I'm thinking about ditching my amps and cables and just buying an active speaker with a balanced input. I have a Krell 2250 and a pair of 140 watt Atma-sphere MA-1MKII. I desperately need speakers and cables, but not sure if I want to go through the bother (and expense) of finding the perfect matching set.
Should I go with a speaker & amp that are already matched or keep building my system like a bespoke smorgasbord?
"Next I'm going to throw my Braun L200s onto of my ADS810s and run them in parallel to get to 16 Ohms."
As Almarg pointed out, series rather than parallel connection will give you a nominal 16-ohm load (assuming the Braun and ADS are both 8-ohm loads).
One thing you need to be aware of: Unless the impedance curves of two speakers connected in series are very similar if not identical, their impedance curves will modulate one another's frequency response. I have designed speakers with series connection in mind, and the specifics of both speakers' impedance curves matter, FAR moreso than when paralleling speakers.
You don't have to go with expensive speakers to get really excellent sound from a system with MA-1s. Toss out a ballpark price range and see what bounces back. Or maybe run the question past the OTL forum over on Audio Asylum.
You've got a really nice amp you seem to like, and although going active has some practical and potentially sonic benefits you'd really be limiting your choices. Lots of great speakers you could pair your amp with, and I'll throw Joseph Audio, Reference 3A, and Vandersteen on the pile. I wouldn't sweat cables too much. With your amp and good speakers you'd have to try hard to make it sound bad. If you dread going to dealers for that stuff, places like Triode Wire Labs, Morrow, and Grover Huffman among others make good cables and offer generous trial periods where your arse would never need to leave the house. Anyway, best of luck.
Rogerstillman, FWIW the MA-1s are perfectly comfortable driving 8 ohms and even 4 ohms in some cases- which is why they work nicely on Sound Labs and Quads.
Active is a safer bet if like what you hear and you don't know what to do to do better otherwise.
You are starting with some good building blocks for sure, but there is more to getting good results than the parts that go into it. I'd consult with some vendors/experts on teh products you already own and see what might happen.
Some people find the smorgasbord method to be a fun activity. Invite friends over, spend a few hours swapping cables in and out the system, do some critical listening and share some alcoholic beverages. You could get into an engaging argument about midrange liquidity or holographic cohesion. Does that sound like fun to you?
Alternatively, you could get a system like the Linkwitz Orion where the loudspeaker designer actually specifies what amplifier and cables the loudspeaker should be used with. The designer makes the argument that his loudspeaker do not require exotic cables or amplifiers. If you are more knowledgeable about amplifier/loudspeaker interaction than Siegried Linkwitz you'll be able to achieve superior results by carefully mixing and matching random components in an open ended system.
You could even go further along the line of system integration with the Grimm LS or the Steinway Lyngdorf S series products. Both integrate digital converters, source selection, power amplifiers, loudspeakers and cables into easily setup sound systems. I am told that both of these are top of the food chain type products. Both Grimm and SL started out as digital processor makers and then hired top designers to assists in other areas of design and manufacture.
The primary advantages of active loudspeakers is that they move the crossover from amplifier output level to line level and the load the amplifier will drive is a known factor. Basically less of your amplifier's power is not thrown away and the amplifier works into an optimal load. The execution of these concepts can be cheaply done with many corners cut or they can be done in a state of the art fashion.
Next I'm going to throw my Braun L200s onto of my ADS810s and run them in parallel to get to 16 Ohms.... Actually, I only get to 12 Ohms with the ADS & the Braun, but its a step in the right direction...
For the two impedances to add, the speakers have to be connected in series, not in parallel. Based on a quick Google search, it appears that the L200 and 810 have nominal impedances of 4 ohms and 6 ohms, respectively. In parallel that combination would have an overall nominal impedance of (4 x 6)/(4 + 6) = 2.4 ohms.
Also, using non-identical speakers in series is usually a recipe for poor sonics, as their differing impedance curves will cause the voltages supplied by the amp to divide up between them differently at different frequencies.
I have a small pair of swans (w/seas drivers) bookshelves hooked up to my Krell. I'm going to move those to a third system: CJ-PV12 driving an NAD C272.
Next I'm going to throw my Braun L200s onto of my ADS810s and run them in parallel to get to 16 Ohms.
Then I'm going to move my James S82 Loudspeakers to my Krell system.
That's the best I can do with what I have now - go ahead, have a good laugh!
passive speaker = open system active speaker = closed system
an open system can evolve and grow with your tastes....and is more flexible for the next owner and therefore has better future value.
a closed system allows advances to pass it by and so it's ability to evolve with you is zero and it's future value is diminished.
at certain price points the manufacturing efficiency of an active system does result in cost/performance advantages. so at modest price points it can be a smart buy. as long as you accept it's downsides.
at the top of the food chain the likelihood of one builder getting both the amp and speaker all the way right are slight.
On average, I would guess that an active speaker outperforms a typical amp + passive speaker combination. But seldom does an active speaker include amplification at the same level as what a specialty amp manufacturer can deliver.
Imo you're already WELL ahead of the game with that amp, which is the stuff many audiophiles dream of. Wilson, Magnepan, SoundLab, DeVore, and Coincident are among the many top manufacturers offering speakers that work very well with the MA-1.
What speakers did you have before, and what improvements are you looking for?
Do you really think there is a powered speaker with internal amps anywhere close to the Atma-sphere's? Who ever said you have to match amps to speakers anyway? If it really has become a "bother" consider something like a Geneva and be done with it. Your amps will sell in 5 minutes.
For the most part, I think powered speakers are over rated and over priced. I know most people will argue me on that, but if you look at it from a common sense point of view, do you think that whoever builds the amp for your speaker will make one as good as the one you already have? Same thing with whatever speaker you pick. As far as cables go, if you do a good job matching your components, cable choice is easy. I would never let cables be the deciding factor when building a system. If it comes to that, you've made some mistakes that need to be fixed before you continue.
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