Upgrade speaker cables OR amp for Dynaudio C4's?

03-12-09: Pdreher
The C4's are rated @ 4 ohms nominal / 3.3 ohms minimum / 88dB.

The Plinius SA-102 owners manual states that bridging them as monoblocks will "provide an extremely high performance option". The manual goes on to state that care should be taken when matching speakers... "the total average impedance for each chanel should in a range between 4 & 8 ohms" . So hopefully I'll be okay ???

The Stereophile review and measurements of the C4 indicates (at least in the test sample) that the impedance only hit a minimum of 4 ohms and generally seemed to be running around 5-6 ohms from about 500 Hz on up.

I would read both the original Stereophile review and Wes Phillips' 2007 followup to get an idea of what the speakers are capable of and what gear he used with them to get such a compelling match.

I've found that a more involving and livelier sound can come from lowering the noise floor. I was wondering what sort of rack you're using and if you are using any aftermarket footers.

Also, I had a hunch that a quieter cable might help and I notice that Wes was using Shunyata Research speaker cables. Generally the braided designs such as Shunyata and Kimber designs are all about lowering the noise floor and keeping extraneous noise out of the cable runs while maintaining wide bandwidth and speed (which shields often compromise by raising capacitance).

You also might look at how your speakers are platformed. Might it be practical to try them on a set of Vibrapods? There is a lot of buzz that Vibrapods make excellent speaker feet for draining cabinet vibrations and resonances, and this in turn would lower the noise floor and improve microdynamics and inner detail. Unless you already have noise-lowering footers under your components, you might also try the proper weight-rated Vibrapods under each of your components, and consider making a Vibrapod sandwich under your preamp and amp.

Your Plinius as a class A s/b making about 250 wpc into 4 ohms, and in your room and with your listening tastes, this should be enough to give you plenty of volume--like peaks and crescendos up to 111-114 dB. If you're looking for more of a sense of "thereness," the key is vibration control and lowering the noise floor.

Keithr - Pass .5 series amps are intriguing. If my soon-to-be realized plan of bridging a pair of mono-blocked Plinius SA-102's end up not meeting my expectations, my fallback plan would have me leaning towards replacing them with either a Pass 250.5 or 350.5.... or if I feel I'm up to the challenge of trying tube amps, I'd try VTL 450 sigs.

Johnnyb53 - I have three Silent Running Audio VR series isolation platforms on order & due to arrive next week.... so my isolation issues should be largely addressed... and the C4's have nice plinths with adjustable threaded points that isolate the speaker to the floor.

I've tried Vibrapods, but prefer the sound without them. I have twelve of them laying around if interested.

03-18-09: Pdreher
Johnnyb53 - I have three Silent Running Audio VR series isolation platforms on order & due to arrive next week.... so my isolation issues should be largely addressed... and the C4's have nice plinths with adjustable threaded points that isolate the speaker to the floor.

Cool! Install your new platforms and let them settle in to see what they do to your noise floor before moving forward with amplification.

I've tried Vibrapods, but prefer the sound without them. I have twelve of them laying around if interested.

Well, they certainly aren't the be-all and end-all of vibration control, but at $6 they ain't bad. What weight rating do you have? I could use eight #3s.

Well, I just agreed to buy a pair of Simaudio W-6 monoblocks, so I should know in a few weeks how these more powerful amps (425 WPC / 8 ohms) match up to to my trusty Plinius SA-102 @ 125 WPC. I've really enjoyed my SA-102 for a long time... so I'm cautiously optimistic that the more powerful sim monoblocks will take my system to a new level???

I appreciate everyones suggestions on amps. I was really leaning towards a Plinius SA 250 mk IV or the PASS 250.5, but neither would fit into my rack.

Well, I tried the Sim W6's for a few days, but found them to be too analytical and bright for my tastes and have already sold them... so I'm happily reunited with my trusty Plinius SA-102, and have no desire to stray.

Not sure what my next move will be... maybe a nice Stealth power cord for my amp.... or better speaker cables like Stealth MLT's or Kimber KS 3035's?