devilboy what dealer gave you more than half off the Hegel?
Integrated amplifier sound
I read the forum every night to get advice from you all. I am learning so much. I just started using my Music Fidelity A3.2 Dual mono solid state integrated amp(115 W per channel into 8 ohms) with my flagship pair of ADS L1590 Tower speakers. It is not a good match. I have never heard so much beautiful detail and sound but, it sounds like the Music Fidelity would do better with ribbon speakers like Magnapans or Acustat brand speakers. My towers are very efficient. 90db. I was using an acurus D-100 with 100 watts per channel and it was great! Very neutral sound but clean and I had slam. I cannot get slam with the music fidelity. When I try to increase volume it is just not the same. I have tried Cambridge audio amps and love the smooth rolled off sound but they lack the power for slam. I see the 851 Azure new has great reviews but it is not integrated. A lot of guys get two and put them in as mono blocks. I cannot afford that right now. I am going to put my Music Fidelity on Audiogon soon and need to find an amp for these towers. I have heard that Rogue Audio Spinx is a good sound and may provide some of what I am looking for. What amps have the power and reserve like the ACURUS has to get me back in the game. I really should have auditioned the Music Fidelity before I bought it. It is not a cheap amp. I am so upset. I will unhook it and use a spare cambridge audio integrated with low power for now. I will be purchasing used in order to stay under 1,500 dollars. Please advise!
16 responses Add your response
Bill , I also have a Cambridge 640A, older model (65 watts rms) so warm sounding. I use it on my bookshelf speakers. I am going to try and start with a sub. I like the idea. The Music Fidelity is so powerful with my speakers so it might keep me from turning it up so high. I just do not know how to hook it up right. |
try out the Vandrsteen speakers for sure! I can tell you that I have heard these large speaker slam and provide detail with Pink Floyd with amazing musical detail. My gear to do this is still an ARCAM CD player, dual turntable, Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus DAC, Perruex phono stage with power supply and Nakamichi ZX 682 for the wonderful analogue tape sound. I am researching upgrading my DAC to a Schitt Bitfrost 2. Am hearing very good things. |
Steve I appreciate the recommendation on B &K 4420. I will look into it. My Music Fidelity has gotten so much better now that I have burned it in and changed out the speaker cables and upgraded the power cable to it from the wall. I am loving the detail but I agree it can be draining! ADS have so much clarity and detail already. The ACURUS was so neutral sounding, not nearly as musical as this dual mono design Music Fidelity. It is a big change but so fun to hear now that I have warmed up the amp. The Music Fidelity has the power and reserve and I am just getting used to such incredible low bass. ADS L1590 Towers will drop down to 28 khz with a good amp. I have never had a sub because of this. I agree with another audiogon member who said they are not designed for bass slam like the JBL or Vandersteen. I can |
Total DF depends on series resistance of speaker cable, speaker-internal filter-crossover design and drivers, and therefore could be significantly lower than bare Amplifier’s DF. Also need to look at Amplifier Phase/Frequency response at particular loads, which may deviate from ideal 180 or 0 degrees in audible frequency range due to speaker loading is a very complex equivalent circuit with inductive/capacitive/resistive components, which can break phase linearity of some amp design, despite high DF at @8 Ohms. |
Music Direct has a “B stock” pair of the new JBL L100 speakers with the blue grill for $2500.00 with full warranty. That is $1500.00 off retail. Those speakers will give you fantastic bass slam with its 12 inch pulp cone woofer and they are quite efficient. Your Musical Fidelity integrated will really make the speakers sing. Just an FYI, I am thinking of purchasing those speakers as I think my McIntosh integrated would be a good match. The only thing making me take pause is the money I will be spending on my daughters wedding in November. Twice I had the speakers in my cart and procrastinated About hitting the send button. |
@arichison, I think you are barking up the wrong tree. ADS speakers are great but they are not known for "slam." If you are looking for exaggerated bass and high SPL you should probably look at different speakers. Vintage JBL or more modern Vandersteen 1/2/3s. You had the sound you wanted from the Acurus amp and the ADS speakers - a happy coincidence? I'm assuming that it wasn't perfect of you would still be playing on the Acurus. You can test lots of other amps or you can make a knowledgeable change by trying other speakers that are known to produce high SPL. |
@millercarbon ... Hmmm...I respectfully disagree. I had a Raven Nighthawk MKIII over here on my 90db speakers and regarding the "slam" that the OP wants, it fell flat on it's face. It sounded anemic and thin. when I told the manufacturer why I was sending it back, he suggested that I didn't have the subwoofer bypass switch on in the correct position, but I did. To the OP... My Hegel Rost has "only" 75 watts into 8 ohms but it has tremendous grip and oomph in the low end. Tons of slam, IMO. I'm sure the damping factor of over 2,000 has a lot to do with it. In the end, the Raven was no match n pretty much every regard. Now, before I get slammed for my comments about the Raven, I have to say that during my research for the Hegel's replacement, I read many glowing reviews of ravens products, specifically the Nighthawk MKIII. It was in one of those reviews that I heard someone replaced a very high wattage solid-state amplifier with the Nighthawk and they were very happy. The manufacturer said something in a video that it sounds like 100 solid-state Watts. It was comments like these that made me pull the trigger. In my system, on my speakers, to my ears the Hegel out performed the Nighthawk tremendously. I don't mean Justin slam and bass and grip and oomph, etc. No, in pretty much every other regard, (detail, midrange, soundstage, low noise floor, etc), I preferred the Hegel. I purchased mine brand new from a dealer for less than half its retail, so the deals are out there. |
The Acurus amps are really underrated. I have two Acurus A200 amps and in my systems, they have outperformed amps coasting 2 to 3 times their price. They were the best amps I have used to drive my KEF 104/2s or KEF Reference Model Ones. They run cool for both speakers and provide more punch or bass slam than other amps that I have tried. The Yamaha A-S801 is a nice integrated for the price, but was no match for the Acurus A200. |
The best value I've found in the price category you mentioned is a used Vincent SV-237. 150 WPC @8 ohms and 250 @4 ohms. The first 10 watts are Class A. I can't speak to "bass slam" because I'm using it with Harbeth P3ESR speakers and a sub. Speaking of which... if you want bass slam, why don't you get a sub or two or four? |
My ADS speakers were bright and needed careful component matching. I'm a little surprised the mf wasn't an upgrade from acurus. I used HK citation with decent results with the ADS L9e speakers I think I also liked the B&K 4420 that you can find used for around $400 nowadays. I only survived 9 months with the ADS as the extreme detail wore me down. I would follow up with Rogue audio next. Good luck |
The Rogue would be a significant downgrade from your Musical Fidelity and the Sphinx in particular produces the least bass "slam" I've encountered from an integrated. It's more like the bass you'd get from a $200 AVR at BB. Bottom octave was completely MIA in my system. IME, nothing beats Yamaha for bass slam on a budget. The A-S801 should meet your needs. |
I too have found Acurus amps to be very punchy bass slam with great reserves with my very efficient Klipsch speakers. Millercarbon is spot on with the "right 20 watts" comment. My Acurus amps(A200/A200x3) are spec'd at 200w/ch and barely break a sweat with my "99dB" Klipsch RF-63 floorstanders. I have occasionally moved my Yamaha A-S1000 integrated(90w/ch) over to drive my RF-63s and found it to have close to the bass drive slam as my A200. You mentioned Cambridge Audio 851 not being an integrated amp. The Azur 851A sure is. https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/products/851 I am using an older Cambridge Audio 640A v2.0 integrated(75w/ch) to drive a pair of Klipsch Heresy IIs and slam is not lacking there either. Bill |
Thanks. I am researching Rogue, hear good things. I am hearing better sound now going on day two of burning in the Music Fidelity amplifier in my system. It makes a difference! I leave it on. Is growing on me. A bit warmer and much more musical ! I wonder if a much better DAC would help. I listen to a lot of digital also. It might change the sound going into this nice amp. |
