new or used. 

In terms of what I'm looking for - and given my weight requirements - I'd say the primary thing I'm looking to avoid is overt brightness. Otherwise, I'm pretty open to what suggestions the forum might have. Thanks in advance! 
 

128x128bluethinker
bluethinker's avatar
bluethinker OP
177 posts
 

Hi Everyone - 


THANK YOU for all the suggestions. It is really illuminating to hear about all the suggested options. @grislybutter - Feeling guilty from GrislyButter's comment, I lugged the HS Speakers upstairs and move the QLN Prestige 3 to the side. 

It had been awhile (10 months) since I'd listened to the Dynaudio HS speakers. I'd found my Audio Hungary 100 Power Amp just didn't fully light them up. I'd subsequently purchased a Conrad Johnson Classic 120 with EL34 tubes and moved my Audio Hungary to back-up amp status... 

So I decided to give the Dynaudio HS speakers a whirl with the Conrad Johnson amp which is 125 watts per channel. I didn't expect much, but was sort of blown away. The CJ amp totally opened up the speakers in a way I didn't expect and made me realize I can get away simply powering them with the CJ amp. 

I reviewed ALL of the solid state options suggested in the thread. Before I realized the CJ amp would work, I was leaning towards the Hegel H390 as the best solution, although many of your other suggestions were - and are - intriguing for the future. 

grislybutter
2,961 posts
 

that's great to hear. I am a big Dynaudio fan and I think it's somewhat of a myth that they require 200+ Watts. From what I read, the Heritage must give you a lot of joy :) 

mmorrison55
32 posts
 

Do yourself a favor and look at Devialet. They are an incredible bargain IMO. They are dead quiet, and provide plenty of power. And you want something light and easy to maneuver, you can’t get easier to maneuver.

 

youmcan get a single 200 watt unit for in the low to mid 2k, or you can find a dual mono 400 watt unit for under your max budget.

Read some reviews. They are easy enough to find. Also, I checked, they have a SAM setting for your Dynaudio heritage special, so they will likely sound fantastic being driven by whichever model you went with.

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1312&_nkw=devialet+expert&_sacat=0


if you happen to be in the Tampa Bay Area, I would be happy to do a demo for you.

 

good luck,

 

mike

pootytang127
8 posts
 

I have a pair of emit m30 and I run a Carver tfm 35 that has been recapped and my sound is wonderful.320 watts @ 4 ohms.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,783 posts
 

So I decided to give the Dynaudio HS speakers a whirl with the Conrad Johnson amp which is 125 watts per channel. I didn't expect much, but was sort of blown away. The CJ amp totally opened up the speakers in a way I didn't expect and made me realize I can get away simply powering them with the CJ amp. 

@bluethinker The difference between 100 Watt and 200 Watts is 3dB, which to the ear is barely noticeable. As you found out this is really more about how the amp plays with the speaker than it is power.

There are some things to consider when using tubes with 4 Ohms. First, although tube amps have 4 Ohm taps, the output transformer often loses an octave of bandwidth between 8 and 4 Ohms because its less efficient. This loss, which is usually less than 20Hz, results in less impact due to phase shift in the bass. If you measure the temperature of the output transformers with a thermal camera you'll also see they are running warmer into 4 Ohms- and that heat is power made by the output tubes.

You'll also find that the speaker cables are far more critical using 4 Ohm speakers so its best to keep them as short as possible (an argument for monoblocks). This is particularly true of tube amps which tend to have a higher output impedance.

There are class D amps now that don't take a back seat to tube amps of any kind in any way (except overload character) that can make the power you were asking about.

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