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Atma-Sphere amps with Eggleston Andra II's

I own a pair of Atma-Sphere MA2 Mk2.3 OTL monoblocks that are probably the one part of my system that will staying put for a long, long time. Currently, speakers are Dynaudio Confidence C2's. Preamp is an Atma-Sphere MP1 MkIII.

I'm looking to change/upgrade my speakers. As good as the C2's are, i.e., extremely coherent, very natural and detailed, nonfatiguing, they certainly don't have much "slam" factor. Now, I mostly listen to classical, jazz, and female vocals at moderate levels, but once in awhile still throw on some Cream, ZZ Top, Seger, ELP or whatever that demands some volume and presence in the low frequencies. I have been reading that the Andra II's can provide most, if not all, of the C2's traits but also add the missing lower octave and slam.

My question to Andra II owners is this: will 220 watts of OTL power drive the Andra II's properly? The MA2's can handle 4 ohm loads without difficulty as long as there are no crazy phase shifts. I am mainly concerned about running my amps dry.

TIA.

Bill
billspecfoc
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
As an MA-2 owner, I've been quietly reading this thread because I've never heard the MA-2s with the Andra IIs and they may well not be a good match with this particular speaker. However, unlike typical OTL amps, the MA-2s are designed with a low impedance output and are incredibly versatile in the speakers loads they will drive exceptionally well, and with tremendous bass authority.

For example, they have proven to be a great match with Avalon Eidolons (4 ohm nominal load, 3.6 ohm minimum) and with the Magnegpan 3.6 (which will challenge many amps).

I'm not trying to suggest they would be a good match to the Andras, but some very broad statements have been made here that might lead some to think that the Atma-Sphere MA-2s would not be a good match with lower impedance speakers across the board, and this is demonstrably not the case.
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mgottlieb
334 posts
 
I'm of two minds on this discussion. On the one hand, I had Andras which have been converted to Andra II's, and there is no question that the original Andras couldn't be driven by less than 300-350 watts per side. When I spoke to Eggleston, they reminded me that the A IIs were rated at 200 watts MAXIMUM, and told me any good 100 watt solid state amp would probably be fine although they could handle much more, and specifically recommended McIntosh amps as a great match. By the time the A II's came back from the factory, I had a demo pair of Mac 501s waiting, and the combination has been extraordinary, especially when I added a pair of Purist Dominus speaker cables. Having said that, and having 500 watts available per channel, the fact is the Macs have meters, those meters reflect that the amps never put out more than 125-150 watts on the loudest passages of the largest classical synphonies, and that in my 23 x 13.5 x 9 living room, it would be unbearably loud to open the system up further--and I regularly listen from the eighth row of Carnegie Hall, so I know what an orchestra sounds like going full out. Without getting into the need for reserve output capacity on an amp, I don't believe the Macs have ever put out 200 watts with the AIIs, and I wouldn't rule out your present amps just because they are rated at that level. As to your particular amps, I don't know them well enough. I'd certainly listen before ruling them, or the A IIs, out.
luke72
116 posts
 
Lot of responses but... hey Bill ! Are you still here ? What did you decide to do ? Let us know, I believe we are all curious...
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