2. amps-preamps
  3. 1284606968

mid-fi to hi-fi evolution...power questions

current:
vandy 2ce sigs in a treated room. love 'em. might add a sub.
acurus rl-11 preamp. totally under-rated. after a ken ealey massage, a giant killer at just $1k.
cal cl-10
magnum ft-101a
music hall mmf-5 & acurus p10
power has been acurus A250, then Bryston 3B-ST, currently PS Audio 200C

despite the barely mid-fi rep, i liked the acurus power amp with the vandys quite a lot actually. they are fairly inefficient (~85dB/1w/1m), 6ohm, and in a big room...they liked the big power and tamed the harsh reputation a bit.

the 3B was installed with perhaps too high expectations, and was underwhelming. underpowered? i did see the clip indicators a bit too regularly. the 4B would have been a better choice i think.

the current (25 year old!) 200C is also excellent...the best of the bunch. has the low end grunt & control of the acurus, with more refined mid/upper registers...but it's a bit long in the tooth and i worry about its longevity.

but the real truth is, i just have an itch to try something different (power, and possibly pre). budget ~$2k, maybe a touch more. i'm thinking actual (not rated) power at 8ohms of ~200wpc. that's the background...

tightwad (er, 'smart shopper') in me says 'definitely buying used'. auditioning all the varieties of used gear is impossible of course. cosmetics are not so important, but reliability is.

i have a local deal on a conrad johnson pair that is quite intriguing...very clean 17LS pre & MF2500 SS power at ~$3k. is that fair? a steal? it's a bigger fish than i though i was looking to fry, but if it's a give-away, i might bite. beyond that, it's the usual suspects...

given my fondness for the mondial (acurus) sound (really did seem to match well with the vandys), i'm thinking aragon. 8008BB @ ~$1k?

up from there, maybe a krell KSA-150? the age and the heat give me pause however. $1.5k? should i skip the KSA and move on to the FBP? that prototype FBP-200 has my eye...

the rational side of me says '4B-ST is an almost unanimously regarded amp', but given my disappointment with the 3, i'm inclined to look elsewhere, especially at $1.5k. mistake?

what else have i bookmarked? BAT VT-220? belles 150A? threshold s/500? halo a21? so many choices!

what would you add? thx...
dookie1
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Chazz, More likely to damage tweeters with too little power and damage everything else with too much. I am a long time Vandersteen fan and as I mentioned earlier and in previous posts, crossover parts are easily damaged due to over heating from too much power. The speakers will still play, but the sound will be degraded. Some models of Vandersteen speakers have LEDs that flash to warn the user of potential damage.

Dookie, Buying bigger and bigger amplifiers is not the answer with Vandersteen 2Cs whether you have cathedral ceilings or not. It could very well be the 2C is not suited for your application and you need a more efficient speaker or the speaker is already damaged.

The Vandersteen is one of those speakers that hits a brick wall and will not play any lounder regardless of power. Instead the sound becomes compressed. Adding more power will not overcome this.

Clipping your Bryston is an indication you are playing your speakers at high volume for long periods of time.

You don't have to take my advice. Call Vandersteen Audio. They know more about their speakers than anyone here.
gtortorella
17 posts
 
I see that Belles and Threshold have been mentioned. Both have had many nice designs, and both are known for their solid build quality. I have a friend that likes his BAT gear, but at about $S,000 or so (per component!) it better be nice. My whole system does not cost $5,000.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
McCormack.
Post removed 
dookie1 OP
6 posts
 
rrog, thanks for your concern. i am not an idiot. the 2ce sig has warning lights, but i've *never* seen 'em. however, with dynamic music the 3B clip LEDs would flicker at the peaks at a very modest volume. i did not push beyond the flicker, but the flicker was all too easy to achieve. i have spoken to richard a couple times regarding these speakers, in person even. believe me, i don't need louder...with the 200w PS audio i almost never run beyond 25-30% indicated volume. at roughly equal (robust) volume, the difference between the 3B and the 200C is night and day. IMHO, these speakers sound far better in my room with some gutsy power, wielded appropriately.

re: ATI. i have a 1506 in the theater, bridged to 3x450w on the front stage. i hauled it upstairs (no small feat, at 90lbs) for a day or two and found it a bit harsh...which, through the laid-back vandys, is saying something. all kinds of bass control and WHOMP however. a fine theater amp, but just not musical enough for my purist 2-channel room. maybe the newer stuff is more refined? rrog...yes, i put a 450wpc amp on the vandys. my vandy dealer tells me that a little smoke is OK, agreed?

i'm currently leaning krell...though mccormack is an interesting wrinkle that i had not considered. i think a touch of brightness in the amp would not be a bad thing with the vandys. as i said, i was quite fond of the acurus, which has a reputation for considerable brightness. back to mondial/aragon?

[wrings hands and goes off to look through the classifieds for the 5th time today...]
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