I know this is an old post, but I hope someone can help. I just picked up a pair of wp8 and am currently using with a CJ CT-5 pre-amp which is single-ended only, and a Spectron Premiere 7-7 channel amp.
I love the CJ, and want to keep it, but am considering selling my multi-channel Spectron. I would consider a high power tube amp (must be rca capable), Spectron mono-blocks, or any other experienced recommendation.
Thanks,
Brett
Any comments wouyld be greatly appreciated. |
Thanks guys. I contacted Martin Collms, of HiFiCritic, after he reviewed the WP8s and he very much favored high power/current Krell amps. Hes not a fan of any class D amps. He felt they lacked an organic completness to the sound, though he did not actually say he heard the Spectron amps. Of course the Spectrons don't use a switching power supply like most of the other class D amps use, do to the noise they add. My own experience with older Krell amps is that they have iron fisted control of the bass, but their midrange and high freqs may be a little lacking.
I dropped off my Premiere 7 at Spectron for a check up, and borrowed a T+A A1530R 170 watt stereo amp. I was very impressed and thought the combo sounded great, but knew when I got my Spectron Premiere 7 (one transformer per front channel) back, that it would vastly improve the WP8s. Well, I have to tell you after 2 hours of warm-up, and maybe several hours of listening, I did not have the same involvment in the music, possibly the lack of wine at the time. The Spectron was incredibly clean, fast with great frequency extension, but almost like analog compared to digital-there seemed to be a certain sterility that I did not notice with the T+A. Maybe Martin brainwashed me.
With that said, I have left the Spectron on all night and will do some more listening.
My plan is to sell the Premiere 7 and look at a pair of Musician III Mk2 Mono-Blocks, VTL 450, BAT 600, ARC, or Pass X350.5
QUESTION-I notice many of the higher end amps are XLR only. Can I use XLR to RCA adapters with little degradation to the sound, as my CJ CT-5 is single-ended only?
Any other input will be greatly appreciated. |
Perrew,
Unfortunately, the APL was reviewed poorly in 6 moons, especially in the bass, nor is it available to demo,so I have not pursued that. The Krells may have improved in the upper freqs, but class A generates too much heat for my un-airconditioned SoCal home. The T+A I borrowed sounded pretty good and I would imagine as Mono-blocks would sound even better, but as a relatively unknown, if I was unhappy down the road, I don't think the resale market would be very good.
Spectron has been very supportive, plus they are local, in the event of any problems. So, for now, I think the Musician III Mk2 w/v-caps mono-blocks, will be the path I take.
Thanks again,
Brett |
I was talking to one of my dealers and he suggested I try the EAR 890 tube amp. It's only 70 watts of class A power and can be used as 160 watt mono-blocks, but he thinks it would be more than enough for the WP8s. The reviews, though old, are very positive.
I've got nothing to lose and have always been intriged by the discussions of tube amps. I'll keep you posted on what I hear. |
Bigamp,
Thanks for your response. Yes, the T+A may have been holding back the WP8s, but they did sound better than the Spectron Premiere amp. I would guess the Musician III will outclass both of those amps.
I have heard good reports about the Atma-Sphere amps, not necessarily with the WP8s. Have you heard anything else since?
Lubes3 |
Has anyone heard about the McCormack DNA-750 Mono-Blocks? I guess they are made by Conrad Johnson, but I would guess similar to the DNA-500 with the benefits of 2 totally separate transformer/chassis with, maybe as much power, 750 watts/channel into 8 ohms, as the Spectron Musician III MK2 Mono-Blocks. No published specs on current delivery, though.
Another consideration for the Watt/Puppy8s.
Lubes3 |
OK Guys, I've had 3 hours with the McCormack DNA-750 Mono-Blocks (750 watts/ch into 8 ohms, 1000 watts/ch into 4 ohms) in my system, which consists of:
Conrad Johnson CT-5 Pre-amp
McCormack DNA-750 Mono-Blocks (Demo for a week)
McIntosh MVP-871 (Upgrade Company Modified) CD/SACD Player
Whest PS .30 RDT Phono Stage
VPI HW-19 MKIV TT w/TNT Platter/Bearing
JMW 10" w/Ortofon Jubilee
Crystal Cable and Transparent Audio Cables
Not sure how many hours are on these or if they are fully broken in yet, but they have a very smooth controled sound. Maybe not the last word in detail, but smooth, effortless, and tight/punchy bass. No solid state edge or grain. Very organic sounding, at least compared to my Spectron Premier. They develop very little heat, but are larger than the Spectron Musician III MK2.
My goal is to compare them to the Spectron Mono-Blocks and be done. Comments/questions are highly recommended regarding these high powered work horses.
Thanks,
Lubes3 |
Samhar,
I don't know if these have the current to control my Watt Puppy 8's woofers. They need to go into a fairly well ventilated cabinet(WAF), so I prefer amps that don't generate a lot of heat. I believe the DNA-750s operate in class AB and the Spectrons are digital, so neither generate much. The McCormacks were played pretty hard for about 3 hours last night and were barely warm to the touch. McCormack/CJ claim they only need 15 minutes to warm up. I cannot confirm that yet. But they created a very involved musical environment within the first hour. A second glass of wine may have also helped.
Again, I am initially pretty impressed. Plus, I found them for quite a bit less than the Spectrons.
Thanks for your responses,
Lubes3 |
Atmasphere,
In my conversations with Wilson, they currently use Spectral amps to design their speakers. Don't know what they did in the past. Wilson also said that because the WP8s dip to 2.3 ohms at 80 Hz, they will certainly benefit from a high current amp, especially if you like some high playback levels, which I do entertian on occasion.
The McCormacks are sounding better, as they only have about 20 hours on them now. My Wilsons now have about 100 hours, so they are loosening up, as well. Bass is getting better. Ray Brown Trio has such a deep organic bass, solid, tight, yet punchy with great low-end resonance. Piano is also fantastic. I don't notice any glassy highs on the 750s, just the contrary. Very smooth and maybe forgiving at the top, though, Cymbals may not have the last word in detail, and vocals may not be as silky smooth as I remember the Spectron, when running 4 channels into my PBNs. Again, only 20 hours on the 750s.
I'll get the Spectrons on Tuesday, and hope to compare by Thursday.Unfortunately out of town Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Talk to you then.
Lubes3 |
Hey guys. Just hooked the Spectron Musician III Mk2 Mono-blocks up for about 4 hours, so only initial observations. Contrary to what I thought I would hear, I prefered the highs on the Spectrons, cymbals/brushes sounded much more real. The McCormacks almost seemed rolled off but not as natural. Now the bass was just the opposite. They both played deep and powerful, but the bass of the McCormack had a more natural, woody, organic sound. Overall the Spectros seem to have higher resolution and the McCormacks seem more forgiving, maybe due to lower resolution.
Dob, I really don't look too much at specs to judge a piece of gear's sonics, but your quoted distortion figures could account for some of what I heard.
At this point I need to buy or return the McCormacks (they have about 75 hours now), but I'm not ready to make a decision yet, so I will return the McCormacks. I'm not counting them out, as I found them very musically engaging.
I have the Spectrons for 2 weeks, so I need to put some hours on them to form a better opinion of their sonics.
Till then--
Lubes3 |
2/16/10-Initial comparison:
I can only compare the new Musicians to the McCormack DNA-750 mono-blocks at this point. The highs are much better and more real, to me, on the Spectrons. The bass is very strong and powerful, maybe more so, on the Spectrons, but the McCormacks may have a more natural, organic bass. The midrange is, at this point, very similar, though I remember the Premiere, when bi-amped being smoother than both.
With that said, the Spectron Musicians are brand new, and may benefit from some burn-in time, as well as some isolation platforms.
2/20/10- Impressions-A few days later with Omicron Magic Dream Isolation on Spectrons (as I returned the McCormacks and could not compare Omicrons, but would assume both would benefit somewhat equally)
Yes, the Spectrons are sounding better everyday. The mids and highs are getting silkier with more air around the instruments and the bass is developing that natural organic extension I was looking for. I brought the McCormacks back to Katli Audio in Chino Hills. I was then heading to another dealer to pick up 2 Composite Products platforms for the Mono-Blocks. They retail for $550 ea, but I was getting a decent discount. I asked Fred, of Katli, what he uses. He showed me some Omicron Magic Dream-$130 for a set of 3. They create a floating platform (with no platform, just 3 "sticks", like Stillpoints, that I put under each amp and immediately I noticed a tighter deeper bass, better dynamics and better soundstage with more air around the instruments. I only listened for a half an hour, as my family wanted to see the movie Avatar. I will have to do more evaluations by switching my CP platforms with the Omicrons. Anyway, very impressive and much less than the Composite Products platform.
I probably keep at least 1 Spectron, depending on sound when I disconnect 1 and convert the other to a stereo amp. Great option.
Lubes3 |
I could have been very happy with the McCormacks with their errors of omission, but the Spectrons provided more information, with possibly less distortion. Both amps exceed the older Spectron Premier 7 in all aspects of music.
Several days later-
After installing the Omicrons, immediately I noticed a tighter, deeper bass developing that natural organic extension I was looking for, the mids and highs are getting silkier with more air around the instruments and the soundstage is improving in width and depth, with more air around the instruments, and better dynamics. I decided, after this, the Spectrons were the keepers. This was observed after only 4 hours of listening and maybe 60 hours on the amps, maybe 100 hours on the WP8s.
I checked out 1 Spectron amp in stereo mode, and thought the bass was solid, midrange smooth, and highs silky, but the overall impression was one of less impact and dynamics. The overall soundstage seemed smaller. It was missing something, almost like the speakers were out of phase, that I couldnt necessarily put my finger on. Upon reinsertion of the 2nd Spectron as Mono-Blocks, all that was missing returned.
The Spectrons are a proprietary Class D amp (no ICE modules) without a switching power supply with high power (over 1000 watts into 8 ohms as Mono-Blocks) and high current.(can deliver 65 amp peaks) They use a fairly traditional power supply, as they weigh around 65 lbs. each. Like the comp. they are small and fit in my wifes HT cabinet without generating any heat, and are very energy efficient only drawing 40 watts each at idle.
The WP8s now have close to 200 hours and are sounding fantastic. I have not had the dealer over yet to voice the system, as I wanted to settle on some amps and break in the WP8s first. Depending on the music, the WP8s disappear like no other speaker Ive had in my system. They are much smoother and more dimensional, as well. They also excel at producing the bass punch and slam I sometimes crave. However, they dont reproduce some of the lowest organ notes, like my PBNs did, but those frequencies are very rare. Overall, very happy with the WP8s.
Thanks again for all your advice.
Lubes3 |
