2. amps-preamps
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Tube pre/power combo for Rockport Aviors

I have a pair of Rockport Aviors on order that should arrive sometime in Jan. The Conrad Johnson CT 5 pre and CJ LP 70S power (70 wpc) that I have at present may not have enough juice to do justice to the Aviors. Given the limited availability of brands/dealers in my part of the world,I have shortlisted 3 pre/power combos :
1. Conrad Johnson GAT and ARTsa(140 wpc)
2.ARC 5SE and Ref 150 or Ref 250 monos
3. VTL 7.5 mk 3 pre and 450 MB series3
The Aviors will replace a pair of Quad 2905s that I have enjoyed for 6+ years. My musical tastes extend to the whole spectrum from large orchestral works, chamber music, rock, blues, Indian music but strictly no Rap or Country. The preferred source is vinyl.
Ideally I would love to stay with the CJ line as I like the sonics though I suspect this may not be possible.I am not looking for recommendations per se but to those Agoners who have experience of any of these brands either through ownership or extensive listening etc. I have been fortunate to be in contact with some knowledgeable Agoners .
Many thanks and festive cheer
Pradeep
128x128sunnyboy1956
sunnyboy1956's avatar
sunnyboy1956 OP
424 posts
 
Hi John
Many thanks. I should get a peek and hopefully a listen to the VTLs in NYC today. Nagra...why did I not think of that. I have a Nagra dealer in New Delhi but a demo may not be possible.
Will post my impressions.
Cheers
vicdamone
850 posts
 
Excellent choice. My tube amp experience is limited to Marantz 8B, 9s, and just recently Carver VTA 180s powering Avalon Eidolons. It was difficult to find a tube amp to drive the Eidolons after years of solid state.

While the Carvers live up to the few reviews they've had the other amps I liked with my speakers were the VAC 450S. I think the VAC 450 series would be worth your time to consider and audition if only to gain perspective over your current short list.
sunnyboy1956's avatar
sunnyboy1956 OP
424 posts
 
John
I am a bit intrigued by your statement that the Nagras 330b and VPAs could successfully drive the Aviors. The Nagras output 20wpc and 50 wpc respectively. Conventional wisdom has it that you need at least 150 wpc to drive the 89db efficient Aviors. This opens up a lot of possibilities. My CJ LP 70S with KT 88S produces 70 wpc. I plan to swap the KT 88s for KT 120s. If i am not mistaken this should output 80 wpc or there abouts. This may be more than adequate !
ricred1
2,039 posts
 
Jfrech,

You have convinced me to listen to the Avior's...if they are "Significantly" better than the Sasha's I'm going to sell them and get the Avior's.
soix
9,530 posts
 
You should really contact Andy Payor at Rockport to see what he recommends both for power requirements and what he likes with the Aviors. Personally I wouldn't do anything until I heard them with my CJ gear and then go from there, which is probably what you're doing. If you like the CJ sound it's a little hard to think you'll like ARC or VTL, which in my experience are not as warm or romantic sounding as CJ gear. But then again who knows? I really liked the VAC idea mentioned above -- perhaps a nice middle ground between CJ and the others you mentioned. You probably know Andy uses Gryphon solid state Class A amps pretty extensively to voice his speakers (I think they may be his favorite amps), but I'm sure he must use some tube amps as well so would be interesting to see what those are just for reference. I heard the Altairs with some big Boulder Class A amps and the sound was pretty damn nice.

Anyway, fwiw and best of luck with your high-quality problem -- and congrats on a great pair of speakers.
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