Aerial 7B amp recommendations

dpm2340 OP
Aerial 7B amp recommendations

If you look at the impedance graph of the 7B’s you’ll see they spend a lot of time where the power and current are needed from an amp, in the 3-4ohm region between 30hz to 500hz.
https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/A7bfig1.jpg
The amp that’s needed is one that is comfortable at 2-3ohms, and one that has good current delivery.

The stock DNA-1 will have no trouble, tested at:
191W into 8 ohms
352W into 4 ohms
510W into 2 ohms
Yours with an even bigger transformer, is better again.

And the DNA-1’s gain is very high, an input voltage of just 100mV in gives full 191w output, that and with 100kohms input impedance, this amp is begging for a good passive preamp.

Cheers George

Late to the discussion, but agree w/the last couple comments regarding jumpers. I tried several 5 to be exact .. (prices approximate)
- AntiCable level 2.1 about $50-
- an eBay audiophiles take on Dueland wire w/silver banana's, $99-
- Tuneful Cables, $50-
- Maze Audio reference $50-
- AntiCable Signature jumpers $175-

All were burned in 20-30 hours before my A/B'ing .. Hands down all the cable sounded more expansive and natural than compared to the brass straps on my 7b's.The Dueland audiophile made (brand forthcoming) were terminated w/silver solder and silver plated banana's. They were brighter, with good stage characteristics, balancing out the warmth of the Aerials, but left a huge dry gap in bass performance.
The Tuneful cables performed well but were not a standout.
Both version of the AntiCables offered the best overall performance, with the Signature version way outperforming all. Paul of AntiCable described to me a long search to find the right solder compound to terminate the his best wire to the spade/banana.

For background .. I am running the 7b's w/a Counterpoint NPS 400 (200 wpc @ 8ohm & 400 @ 4 ohms) recently re-tubed by Sam in Michigan w updated Silver level HiFi Tuning fuses (Directly fed by Oppo 205). With burn-in time it is a SWEET combination blowing my walls out with great depth and staging.
I do have to put a plug in for Bionic Wire InterConnect (Wow!) using XLR from Oppo to Counterpoint. Using Mosaic speaker cables, Shunyata everywhere (Python/Delta NR) except for a Darwin Cable Silver power cord into the amp .. replaced 1 of my Pythons nicely.

@adg101, thanks. Jumper straps were missing when I got the speakers. 

According to Stereophile measurements for both the 7B and DNA-1, your amplifier should have no trouble driving the speakers up to and near their full potential. Both were tested and measurements are all available online. That said, if you’re really itching for an amplifier upgrade, and depending on your budget (and your current preamp), a Krell FBP series amplifier may be an improvement.

@n80 If your cables are a biwire set as you mentioned you don’t use jumpers. A lot of people prefer to use a single run meaning amp and speaker end has only one set +/- and then use jumpers at the speakers. In your case make sure the metal jumper straps are removed on the speaker binding post.

@adg101, I do not completely understand the principle of bi-wiring but my speakers came with pre-configured Transparent brand "bi-wire". In other words there is one set of terminals at the amp end and two sets at the speaker end. The speaker has two sets of terminal connectors and the two sets of cable terminals are connected to those right to right side and left to left side.

With that being the case it is very unclear to me what additional purpose jumpers would serve. The Nordost article says it can make a difference but seems to suggest that is true only if your speakers have less than desirable crossovers. I'd be surprised if Aerial skimped on the crossovers.

thank you for input. I figured I was listening to about 75% of their capability with my amp.

I run my 7Bs with a Pass X250 and have used various other amps from 100, 150 and currently 250 wpc. Why experience with each jump up in power the 7Bs open up more and everything improves across the board. If you enjoy how they sound with your current amp, that’s really all that matters. The McCormack is a nice amp so I wouldn’t dump it for a lesser bigger amp.

If you don’t have the optional Sound Anchor stands they are a must. I run mine with single run cables and biwire with jumpers at the speakers. I found wire jumpers improved the sound over the stock metal straps. Experiment how you configure the jumpers as I found it does make a difference, although subtle but it does. Notdost Cables used to have guide on how to use jumpers which I followed and prefer, but again experiment.

https://nordost.com/downloads/NorseJumperinstructions.pdf

If you don’t have a dedicated power circuit to your system you may be surprised how much that will help your amp along with a decent power cable suited for a power amp and a hospital grade or better receptacle. Doing this was one of the biggest improvements I heard through my 7Bs, as if my amp was starving for power.

Congratulations on your new set up and especially your 7Bs.

The Aerial/McCormack combos was one of my favorite pairings in regard to sound.

Unless your room is huge or absorbs sound or you listen at insane levels (or a combination of the above) you should have no problem.

I’m currently using an Aragon 4004 mk. II which has more “oomph” but the McCormack is audibly more refined.

Hope this helps!

DeeCee

P.S., Aerials LOVE power, so if you have the opportunity, go nuts!

I have those speakers but I can’t help you in regard to what is enough. I inherited mine along with a Proceed HPA2 which is 250 wpc. They sound amazing to me but I have nothing to compare with what I’ve got. I’ve always heard that these speakers need a good bit of muscle behind them.

I’m not an experienced audiophile but I love these speakers.

I’m not prepared to speak about various cables either but the person who originally had my system seemed to think it important and spent big bucks on cables.

From the reading I have done the person whose system this was did a great deal of research in regard to matching components for these speakers. The pre-amp is an AR LS-16. Cables are Transparent Super Bi-Wire.

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you pay for yours and what finish do they have.