Integrated amps for lean speakers


Hello all. Upgrading my integrated now. We are in a bigger room at 22 x 16 x 10 foot ceilings. Just picked up a pair of Neat Iota Xplorer speakers (6 ohm impedence). The demo sounded fuller and richer in a smaller room driven by Sonnet monoblocks. Current space certainly exposes the weaknesses of my 20+ yr old  Rotel integrated. High freqs are forward, mid-bass punch is lagging except at much higher volumes. I have a REL T5 subwoofer to help.

My goal is to get most out of these somewhat lean speakers with a more forceful amp that will accentuate the mid-bass punch without overdriving the ribbon tweeters. Getting a more forward sound in the low level listening would be a bonus, although at 88 db sensitivity I’m not sure that will happen.

Budget is $2K-$3k with new and used options in the mix. For the right piece I suppose I’d stretch it closer to $4K. Rogue Cronus Magnum II, Margules ACRH-3, Aavik I-180 while very different are in the running. Parasound Halo 6 and Plinius Hautonga come to mind through research. Having a hard time auditioning equipment these days since the brick and mortar landscape sure has changed in the last 8 years around here.

Anyone listen to the Margules Integrated? I heard their tube amp at T.H.E. Show 2 weeks ago and it sounded glorious driving Raidho speakers but the ACRH-3 was not in loop at the time so I never heard it. It has a tube front end and ss amp section so perhaps will tame the highs a bit? Again the big goal is to regain the tight mid bass that the Paradigm mini monitors brought (they just cracked at higher listening levels in that room). Your thots? Thank you mucho.

hheedah

Showing 2 responses by yage

I actually lowered the REL crossover setting to about 50 Hz from 80 when I switched to the Xplorers which advertise 30 Hz v. the Paradigms that were at 70Hz.

 

You might want to rethink that and increase the crossover frequency. Hi-Fi News measurements shows a -6 dB point of 75 Hz on the Neats - link. Try using a test tone to blend the sub(s) and adjust output - link. Make it sound as even as possible as the frequency rises.

Depending on the impedance curve of the speaker (which I can't find a graph of) a tube amp may not be the best choice as it could potentially boost the midbass but also exacerbate the treble issue.

 

If you haven't already, you'll probably want to experiment with positioning quite a bit (toe-in / out, distance from sidewalls, tweeter inside / outside) before you consider switching out electronics. Maybe even give equalization a try if possible.