Adding another ARC AMP to Tympani - D-400 or 2x 100.2 (SS) ..or 2x D-150 (tube) ??


Hello All. I have ARC PRE SP6 and D-250 Mk-ll tube AMP, but going for bi-amp now.

Current 2nd market offer here in Europe allows me to choose among these three (as of now).

D-400 would go on mid-bass (great to keep my valve sound on treble) and seem to be the most appropriate combo. Well, Keep in mind this is not the MK ll version (1993). (Does it matter??)

2x 100.2 (or D-150) would go on treble section. 150 offers tube coherence,  100.2 is possibly more reliable, modern and precise? (I never heard any, l just trust ARC Zunreservedly

My Tympani system has 6+4 panels, another reason to prefer the D-400 capacity?

In case, l can hold on waiting for st else, anyway keep in mind that my budget is 2-4000$ max.

Yes, l love funk music played aloud, and chamber music sometimes.
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With 6 + 4 panels, you may have the big daddy of the Tympani’s---the T-III. A rare beast, congratulations! If not, what are they---T-I’s or T-IV’s with extra bass panels? By the way, the mid-bass produced by Tympani’s (and bass down to almost 30Hz if the panels are braced) remains the most life-like I have ever heard, though Apogees---which I have never heard---are reported to also do bass very well. I gotta ask you: how are you running all those panels without bi-amping them?!

Are you currently satisfied with the D-250 in regard to midrange and highs? The solid state D-400 and paired D-100’s are better used on the bass panels, if you want to keep an all-ARC set-up. Why not, it’s a classic! The D-150 remains a particular favorite with ARC enthusiasts, as does the SP-10 (Brooks Berdan owned that combination until the end), but the D-250 is no slouch. So if you’re happy with the D-250, just add whichever bass-panel amp you prefer. Or, put the D-150 on the m/t panels, the D-250 on the bass. Those bass panels can eat as much power as you throw at them; Satie over on The Planar Speaker Asylum feeds his T-IV bass panels 2000 watts a side!

TY. I am going to get it done by pairing two T 1-D sets together. And yes, l will brace the 2 low-bass panels together. Then l will check for the most appropriate XO frequency (say 100 to 250 Hz), to get a T lll-b like sound .
Initially, l keep the internal XO between treble and high-mid.

The T-ID has 3 panels per side, so how do you end up with 6 + 4?

The x/o between the midrange driver and the tweeter is almost always left as is, though some fanatics replace the stock parts with boutique ones of the same value. Separating the mid from the tweet electronically (and amplifying them separately) doesn't afford any improvement over stock.

When I said brace the bass panels, I didn't mean to each other (thought that IS a good idea), but rather to the ceiling or back wall. Another way to do that is with the Mye stands Grant makes for the Tympanis. Not cheap, but real good.

Hello. In a way to go for deeper bass Extension, l just get rid of treble panels in the second set. (Easier to set, manage... and yes, l will brace them with a central beam, l can't manage rods to the wall...)

I found a discussion here (2008; sgr) with  MG proposing a trapezoidal setting with 2 pairs of loudspeakers. I will happily go for it.

I much appreciate your considerations about the internal crossover!  as a) EB21 is active on the bass end but passive on the hi end of spectrum; and b) power requirement is 80% or more dedicated to the bass section.
I just recapped mine.

Options remain open, whether to amplify the additional 4 mid-bass panels separately (4ohm) or in series with the existing ones (8ohm). And, at which cut-off (1000Hz, or less?)
Given the above considerations, and practicality , first option is simpler and better, l might say... so that the initial Tympani set is left as it is.
Initially, l was considering to add only 2 panels as sub-w below 100-150Hz, which means breaking panels and favouring only pumped up music vs musicality and ambiance...

TY  for your interest.  After 35 years, l smile every time Tympani get alive,  their sound is effortless all the time.