2. amps-preamps
  3. 1402413075

the best amps for bass, best for the rest?

hullo fellow beardies!

i'm building a system that requires two power amps, one for the main speakers and one for the subwoofers.

the speakers are the Nola Baby Grand Reference, combined with the two seven foot bass towers from the Nola Grand Reference, c/w their electronic crossovers.

so one power amp will drive the baby grands, while the other the sub towers (coming in below 40hz)

which would be your nominations for best amps for bass, and best amps for everything except bass?

the obvious choice is to use valve power amps for the babies, and solid state amps for the subs.
i lean towards monoblocks.

current leading contenders are a new vtl 7.5 pre with 450 monos for the babies and a used pair of krell750mcx monos for the bass.

another option is to mate a used boulder 2010 with the vtl 450's and krell 750's.

a rather more expensive option is the boulder 2010, a used boulder 2060 and then either a second 2060 or another amp to complement the boulders. the 2060 could either run babies or subs, do you guys have any opinions?
or the same model amp runs all frequencies (2 x 2060)
or alternatively something completely different...?

i will choose the power amps first then match with an appropriate pre-amp.

my room is 7m x 5.25m x 2.4m high, with a concrete floor. i prefer electronic dance music (drum and bass, hard / deep / banging house and trance), dubstep and reggae / dub.
i dj roots, rockers and dub, was part of an illegal sound system for a decade hosting regular parties and an annual festival, along with dub nights.
i reside in the uk (scotland) and have no neighbours to worry about
infinitelybaffled
denon1
341 posts
 
Plinius SA reference. Terrific for bass as well as main if you buy in mono configurartion.
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
I would suggest you go with a tubed preamp as well as the amp for the Baby Grands. I own the Nola Micro References, and have heard the Baby Grands, both using VAC electronics. I have heard the Boulder equipment, and while it is extremely revealing I feel, at least in the preamp and the midrange and up, that it lacks that sense of live music that I only get from tubes. I think you should consider a VAC preamp and the either Phi or Statement amps for the Baby Grands as well as the VTLs. Carl did voice these speakers with tubes, and they really do come alive with them.

For the bass towers, the Boulder amps had the best bass definition and control I've heard, at least driving Dynaudio Temptations. I would say you can't go wrong with either Krell or Boulder (or a big Pass amp) on the bass, though I would not rule out VAC or VTL in that region either--you might lose just a bit of control and extension compared with the solid state amps, but you might get a bit better integration with the Baby Grands. Just my $.02.
mclsound
159 posts
 
Well krell on bass for sure (I have a 700cx or fpb 600 fully rebuilt available. ..pm me)
Vtl might be interesting on top..
VAC would also be nice on the babies
ebm
9,311 posts
 
My Rowland 8T wonderful bass!!
infinitelybaffled OP
20 posts
 
thank you for your responses
the vac gear certainly looks good. i'm concerned the reviews speak of the signature pre-amp as being rolled off at the frequency extremes...otherwise i would have been sold on one of those. price is right also

are people of the view that krell 750mcx monos are inferior in the bass to the boulder 2060?
(there was a suggestion the boulder 2060 was wasted / overkill just for sub 40hz, and that a pair of krells could do the same job as well?)

i can't really afford the vtl's AND the boulder 2060, while still buying a pre-amp. krells are half the boulder's price..
..unless i went with the vac pre, that is...but while i don't mind rolled-off treble, rolled-off bass is unforgivable; i'm a bass freak

i haven't yet discovered local pricing & availability of passlabs, but my dealer has some of his gear, i will read up
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