All Value System Under 5K

sibelius, i've spoken w/john meyer of newform, as i'm also considering his speakers, & he sez that removing the passive x-overs, & going to active x-overs & bi-amping, gives even better results. since the newforms don't need any more power, instead of getting the stratos mono amps, i'd suggest getting another stereo amp & running them in a wertically bi-amped configuration. this will give ewe the best of both worlds - ewe will still have a separate amp driving each speaker, & ewe will also be able to actively cross-over the newforms. even if ewe still use the newforms' passive x-over (which benefits from switching to hi-grade caps, btw), since ya don't need the extra power, the ability to have seperate amps for each channel *and* still being able to bi-amp the speakers, will give ewe better results than yust having a single monobloc per channel. and, yule still have more power than ya got now, when using two stereo amps. ask klaus - i spoke w/him about this, when considering buying a pair of his amps. (i ended up w/a pair of electrocompaniet aw60ftt's).

i also highly recommend going to a tubed preamp - it will take your rig to another level, imho... :>) at under $1k, ewe can find a used melos sha-gold reference or melos maestro (last iteration of the sha-gold). i know of no other preamp that will approach the sonics of this unit at anywhere near the price, tho leafs may dispute this! ;~)

regards, doug s.

Sedond:

What exactly is entailed technically in "removing the passive X-Over". Is this a fairly easy procedure? Can a novice handle it? Or is this for true techies only.

Sibelius

hi sibelius,

i'd contact john meyer directly about this - as i'm sure ewe know, he's wery service-oriented - (as is klaus, of odyssey). but, i really doubt it's wery complicated - it wood yust inwolve removing the internal x-over, & wiring the separate drivers directly to their respective binding posts. if ewe can operate a screwdrive 7 a soldering iron, it should be no problem! :>) but, as i mentioned before, even w/o going to an active x-over, i tink yule still get better results w/a pair of stratos stereo amps, one amp for each speaker, w/one channel of the amp driving the scan-speaks & the other amp channel driving the ribbon.

hope this helps, doug s.

Since I have not heard the Melos i wont comment but recomending gear from a company no longer in bussiness may not be the best advice one can pass on.

leafs, your point is well-taken - i approached the purchase of my melos pre w/much trepidation. but, i was reassured by the fact that melos audio restorations exists for the servicing & upgrading of these fine-sounding units. i'm sure the original company's demise due to poor quality-control & poor service, is a main reason why the product is now so (relatively) inexpensive. i say *cool* - i can afford someting w/outstanding sound-quality that wood normally be out of my price range! ;~)

regards, doug s.