Hope you are enjoying your 250Ti/Electrocompaniet Combo?. I have been driving my 250Ti's with a Plinius SA250/IV. Fantastic combo especially in Class A mode. The amount of grip the Plinius has on the 250Tis is phenominal. Previously i was using a 200W/ch Perreaux. The Plinius was a major step up. |
Thanx for all your responses gentlemen but I've made my choice. Electrocompaniet NEMO just arrived together with Electrocompaniet 4.8 preamp. I was tempted by McIntosh but the ridiculous prices here in Moscow (think 50% higher than US price) and the rather unpleasant current ruble-dollar exchange rate made me choose Electrocompaniet which I got a great deal on. I will report on my impressions in a few days. |
To be honest my experience with mcintosh amps is not that good. I heard them at shows a couple of times and one time I visited someone who had a pair of mac mono blocks. They all sounded warm and veiled to me. A bit like older tube amps. The audiophile I was visiting has a ML 380S pre amp and mac mono blocks. But the sound was so dull and lifeless. I was there to buy his speakers, and when I hooked up my own amp a mere 100watt integrated amp the speakers came alive and there was music.
Now maybe I just heard some badly match systems but while I like the mac looks I don't think I will ever consider buying a mac amp. |
Fm acoustics fm-811, reyaudio, mc2 mc-1250, mc2 mc-750, electrocompaniet the very old version, all are better than the choices above mentioned. |
I think you are just worrying too much, the 250ti isn't a particularly hard speaker to drive. I had a pair for years and drove them with a Sansui G-9700, PS200/400 Crowns, Carver M1.5T, Pass XA30.5, XA60.5, and X260.5 plus probably some stuff I'm forgetting. |
Well, I had to abandon my idea of goin' Mac since the McIntosh prices here in Moscow are ridiculous even with all the discounts that I can get. I'm picking up a used Electrocompaniet Nemo (600/1200/2400 watt top monoblocks) with 4.8 preamp as well as Electrocompaniet EMC-1 UP CD player for less money than McIntosh MC452/C2300/MCD500 combo would cost me. And if one day I'm not happy with my JBLs and want to switch back to B&W I can just get 800 Diamond and don't worry about the amplification one bit since Nemos can drive ANYTHING on this Earth. |
the Krell will for sure drive it and give it an authority, but the McIntosh is the best overall balance sound for the JBL.....hard to say why..... |
What about Krell? I always lusted for a monster like FPB 600. Would it be a nice fit? An overkill? |
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BUMP! At the moment I'm choosing between Mac 452 and Electrocompaniet 250 or maybe 400. Any opinions? |
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What do you guys think of Electrocompaniet for these JBLs? |
Autoforms in Mcintosh amplifiers give the end user the option to match low impedance curve speakers to the amplifier autoformer transformer and be able to operate the amplifier safely. As far as sound quality with Autoformers thats a whole other debate on AK you can read about.
I think matching a speaker to an Mc autoformer amplifier becomes a little more experimental for optimum sound. You need to spend time taping your speakers to the different terminals and listening for the best results.
I have heard of some owner bi-wiring in this example - taking two of the four speaker wires, taping to the 4 ohm terminals/com & connecting one set of terminals at the speaker - taking the other two speaker wires, taping them to the 8 ohm terminal/com & connecting to the other set of terminals at the speaker. I only read about this and I would get more guidance from Mcintosh before attempting this.
Autoformers add additional cost to the amplifier. I think you would be better off putting more $ in clean power than having an autoformer type power amplifier. JBL was never know to build low impedance speakers and if anything were always very stable and built for gobs of power.
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Thanx! It's strange I always thought the opposite - that autoformers work great if the impendance is stable at 4 or 8 Ohms for example and don't work so nice with a heavy load like B&W (my 6900 went to powerguard with 802D's several times a day and generally sounded like crap - the same amp gave me tons of pleasure with JBL L150). |
I didn't think autoformers were used until the Mc2500 or 2600 in the bigger industrial look amps and I'm not sure about any of the blue meter Mc amps
As far as the matching Ohm outputs that would be the different locations where the power transformer is taped from not necessarily an autoformer. It would be more common to see multiple tap locations on tube amplifiers than solid-state.
My Mc-3500's have even more tap positions than the 2300 but they were for industrial applications rather than for sound reproduction
I'm not saying the Autoformer is better or not for sound reproduction. All I'm saying is I dont prefer it if your speaker system has a stable impedance curve like your 250Ti
If you are driving a pair of electro-stats or maggies that can dip below 1 ohm in certain frequencies then an autoformer will benefit you a lot. A levinsen krell and the likes are really not meant to drive any impedance's below 2 ohms and really need to be 4 ohms or higher.
You're asking for amps that will drive your JBL 250Ti speakers. I'm just giving you more options and what to expect on performance. I'm definitely don't want to start a debate on Autoformer or no Autoformer or MC vs Levinson Krell Pass and so on
Its all great equipment solid craftsmanship engineering but they all have strengths and weaknesses. There is more to mating a speaker to an amplifier. Understanding the principles of what a speaker needs to preform at is peak will help you make a wise amplifier purchase for your speaker. |
Apachef1, but 2300 has all the different Ohm outputs just like typical autoformer Macs? Are you sure it's not autoformer? And if autoformer Macs were not a good match for JBLs why so many people use them together? Because they look cool together? I certainly didn't find Macs to be a good match for B&Ws (and many people swear by this combo). |
Autoformer is going to be more circuitry to the amplifiers design and signal path. The 250Ti should not have any wild impedance curves not sure if they are 8 or 4 ohm load. Some reason 6 ohms comes to mind. In any event they do need power so your options will be a Mcintosh amp 300+ watts/ch or a lower powered (200+w/ch) higher current amp like a levinson krell and so on.
My experience with the high current/headroom type amplifier is that they will give you better bass control. Much tighter bass and midrange is clean and crisp from this type of amp. The 250Ti from what I remember was not your typical JBL monitor west coast sound but a neutral balanced sound.
Mc-2300 are not an autoformer type amplifier. I'm not a big advocate of the autoformer for the reason I stated.
This amp seems to have endless power for whatever reason. they have a very similar sound to my Mc-3500's Good candidate for your 250Ti |
It's rather confusing - do I need the high current traditional amp like Krell or Mark Levinson or does the autoformer Mac do? |
I would use McIntosh amps....... |
I responded to your post on AK for a Mac amp. For other potential amplifiers you may want to consider an with a higher current high headroom amp like a Mark Levinson 23.5 or a Jeff Rowland model 5. Super high current and I think better bass control. Both can be had at a more manageable price point |
you should use Reyaudio mono amps(top model) never heard thise jbl's better period. |
