Martin Logan Prodigy with Sonic Frontiers Power

Hey Shawn.

Just in case you do not want to buy amps you may check with Paul Speltz about using autoformers with them which deals with the wicked impedance swing. I have no experience with them but Paul is honest and charges real world (read sane) prices for his work.

ML is wrong imho on power. I used cj premier 11a on reQuests (70 per side) and it flat ran out of gas quick. I biamped with Hafler 500 on bottom and 11a on top and that was much better but still had glare soon after 95db or so. I ended up with premier 12's (140 side) but also went to Summits which have powered woofers. Add that to 140 tube per side and oh yeah dynamics are back!!!

The prodigys will use probably use all the amp you can afford but to my ears and in my room tubes filled out the lean nature of logans much better than solid state. I had plenty of juice with a Hafler 500 but much preferred tubes for the sound even when my dynamics were compromised because of power limitations.

Hope you sort it out as I think you'll have a ball with Prodigys.

Have Fun!

I have the ML Request and not the Prodigy; however, the best amp I have used so far and still use is the Plinius SA100 III. It is only 125 watts, but that is not an issue as this amp has no problems driving the Request. Consider one of the Plinius amps and you will not be dissatisfied. Good luck.

ok.... so I received my mono amps yesterday, Krell 300Ms. These are 350W/ch into 8 ohms and 700 into 4 ohms. Prodigies are rated at 4 ohms so I was expecting to hear some huge differences between the tubes at 110W into 4 ohms and the solid state at 700W. Not only in volume but also accuracy and dynamics.

And my ears said.... oh man! Maybe I am not the tube purist that I was hoping to be. :) The Prodigies came alive as if I upgraded speakers. I can now hear much more of the music and they sound like, what i think, the engineers intended them to sound like.

As for sound differences, yes, the tubes do have a smoother sound but now the bottom end is really accurate and tight. As a bass enthusiast, I kinda like this better. The problem I did find was that some of the top end got a little bright for me but then again I was playing a CD and not vinyl, which my ears are more comfortable with.

I have a pair of Power 3s coming so to audition in comparison to the large power of the Krells... Let's see if more tube power will give me the same effect on the bottom end and smooth out the the top. If not, I will be fully happy running these Krells.

Thanks for all the help and advice gents!

NAK8

Hello,

I once owned Martin Logan Odysseys and Sonic Frontiers Powers 3's. It was not good combination, IMO. The Sonic Frontiers Power 3's will not provide the bass tightness and control you are seeking on the ML Prodigy.

If you remain committed to the Prodigy's and if budget allows, you may find the the ML's will sound wonderful with VAC PHI amps, as well as Convergent Amps. Both of these amps will provide excellent bass control, and will have a much more refined mid range and sweeter highs than the Krell and Sonic Frontiers. Admittedly, the Krell will have the "best" bass.

David

>>BTW, I called ML on Friday... they said the 110W/ch Tube power should be plenty to for these...but that the hell do they know. :) LOL

The people at the ML factory also drive some of the smaller models with very low power amps and integrateds. Yet the MORE POWER myth for MLs continues unabated in audiophile circles. The designers will tell you flat out that you do not need hundreds of watts to drive their speakers. But Joe audiophool knows better.

You should get an amp/integrated that is very stable into 4 ohm loads and avoid class D amps as most of them will not handle this load.