Amp For Kinergetics SW800 s


I am in the process of adding SW800's along-side my CLS's and need to find an amp(s) to drive them. I'm driving the CLS's with a Mesa Baron (a wonderful amp for these speakers; better in fact than several more costly pieces I auditioned in-system).

The only extra amp I have on hand in an old (original generation, circa early/mid 80's) Adcom GFA 555. The amp that just won't die. Now I'm kicking myself for selling the DNA1 Deluxe when I bought the Baron, but I hadn't found the SW800's at that point.

For the long haul, what does your collective experience and wisdom suggest as a long term amp for the SW800's? They have a nominal 1.6 ohm load. This isn't a "money is no object" situation as there are several other things I'd like to do within my system. On the other hand, reviewers while praising the "mini-Statement" set up to high heaven also stated that these subs are extremely revealing of amp quality.

Some that crossed my mind... OCM 500, B&K Sonata M200's, Counterpoint SA220. Any ideas? Also, should I stick with solid state for the subs?

Thanks in advance.
jim
Sean, what you are saying about bridging into low impendance makes sense. Also, I forgot about Perreaux. I remember these from my Apogee days -- never owned them but two of my partners in crime did. Don't remember the specific models but they drove Duetta's and Stages, respectively, with no problems -- loads of headroom and very stable into low impedance loads. Not sure if many are up for sale, though.

I think I'll take you up on your offer regarding the Adcom. If I can make this work in the interim I'll be one happy camper, since I already have the amp on hand. I'll get in touch during the week. Thanks for your help.
Yeah, Doug, I do need lira for my cross and serpent "dependents". Today's project is to remove the Euro pipes and put the cat back on -- registration time again.

I don't doubt that the old Adcom can drive these puppies, and that's where I'll start. Old reviews say that these subs really give off major sonic differences depending on amplification. I'll let you know how it goes.
From my experience and what most manufacturers say, running bridged amps into very low impedances is a big no-no. While i know guys that have done it, your speakers would present a pretty demanding load under those conditions. In effect, bridged amps see half of the "nominal" impedance that the speakers really are. In this case, a bridged amp would be seeing well under a 1 ohm load. This is a tough task for ANY amp to deal with on a long term basis, especially if you get into high volume demands. Keep in mind that you also have a lot of reflected EMF from all of those woofers, so whatever you run should be able to cope with that if you want to keep all of those drivers under control. I have a set of speakers that measure 1.1 ohm nominally, are about 82 db's efficient and have played with dozens of amps. I also have a set of subs that use four 12's per channel with a low impedance that i've used all of the following amps on. Depending on the specific tonality that your after, i know that the older Perreaux PMF-2150 and 3150's can easily cope with those conditions. The guy that i bought my first 3150 from was actually using it to drive a set of those Kinergetics subs. The 3150 has far more oomph on the extreme bottom end with the 2150 offering a little more definition but not nearly as much impact. Others that have worked well with the aforementioned speakers were Classe' ( tight but somewhat lean ), any of the 3 different Sunfire models that i own ( never stressed or strained sounding ), Kinergetics Platinum 202 Mono Blocks ( neutral with good extension ), my little Forte' 3's and 6's ( the 3 is VERY lite but quick while the 6 is more full bodied ), etc... Off the top of my head, amps that did not do very well were a Bryston 4B ( easily clipped ) and an Adcom 5800 ( quite bloated and indistinct ) and a Hafler DH-500. The advantage that the Sunfire's have over all of these other amps is that they run cool as a cucumber under any circumstances. While i have never run any of these, the Aragon's and Eagle's are known for having very good bass response so you might want to consider those too. I would assume that the bigger Threshold amps would be fine candidates also. If your not looking to spend a bunch of money right now, i would look into adding more filter capacitance to the Adcom's power supply and "fine tuning" it for the frequency range that you plan to run it on. In other words, heavy internal wiring from the amp boards to the binding posts, heavier power cord to minimize voltage sag from the wall, etc... All of this could be done for under $100 if you shop around. Should you need help locating parts to do this with, email me and i can turn you onto some good sources. Hope this helps. Sean
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it's hard for me to imagine the gfa555 woodn't be adequate w/these subs. have ya tried it yet? as these tings can be bought/sold all day long for ~$400, why not get another one & run 'em as bridged-mono amps? this set-up works great om my vmps larger subs... and, yule save some green for those alfas! ;~)

regards, doug

Thank for reminding me, Gasman. I happen to have that TAS issue but haven't referred to it for these speakers. I had been primarily relying on Jack English's 1992 review which gave very specific informantion regarding set up.

Gary, are you using the same five, ten inch drivers per enclosure set up as I have? How do you have them set up with your Aerius' in terms of positioning and lsitening position?

Thanks for the reponses.
I am currently using a pair of NAD 214's bridged mono with the Kinergetics SW800 mini's and ML Aerius. They work great and run very cool.
There is a review of the SW800 system in "The Absolute Sound"
Issue #94 (Spring '94), with a very comprehensive look at their use with the CLS speakers. They recommended a solid state amp (they used Bryston 7B monoblocks), but other Bryston amps would be a good match; the more wattage the better.