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My Gemme Tanto V2's with an Acurus DIA-150

Hello everyone,

Well I recently made a move towards Gemme Tanto V2s speakers.I am presently driving them with an Acurus DIA 150 integrated,while awaiting for my second purchace.(a Peachtree Grand X1 integrated amp).That I will be receiving in about a month or so.But in the meantine I am almost unable to listen to this present set-up for almost any length of time.I have heard it being said that one has to careful in certain instances how one teems up their components with other equipment.Well ... I must admit I have never quite yet attested to a Quality speaker load to sound as terrible as is does now!! My lord,its like somebodys choked the life out this amp.I also heard it been said that the Gemmes do very well when driven with a powerful amp.What baffles me even more is that the Acurus played extremely well with my Castle Avon speakers! And it wasnt anywhere as brutal sounding (forward,stringent and glarery to name a few) as it does with the Gemmes!And in the low end factor, its a complete disaster! Jellolike with no weight,or solidity thats at least worth mentioning.What I would like to know mind you,Is that is it due the way the cabinetry is designed or the crossover networking,or even the build of the drivers that make this a very finicky speaker!They are also a Transmission Line spkr design(not sure if this falls into play also).Yet they are 92.5 db efficiency.Which in turn doesnt spell itself as difficult load per say to drive.Gemme Audio recommends 50 to 300 wpc amplification.And the Acurus integrated is 150 wpc in 8 ohms,and goes to 250 wpc in a 4 ohm load.Yet the Acurus is dead sounding in parallel! And just to add further mystery to this already confounding situation.My audiophile buddy stated the other day that apparently Wilson audio speakers(namely the Sophia's now called Sasha's) are known to be able to play well,even with average-like gear!

Has anybody out there has,or is, going through a simular experience? And can you please elaborate on this matter?
128x128zyac39
yakbob
478 posts
 
Sorry to hear about your amp pairing and hope the Peachtree Grand works out for you. I have a pair of Tanto v.2 and have been very satisfied with thier sound when paired with my IPS-1 (which is stable to 2ohms).
For kicks, I also moved these speakers temporarily into my small office system and have driven them at moderate volume with a restored Marantz 2245. They sounded great, but I was obviously short on power when pushing the volume beyond levels required for a small room.

I'd be curious to know how the new amp works out, so please post an update once you've had a chance to break it in.
zyac39's avatar
zyac39 OP
49 posts
 
Will do Yakbob,

Thanks.
zyac39's avatar
zyac39 OP
49 posts
 
Oh my god..I've had the Peachtree
for now the third day,(in the process of doing a mini burn),
and the sound is nothing short of mind blowing!).I conclude that the Gemmes absolutely love power,and with the Peachtree puting out a staggering 770 wpc there is full control happening right now.From the airy,open and spacious highs to the gut wrenching iron fisted lows,everything is happening with absolute ease,Grace,and fluidity.
yakbob
478 posts
 
Great to hear Zyac! I'm enjoying the hell out of Tanto V2s as I type.
They're still in my office and I'm only sending them 45 vintage watts via a tubed DAC. Not so many watts, it makes me wonder if your Acurus/Tanto combo is just not a good pairing.

Regardless, I'm glad you're back on track to sonic bliss. I find the best word to describe the Tanto's is "clear". They're the cleanest sounding speaker I've owned. They show how well a good design can sound with very little in the way of hardware.
zyac39's avatar
zyac39 OP
49 posts
 
Hi Yakbob,Indeed the Acurus/Gemmes combo was not at all a good pairing.It was in my opinion,the impedance factor that more or less caused the Acurus to not meet up to the task.As long as your amp can remain steady at 3 ohms the Tantos will accept any wattage you you throw at them.In short,the Tantos will reveal their true potential when given clean and unadulterated power.Regardless of how many watts that may be.The best term I could use to describe the overall sound of the Gemmes is "neutral".And does not create listening fatigue after extended use,provided your other components are up to the task.

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