Either can sound excellent (if there’s system synergy.
I suggest getting an opportunity to listen to a variety of systems to gain exposure and find out what’s more appealing to you.
Comment about SS and Tubes
For the people who have followed by two and only two posts: you know I have all Cary Audio: SLP-05 pre and 805AE mains. I also have the 200.2. I had never used the 200.2 until recently. Front end are Totem Winds and Totem Mani 2 - alternating depending on my mood.
In my first post, several pro SS people recommended I boost my power and go SS. That got me to thinking???
I hefted that big old 200.2 up to my music room and hooked it up to the Balanced outputs of the SLP-05. Kept the RCA outputs going to the 805’s.
I listen to JAZZ so I don’t necessarily need loud. But sometimes I want loud.
Power is good. After a few albums and a bit of streaming I do concede, Power is good. I didn’t realize how good my speakers were until I pushed them. Bass I never knew. And the whole spectrum was astonishing.
On some albums I like the subtle refinement of the tubes. They are awesome to hear. But I am a convert. I do like the watts. My Cary Audio 200.2 is going to get broken in finally,
24 responses Add your response
@ditusa I suspect that first article is way over my head. But I will give it a second read. |
I am sure you could find it on a sound effects disc. I have never look or experimented with it. I just remember reading about the scissor test over 30 years ago. It was when they were just starting to release main stream home theater systems. I seem to recall it was a test to get Dolby thx certification. |
Well SETs do not suit most speakers.Having speakers with a flatiish 8 -16 ohm impedance is really critical to hearing them at their best.But generally I prefer valve preamps with SS power amps and vice versa.The Cary SLP-05 is a very good sounding preamp but you will also need a SS power amp with the right impedance and gain structure to allow its goodness to come through.Many SS power amps impose too much of their own sound. |
@rodman99999 I did get thinking about bi-amping the wrong way. I wasn't thinking of using subs. But it is a good idea. I'll get room dimensions, But until then: The room is the size of a decent sized bedroom. Not a master, but a decent secondary bedroom. But then it is a loft as well, so the sound does not stay enclosed It can spread out. And the ceiling is pretty high (maybe 12 feet high). Carpeted floor. |
You get "sustained" power with BorderPatrol 300b power amps, they have large (EXS) or massive (EXD) heavy external power supply units (PSU’s). Power on reserve is their design philosophy. The brand started by just adding their PSU's to under specified valve amps to give them control and more bass when the music was demanding. Been an advocate for 20+ years. Gary used to be based in the UK but is know in Bristow VA. |
@cinqcepages It is not just a question of watts per channel. Most will agree it is more importantly a case of having a big reserve of power immediately available to enable correct reproduction of a sudden high level transient, e.g. the hitting of a large bass drum. The power needs to be there or the moment will be over by the time it arrives. What is needed is a large and stiff power supply. Even with such a supply only Class A (one of a number of operating principles for amplifiers) can do this because it runs continuously at full power rather than varying the power supply according to need, as perceived by systems in the amplifier., Some disagree with this and complain about the large amount of heat generated and the high power consumption of Class A amps. My Krell KRS200 monoblocs draw 1.2kW of power. Per side. |
@sgreg1 Sustained powerl |
@clearthinker I think I get it. Someone told me about "sustained" power. I high WPC amp might not be able to keep up with a continuous high amount of energy need. Whereas a very good high WPC amp can sustain a high volume long duration need. |
@ozzy62 I know but I'm too old to spend that kind of money. |
@sgreg1 I agree about power in reserve. The best (and possibly only) way to get it is to go Class A. I don't have any recordings of scissors snapping shut. Is there a test disc incorporating this? Recorded using Telefunken U47? |
I remember reading a long long time ago where an amp designer said his design was not just about the power at hand and being played but it was about the power on reserve to handle the demand when needed. He’s said the best test was the sound of cutting scissors snapping shut. It is a high volume very fast action that called for instant reserve power to reproduce the sound just right. Yes power is always nice but their is many many ways to incorporate it. |
@cinqcepages Wrote:
Actively bi-amping gives a reduction of intermodulation distortion. That said, active bi-amping horizontally, as I do, will give additional advantage from the elimination of lossy inductances in the LF portion of a conventional passive dividing network, and the result may be a significantly better amplifier damping factor, as seen by the LF driver. Active bi-amping is sometimes hard to implement, and the user is often left to his own devices. It should not be undertaken without first asking the manufacturer’s advice. IMO: Active bi-amping is two notches above a passive crossover. See articles below: Mike 😎 |
The guys at Dahlquist designed the DQ-LP1 crossover, to mate a sub to their DQ-10 speakers. Being that their weren't a whole lot of self-powered subwoofers, back in the day; that little unit got a lot of application. I used one (variously upgraded) in my own systems, in concert with the 10" TL subs I built to go with my first pair of planars (Acoustat Mod III), for well over two decades. Looks like the JL crossover would be a good one, consistent with the quality of the rest of the OP's system. This article was of particular interest to me, as I've been using a TacT 2.2X for quite some time: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/the-jl-audio-cr-1-analog-vs-tact-digital-crossover.19361/ Roger Sanders was a youngster, when he wrote this article, for Speaker Builder (damn, I feel old): About that good old Dahlquist DQ-LP1, that I wish I still owned: https://sites.google.com/site/mpbarney/home/dahlquist-dq-lp1
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@cinqcepages Got it, thanks for confirming. It might be possible to bi-amp them if your speakers have separate taps for bass and mids/highs. That said you would still need a crossover to help with the frequency duties and gain matching. When I first had Cary 805AE, I had them hooked up to a Legacy Focus SE. While they did an okay job, the frequency extremes suffered because 50wpc just didn't control the lows as well as the amplifier I owned prior. I loved the modded 805AEs so much, though, that I upgraded from the Focus SE to Aeris. This allowed the bass section to be controlled by the internal class D amps of the speaker and gave me the SET goodness that the 805AE was known for. I guess my suggestion is that if you can swing the implementation of a good analog crossover and your speakers have separate taps, it is worth trying! |
@rodman99999 Thank you. I would like to further communicate. Posting picture (me posting) would help but I don't know how. But I can measure and give a decent description. And I am super curious about bi-amping. As like SUPER. c e p a g e s @ l i v e . c o m |
@jjss49 I know I am saying loud. And you are absolutely correct. But the richness and deeper (and rich) bass was a "wow" moment for me. I truly underestimated my Totem Winds. |
@blisshifi No, I have one amp off when I use the other. The Winds are on the 200.2 and the Mani 2 are on the 805's can I bi-amp with that combination? I would love to, I just thought both amps had to be identical..... |
more power in a system needing it isn’t just about playing loud it is about the effortlessness in presentation at all volumes, and then, the ability to effortlessly expand loudness, handle dynamics, keep transients pure clean and resolving the above is true only, of course, if the more powerful amp is of high quality and well matched to the load it is handling |
