https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/710Wilfig1.jpg 2ohms in the bass power region with some - phase angle as well, is a hard load, these speakers need an amp >100w with good current delivery to get the best from in the bass. Look for an amps that "can
almost" double their wattage from 8ohm to 4ohm and again to 2ohms. Old big heavy Krells come to mind for s/h, and for new Parrasound Halo JC1 monoblocks. Big amps with bi-polar output stages, I would say first like the above, then mosfets, last tubes. Cheers George |
What about the ME amps, do they have the guts to drive these ?
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Michael Fremer drives Wilsons with DartZeel, he must know. If that's too much, old Krells should do it too, yeah. |
@kunalraiker
Depending on what you consider cheap. I suggest Vincent SP-998 Mono Blocks. Just fantastic driving my Revel Ultima Studios. Much better sounding than Krell's and ME driving the Revels. Would expect similar driving Sasha's.
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Bryston 3BST or 4BST is a very nice match as well.
Happy Listening!
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Theta Citadels as well work for wilson. 1.0s or 1.5s |
wilson speakers need power for the low impedances (check with
cust. support as well for the specific model), but they need a sweet sounding amplifier as well- dartzeel, VTL's (High wattage tube amps), etc.; ALSO, the best wire, the best preamp, the best sources, lots of matching the right components, etc. etc. etc. they are typically a non-forgiving product. the room and placement is also critical for the best results. the sound at the end of all of this work can be amazing though. Even the now-extinct watt-puppy can still
blow you away with the right set-up.
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One person's budget gear could be someone else's holy grail gear so some specificity would be helpful. That said, I think a pair of Mark Levinson No. 536 monos should be on the short list. Not sure those larger Vincent monos are available stateside but they should be awesome. I have one of their stereo hybrid amps (150wpc/300wpc) and I really love it. Have put it up against several more expensive (and more powerful) amps in my system and it held its own and in some cases even better. Very underrated brand here in US. |
Ncore Class D would be ideal. Also check out NuForce.
Best,
E
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Thanks for all the recommendations, the reason I ask the question was to know what everyone has tried. I currently have a ME850 amp which I used to use with my ATC SCM40’s. With the Sasha’s they seem to not require much volume pot to get to reference levels telling me they are more efficient than the STC’s but I also want to ensure their output profile is sufficient for the Sasha’s. Check the link for the specs and advise what you think. http://www.me-au.com/me850data2.jpg |
I've been driving my Watt/ Puppies with Krell for years. First with a KAV 500, then with FPB 750 monos. I think it's tough to beat the Wilson/ Krell combo! |
I currently have a ME850 amp I own 2 of these amps active bi-amped, and I can say one will drive the Sasha’s without even yawning. If you need to sweeten it a little get a tech to bias it up a little more from 8w Class-A to around 12-15w, fan are speed controlled according to heatsink temperature, but this is still dead quiet unless you put your ear up to the intake vents. http://www.me-au.com/me850data1.jpg Cheers George |
Thanks George, I need to get it serviced at some stage and might look at the bias adjustment then. |
The Sasha is easy to drive and if you like tubes, most any 100 watt tube amp will do the job with plenty of bass despite the low impedance at 80Hz.
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I have heard the same too, so a decent tube amp can keep the bass right and get the low freq? |
I have heard the same too, so a decent tube amp can keep the bass right and get the low freq?
Stereophile bench test: "
On the other hand, the Sasha's plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase (fig.1) reveals the speaker to be a demanding load for the partnering amplifier to drive. Not only does the impedance drop below 4 ohms for most of the lower midrange and upper bass, with a minimum value of 2 ohms at 86Hz, but there is also an amplifier-unfriendly combination of 3 ohms and –43° phase angle at 61Hz." Lower bass if you want it
kunalraiker clean, tight, rhythmic and punchy, you'll need an amp with current, sure a tube will work and mostly sound good, but the best will not be extracted from the Sasha's in the bass. That 3ohms with -43 degrees of phase angle will look like 2ohms to the amp that's driving them. Cheers George |
you'll need an amp with current,
What is meant by that? Enough current to drive the speaker? Or something else? We had no trouble getting excellent bass on the Sashas using our MA-1, which may or may not be a 'high current' amplifier, depending on what is meant. 'High current' tends to often be a bit misleading- see this article for more information: http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Common_Amplifier_Myths.php |
If I had a current hungry speaker and wanted to get decent results without remortgaging the house I would get a Sunfire load invariant amp. I have never owned any Wilson's though and probably never will. I typically wouldn't go for speakers that are tough to drive unless they were panels for the exact reason that I couldn't use the amplifiers that I would want to. |
Agree with atmasphere. Have heard Sasha's with ARC Tube Amps and they sounded very nice indeed.
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Have heard Sasha's with ARC Tube Amps and they sounded very nice indeed.
Like I said before: "Sure a tube will work and mostly sound good, but the best will not be extracted from the Sasha's in the bass." Cheers George |
@kunilraiker An ME850 will drive your Sashas, but IME there are Amplifiers that will sound much better. |
@kalali Yes the big Vincent Mono Blocks ARE awesome. Like your experience they have equaled or bettered some much more expensive/ highly regarded Amps. For the money they are outstanding.
Would love to audition the DartZeel's mentioned and some high end Pass Labs, but big $$$.
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"Sure a tube will work and mostly sound good, but the best will not be extracted from the Sasha's in the bass." What about a pair of ARC 250SEs driving them? Still the same opinion? I think not. |
An ME850 will drive your Sashas, but IME there are Amplifiers that will sound much better. I tried the Pass Labs Aleph yesterday and found the ME to sound better with more controlled bass. The ME sounds phenomenal but what I want to know which resonanably prices amps can sound better. |
The ME sounds phenomenal but what I want to know which reasonably prices amps can sound better.
There maybe amps that can sound better at a reasonable price, but they may not drive speakers such as these Sasha's in the bass like the ME can. But if you take the word "reasonable" out then yes there are amps that sound better and can drive the Sasha's as well. Parasound Halo JC1 Monoblocks come to mind, big Gryphon's ect. Cheers George |
@kunalraiker
It's difficult to answer when you still havn't given us an approximate amount of what you consider "cheap". Your "cheap" maybe completely different to another's "cheap." What Pre-Amp are you using? This could be a limiting factor. If your Pre-Amp is not up to it, it may be pointless getting new Power Amps. Where do you reside? You have been given some good suggestions so is there a dealer/retailer nearby you can borrow some of the suggested equipment? Or is there a Wilson dealer you can audition some Amps with the Sasha's?
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Thanks for trying to assist me. Budget is $10K for new but will look for something in the 5K mark if buying secondhand. Prefer something old and grunty. I do not have a Wilson dealer as Iam in Melbourne, Australia. So no demo can be arranged. The preamp that I use is ME14, see specs. http://www.me-au.com/me_14_data_2.jpg |
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That one Krell FPB-300c is Class A? |
That one Krell FPB-300c is Class A? Sort of, without the big heat penalty. As it has what’s called sliding bias or plateau biasing (class-A), which in layman’s terms, means it monitors the input music signal and raises and lowers the class-A bias automatically of the output stage accordingly. So there no wasted time and heat in class-A when there’s quiet passages, low volume or no music signal. Cheers George |
It plays always in Class A then, can it ever switch to Class AB ? |
It always tries to stay in Class-A without the heat penalty, unless you play Black Sabbath for the whole album at max level then it's going to get hot. But if you play quiet Chamber music, it's going to stay lukewarm.
Cheers George |
I run my Sophia,s with a Proceed Amp5, i love the fact that the proceed doubles wattage at 4, and assume beyond, it has decent power supply, ive been eyeing the HPA2 version.
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Try and get a Yamaha M 85 amplifier you can get them for a good price and they can be fully serviced.
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Hi Kunalraiker, I know that Rogue audio has a pair of their Apollo monoblocks hooked up to Sasha 2's in their listening studio. - they sound fantastic. www.rogueaudio.com |
I run my Sasha’s with a Zesto audio Bia. l have had the speakers for about eight years and I’ve tried many amps on them including VTL 300’s AR ref 110’s and 150’s and several others. The Zesto even though it’s 60 W per side sounds far more powerful and has no problem controlling the bass. It’s tight and controlled with a really sweet mid range and treble. Great combination in my opinion and available used for well under 10 grand. I use a AR 5se and a AR cd8 for the source and the pre-BTW |
I got the Krell KSA 200S,
I use a ME -15 preamp and it’s output impedance is 2 ohms will it work what the Krell? |
I believe my bass is getting rolled-off.
Not sure why.
The mids and treble sound amazing and the mid bass frequency has tightened up but the lows are what is the problem. |
Flip the Krell! McCormack DNA 500 comes to mind. Excellent reviews, lots of power (500 wpc in to 8ohms, 900 into 4 ohms) and only about $3k. Lows will no longer be a problem.
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I don't believe the Amp is the issue though so not keen to get rid of the Krell. |
I have the Krell FPB-250M monoblocs and have been told the Vincent SA-T7 preamp matches very well with it. |
"...with it", meaning with Krell amps in general.
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@kunalraiker The Sasha's are deserving of a much,much better Pre. than an ME! That is a hugely limiting factor. Get a much better Pre. before you can leap forward in sound quality.
Cheers.
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Anyone have any thoughts on two primaluna hp amps with Russian 150 tubes installed?
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Would Accuphase e-470 maybe fit the bill ? |
Again, despite the low impedance at 80Hz or so, the speaker is easy to drive. We got walloping bass using our MA-1 amplifier which is an OTL, which are not known for driving low impedance loads.
So if you have 100 watts of good quality, tube or solid state, you'll be able to make this work, unless you have a large room. It is sensitive to speaker cables though, so you may have to audition them to find a combination that works.
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