What DAC & Amp are you using with Heritage Speakers

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 3/26/2023 at 7:59 PM, Seadog said:

dbx 3BX-DS expander

 

Still have mine in the loop ..

Seem to have dissapeared off even the Used Market. 🧐

[Bubba_Buoy]

Chorus 2 with Titanium tweeter and re-done crossover. 

Denafrips Ares 2 DAC

Rogue Audio "Medusa" Amp w/vintage Mullards

 

[RickD]

This may be a bit off topic but I'll see if I can get away with it. My system consists of modified Khorns with ALK extreme slope x-over networks, Volti's wooden mid-range horn with BMS drivers and DE-120 w/SMAHL lenses. I have a McIntosh MA-352 integrated amp and an RME DAC 2 FS. Streaming is done via mini PC.  I am about to upgrade my DAC and I am wondering if I should upgrade my XLR cables? I am currently using a $17 set bought on amazon. Audioquest cables start at $300 and go up from there.

 

Is that money well spent?

[ssh]

RickD, check out Blue Jeans cables.

SSH

[Fido]

On 7/16/2023 at 10:50 AM, ssh said:

RickD, check out Blue Jeans cables.

SSH

-0-

Edited July 31, 2023 by Fido

[ChrisK]

Dac - Benchmark DAC 2

Pre - Benchmark LA4

Amps - 2 Mcintosh MC225's

 

Pretty darn happy.

 

Don't know why my system hasn't updated in my profile. It displays correctly when I view my profile page, but does not when I post.

[Boston Chris]

 

Qobuz to Blusound Node Streamer to

Audio Mirror Tubadour DAC to

Line Magnetic integrated amp LM-210 IA (300B SET) to

Heresy III pair (while dreaming of La Scala)

(P.S. you can ignore Schitt EQ and box for individual channel gain 🙂)

 

[Islander]

On 5/27/2023 at 5:40 PM, Smitty8451 said:

I have kind of an oddball setup as I use balanced matrix switches for all my sources so I can send my dac to all my systems being fed by the following;

-Oppo Hap HA-1 DAC with the following inputs

— Oppo BD-95

—Sonos Port

—TEAC PD-501 CD Player

—Sony HAPZ1-ES

 

System 1

-Yamaha CX-5200

- ATI AT-2007 (7 Channels 200W)

- ATI AT 2004 (4 channels 200W)

- Oppo BDP-205

 

System 2

- Rogue Audio Pharoah

 

System 3

 

- Luxman Cl-38uC

- Rogue ST-100 AMP

 

System 4

 

_ Rogue Audio RP-7 preamp

- Rogue Audio Atlas magnum II

 

System 5

 

Yamaha RX-A5000 preamp

Elekit TU-8800 amp

‘This is all feeding 2 LA Scala AL5 speakers, except when using system 1, then a center La Scala AL5 and ForteIV’s for surround duty kick in.

Nice.  How much difference do you notice when you change to another power amp?  Have you found a favourite yet?  Isn't it amazing how your La Scala AL5s can sound so good with so many different power sources?  They're not too fussy about how much power they get, as long as it's clean and quiet.  I've driven my La Scala IIs/AL4s with a Yamaha RX-V750 AVR (2006-2007), then a Yamaha MX-D1 power amp with the RX-V750 preamp (2007-2008), then two MX-D1s (bi-amped, still with the RX-V750 preamp (2008-2016), then two MX-D1s with a Yamaha RX-A2060 AVR preamp (2016-present).

 

The Rx-V750 had 100 Wpc, the MX-D1 has 500 Wpc, and of course the pair of amps make 1000 Wpc available to the speakers.  Obviously, with the very high sensitivity of the AL4s, most of the time the amps' output is just a few watts, even while playing pretty loud, which means that the amps are always running in their optimum and linear range, with minimal distortion and noise.  The system doesn't need that much power, but I like the clean and quiet sound of the MX-D1 power amps, and since they were a halo/statement product, they only came in one size, powerful enough to drive any speaker they were connected to.  They're also compact, with a low profile of only 3 inches/75 mm tall, so they don't visually dominate the electronics stand.  Each channel has its own power supply, so they're dual-mono amps, rather than stereo.  This really lowers the crosstalk specs, but I'll stop now before I recite the whole sales brochure.  Bottom line is that they make me happy.

 

Every step brought a noticeable improvement in clarity, imaging, detail retrieval, and overhead, but that any step beyond this will be expensive and produce minimal improvements, so this will be the configuration of the system for some time yet.

[the real Duke Spinner]

4 hours ago, Islander said:

Nice.  How much difference do you notice when you change to another power amp?  Have you found a favourite yet?  Isn't it amazing how your La Scala AL5s can sound so good with so many different power sources?  They're not too fussy about how much power they get, as long as it's clean and quiet.  I've driven my La Scala IIs/AL4s with a Yamaha RX-V750 AVR (2006-2007), then a Yamaha MX-D1 power amp with the RX-V750 preamp (2007-2008), then two MX-D1s (bi-amped, still with the RX-V750 preamp (2008-2016), then two MX-D1s with a Yamaha RX-A2060 AVR preamp (2016-present).

 

The Rx-V750 had 100 Wpc, the MX-D1 has 500 Wpc, and of course the pair of amps make 1000 Wpc available to the speakers.  Obviously, with the very high sensitivity of the AL4s, most of the time the amps' output is just a few watts, even while playing pretty loud, which means that the amps are always running in their optimum and linear range, with minimal distortion and noise.  The system doesn't need that much power, but I like the clean and quiet sound of the MX-D1 power amps, and since they were a halo/statement product, they only came in one size, powerful enough to drive any speaker they were connected to.  They're also compact, with a low profile of only 3 inches/75 mm tall, so they don't visually dominate the electronics stand.  Each channel has its own power supply, so they're dual-mono amps, rather than stereo.  This really lowers the crosstalk specs, but I'll stop now before I recite the whole sales brochure.  Bottom line is that they make me happy.

 

Every step brought a noticeable improvement in clarity, imaging, detail retrieval, and overhead, but that any step beyond this will be expensive and produce minimal improvements, so this will be the configuration of the system for some time yet.

Transients can demand 1000 watts let's say if your power supply falls flat,so will your music ....I noticed a difference going to a Crown MacroTech, from the MicroTech ...It was worthwhile

[Smitty8451]

It’s not so much the power in the amps, it’s the sound.  For movies I use system 1 and it conveys the movies dramatic highs and lows very well, for music it tends to be very clinical in sound presentation, I usually opt for all channel stereo mode and have it playing as background music when doing other things.  System 2 is used for those nights when I just want it loud, usually on a Friday night after a long hard day and crank up some AC/DC or Iron Maiden and such, the Pharoah with its tube input stage and SS amp stage can really rock stereo in my La Scala’s.  System 3, and 4, ah, that’s the sweet spot and really depends on what I’m playing, 3 for vinyl and 4 for digital source with it being all tube pre and tube amp it adds warmth and depth to my music and the Atlas and ST-100 being no slouch in the power department.  It’s amazing how well the Luxman and Rogue gear sound together.  System 5 is for low level listing 60-70db and the Elekit is my midrange baby, it’s like adding an old school loudness curve but preserves just the right amount of highs to really bring out the dynamics of the music.  My other sources not listed in my previous post are:

 

Tecnics SL-1210G with AT-9XI cart

Tavish Adagio Phono preamp and Tube Power supply

Sony HapZ1-ES

Music Hall MMF 7.1 with Ortofon 2M Black LVB

Project Phono Box RS

Parks Audio Puffin

Oppo BDP-95 (cd and Sacd playback)

 

 

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 7/16/2023 at 1:09 PM, RickD said:

This may be a bit off topic but I'll see if I can get away with it. My system consists of modified Khorns with ALK extreme slope x-over networks, Volti's wooden mid-range horn with BMS drivers and DE-120 w/SMAHL lenses. I have a McIntosh MA-352 integrated amp and an RME DAC 2 FS. Streaming is done via mini PC.  I am about to upgrade my DAC and I am wondering if I should upgrade my XLR cables? I am currently using a $17 set bought on amazon. Audioquest cables start at $300 and go up from there.

 

Is that money well spent?

Do not spend tons of money on Cables ...As I have posted before...in years of Studio work I have yet to see any fancy audio Cables If they are not needed to record your music, why would they be needed for playback ??

It's Marketing and Ego driven

A friend bought some $300 interconnects

Claims they made a difference

Yea ..To his wallet. 😀

[henry4841]

Guys with those high powered amps, our speakers only need a couple of watts. Most listeners never exceed the 1watt window. Easy to check with VOM if you disagree. If you perceive a better sound with an amplifier with more watts it is not the quantity of watts but the quality of the first few watts that is making the difference in sound. Those with an electronic lab can verify wattage used with a scope easily. Nelson Pass of Passlabs and Firstwatt has proven this in his lab with an oscilloscope set for a 1 watt window for years with less efficient speakers than our horns. The hype spread by manufacturers of more is better is just that, a fallacy to promote their products. 

 

Now if you have some of those old Bose 901's you will notice a difference in sound going from a 100 watt amplifier to a 200 watt one. I know this from experience and not theory but with speakers that exceed 100db with a watt, gobs of power is just wasted.  With our speakers we are able to use those quality built SET tube amplifiers other speakers cannot reach their full potential with along with the better sounding low wattage class A SS amps. 

 

To put it another way, how is 100 watts or more over what what you are actually using going to make the sound better? Just last week I measured an average use with my LaScala's at what most would call loud music with less than 1/3 watt. Never exceeding 1 watt on peaks. 

[Islander]

On 7/16/2023 at 10:09 AM, RickD said:

This may be a bit off topic but I'll see if I can get away with it. My system consists of modified Khorns with ALK extreme slope x-over networks, Volti's wooden mid-range horn with BMS drivers and DE-120 w/SMAHL lenses. I have a McIntosh MA-352 integrated amp and an RME DAC 2 FS. Streaming is done via mini PC.  I am about to upgrade my DAC and I am wondering if I should upgrade my XLR cables? I am currently using a $17 set bought on amazon. Audioquest cables start at $300 and go up from there.

 

Is that money well spent?

 

Check out Mogami cables.  They're made in Japan and are used in many studios.  They're relatively inexpensive, but are very good quality.  I got my Mogami XLR cables at a Guitar Center when I bought the Dx38 and I was pleased at how little they cost.

 

It's interesting to see how much cheaper stuff is at music shops, compared with the prices at hi-fi shops.  It was an eye-opener for me.

[KT88]

22 hours ago, Islander said:

 

Check out Mogami cables.  They're made in Japan and are used in many studios.  They're relatively inexpensive, but are very good quality.  I got my Mogami XLR cables at a Guitar Center when I bought the Dx38 and I was pleased at how little they cost.

 

It's interesting to see how much cheaper stuff is at music shops, compared with the prices at hi-fi shops.  It was an eye-opener for me.

Same observation in my country. Compare also prices for RCA, XLR, banana plugs for DIY soldering etc. 

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 5/30/2023 at 12:58 PM, the real Duke Spinner said:

Still have mine in the loop ..

Seem to have dissapeared off even the Used Market. 🧐

People will he horrified at this

However I use a dBX subharmonic Synth

And a 3 BX dynamic range expander And.  ...... I worked in several Studios. 😀

One never knows who has been tinkering with the music you are listening to. ,😀

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 7/23/2023 at 8:34 AM, henry4841 said:

Guys with those high powered amps, our speakers only need a couple of watts. Most listeners never exceed the 1watt window. Easy to check with VOM if you disagree. If you perceive a better sound with an amplifier with more watts it is not the quantity of watts but the quality of the first few watts that is making the difference in sound. Those with an electronic lab can verify wattage used with a scope easily. Nelson Pass of Passlabs and Firstwatt has proven this in his lab with an oscilloscope set for a 1 watt window for years with less efficient speakers than our horns. The hype spread by manufacturers of more is better is just that, a fallacy to promote their products. 

 

Now if you have some of those old Bose 901's you will notice a difference in sound going from a 100 watt amplifier to a 200 watt one. I know this from experience and not theory but with speakers that exceed 100db with a watt, gobs of power is just wasted.  With our speakers we are able to use those quality built SET tube amplifiers other speakers cannot reach their full potential with along with the better sounding low wattage class A SS amps. 

 

To put it another way, how is 100 watts or more over what what you are actually using going to make the sound better? Just last week I measured an average use with my LaScala's at what most would call loud music with less than 1/3 watt. Never exceeding 1 watt on peaks. 

One Word

TRANSIENTS

I have used a Digital graphing multimeter on my set up

Transients can demand 100x your average power

I am sure that I posted a picture of my ancient QuickSilver FF preamp

It has enough power supply capacitors to be a power amp. 😀

[the real Duke Spinner]

Just to pile on here ...

Just how much Power do You imagine a 24" kick drum demands instantaneously.  ??

Not posted to argue ...Rather to show things not considered 

Why ..

Do cheap Chip Amps sound Flat.?

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 7/16/2023 at 1:09 PM, RickD said:

should upgrade my XLR cables? I am currently using a $17 set bought on amazon. .

 

Is that money well spent?

No

[henry4841]

43 minutes ago, the real Duke Spinner said:

One Word

TRANSIENTS

I have used a Digital graphing multimeter on my set up

Transients can demand 100x your average power

I am sure that I posted a picture of my ancient QuickSilver FF preamp

It has enough power supply capacitors to be a power amp. 😀

When you are only using a few milliwatts of power even with a 2 watt amplifier you have plenty of headroom for transients. Anyway oscilloscopes show transients and Nelson has proved in his lab multiple times to non believers using his conventional speakers that the signal stays in the one watt window and it is loud in a big listening room. 

 

The fact is in this discussion of needing tons of power with our speakers is plain BS by those selling those big amplifiers. Auditoriums were filled with sound with horns and 5 watt tube amplifiers for decades before SS was even heard of. With the transients others on this forum always bring up. I do not care to convince anyone knowing the truth myself but it is annoying hearing this over and over.

 

  All this said if someone wants to shell out money for high power amps I say go for it. If the first watt sounds great all is good but you will be wasting money on watts that will never be used. One of the best amps on my speakers I have heard was with a 1 watt amplifier. 

[M.Att]

On 4/6/2023 at 11:08 PM, Invidiosulus said:

Aiyima T8 DAC/preamp > Aiyima A07 amp > Heresy 1.

 

I’ve got some NOS GE 5670W tubes on the way to try in place of the Russian 6N3P tube that comes with the DAC.

 

The A07 amp sounds great on the Heresy's and I tried it on the modded LS in the living room and it sounded great there as well.

 

This is replacing a Yamaha RX-V565 which just sounded thin and clinical by comparison to the A07.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm also running my KP2500's with the A07 and using my laptop's 11-band EQ to tame the midrange.   There is a bit of noise in the A07 if I turn it up, but when kept at low power it's a great little amp.  I have a Topping PA5 which is incredibly quiet, I was using that on the KPs for a bit, but switched back to the A07.  (The Topping is for my bookshelf/desktop DIY Classix 2 speakers)