Arkitekto Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 My Martin Logan Ascents go down to 1 ohm. If I use your amps, how will the sound be like? What are the electronic implications? (I'm an architect and I maybe able to understand a bit of techi buzz.) Thanks. P.S. Because of Krell/Levinson prices, I am considering your amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Our amplifiers? What ya mean by that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 With an impedance dip that low, only the very best amplifiers will drive those loudspeakers to their true potential. Otherwise they wont wake up and start wonderful. Electrostatic amplifiers love power. Think about amplifiers costing several times the price of the loudspeaker as a good match. Do not buy anything without seeing how it is rated at 4 ohms, even better yet, how is rated at 2-ohms (most amplifiers are not). A really good amplifier, which you need, will double its power into the lower rating. This mean it has great control over the impedance dips. It should be something like 100 watts into 8-ohms and 200 watts into 4 ohms. Think Krell or Pass, if the Klipsch amplifiers dont do it for you (dont know why they should, since Klipsch horns present an easy, but crtical laod for amplifiers, except quality is quality). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Arkitekto, Typically with Martin Logan speakers, the low impedance you mention is way up around 20Khz which there is typically very little sonic material at anyway. Most reasonable and competent amplifiers will handle the load they present at that frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 good point, I would want to see the impedance curve, but the electrostatics that I have seen can have some wild swings in them ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Consider this: With the MartinLogan Prodigys, the big Bryston made the MLs' ForceForward woofers blossom and become forceful and taut, while expanding their dynamic range. The 14B-SST's sonic character ranged from polite to powerful, but no simple profile emerged. In some instances, I loved what I heard; in others, I wasn't certain. Then I hooked up the Quad ESL-989s, which arrived near the end of my listening sessions. The 14B-SST and ESL-989s made a wonderful combination. The amp brought out the electrostatics' bass response, opened up the midrange, and delivered some of the most translucent, effortless highs I've heard in a long time. My notes: "This is a bridged circuit? The sonics aren't supposed to be this lovely, distortionless, clear, and neutral." The bass was outstanding. Whether driving the Quads or a purely dynamic system, the 14B-SST rendered fast, solid bass notes with great pitch definition. This was evident playing Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (tracks 3, 5, 7) and The Rite of Spring (tracks 21-24) from Eiji Oue's recording with Minnesota Orchestra (Reference RR-70CD). The bass whack at the end of track 7 shook the room before it shut off one of the Quads for 30 seconds, and forced me to back off the volume. Bryston 14B-SST power amplifier Larry Greenhill, November 2002 http://www.stereophile.com/printarchives.cgi?725 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 what is your budget for the amp? that will help narrow down the options...tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 I think you might also get good information by posting in the Aragon/Mondial forum further down the forums page. This one tends to focus on the Klipsch speaker line. Forgive me if you've already posted your query there, but I haven't got that far down the page yet DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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