Not enough power for the Proac 2.5. I tried this combination once. Sorry. At least in my experience, the combination sounded a bit flat and soft in the bass. The CJ-11a amp was adequate to power the Proac 2.5 for small rooms, and the CJ Premier 12 monoblocks really made the Proac 2.5's sing in my living room!
You have two great components that are unfortunately not made for each other. They both have solid resale value, as far as I can tell. Good luck deciding!
Art |
Thanks. Art. Now I need make decision among there choices:
1) stick with ProAC2.5 and sell my CAV50 and Spendor sp2/2 to get ARC gears (VT100 + SP8 pre ?? I guess)
2) keep CAV50 and upgrade spendor to sp1/2 or sp100. and
say good bye to my dreaming ProAC2.5 ~
BUT NOW ANOTHER ISSUE ARISED: DOES C-J CAV50 HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO DRIVE SP1/2 OR SP100??? My budget is really limit
and i don;t want to break my bank and credit card company
during the upgrade.
THANKS. |
I drive Proac D25 with a Plinius 9200 intergrated sounds amazing... Might want to try the Plinius or another really good solid state integrated.. |
That depends on your taste. I have personally wanted badly to switch from tubes to solid state, and I've tried numerous times, but always find something missing when I do. Others seem make the switch comfortably, or not, depending on taste.
This is not an easy decision, totally subjective, but I do think the Proac is a noticable step up from the particular Spendors that you mention. And I think the CAV-50 power and sound character rather limits your choice of speakers. For example, you could probably power many of the Silverline speakers comfortably with the CAV-50, but I'm not sure the sound qualities would complement each other (they might).
I have always found ARC gear to be a little bit too lean for my tastes, but I've not heard the latest generation.
The Proac 2.5 definitely benefits from power. 100 wpc might be plenty for a small room but marginal for a larger room. The high water mark for sound quality in my home was when I had the Conrad Johnson Premier 12's (140 wpc, tube watts) and was switching back and forth between the Proac 2.5's and the Spendor FL-9's.
Sigh. In solid state, a good value is the Plinius 8200 version II. That would be worth trying out with the Proac 2.5, as would the ARC I suppose. The Plinius needs a heavier nonstock power cord and also 24 hours to run in.
Art |
Art. thanks. it seems that we have same taste. I really
want to have spendor and proAC sound at my home.. but can not affford two sets of amplifier. I like the sound of C-J
, it made me move from SS to tube no doubt. I may try
8200 MkII. But I am wondering if i can go with C-J premier 11a (~$1600) plus a ARC pre-tube amplifer.... Do you have any suggestion on pre-amp for 11a?? (less than $800 used)
Derek |
FWIW I've had both Plinius's 8200MKII and now the 9200. The 9200 is a better sounding amp, quite a bit. Yes you do need a better AC cord, I've been pretty happy with a Shunyata Taipan. Also I'd suggest if you can listen to the new Proac D25 it's a better and different animal from the 2.5 new tweeter , woofer and crossover. It still sounds like a Proac but faster and less romantic than the 2.5 but still musical in the Proac way. And yes Proac's love tubes but big ones with grunt. Some of the best sound I ever had was Proac Response 2's with ARC Classic 120 mono's Shame they kept blowing up... |
Thanks Erikminer. But ProAC 2.5 is fair enough for me at this time. Now I am only on the way to seeking enough funding to get power to feed it. Now both 8200MKII and
9200 ae avilable and there are about $600 difference.
I am not sure if it is worth to get 9200. and I heard that
8200 is warmer than 9200...that what i like....but don't know if the power is enought to get the best of proAC2.5
Derick |
The 8200 is warmer but not in a good way, slightly veiled compared to the 9200. The 9200 is still somewhat lush, but more controled than the 8200.. I've had both and I'd spend the extra $600 for the 9200 it really is that much better and will be an awesome match for the 2.5 pleanty of power and control for the 2.5 with a very natural and open, grain and glare free sound. |
I understand Music Reference makes some very fine sounding amps and the series 9 is supposed to excellent for P/P design. I see one is advertised here for $1,500.00. |
Preamps I've enjoyed with the CJ amps are Audible Illusions M3a, CJ 17LS, and First Sound Deluxe II. Each of these is great at it's price point, I feel. The First Sound is absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful, it is shockingly good. I've heard there can be impedence problems with some amps, but I matched it with CJ 11a and loved it.
Art |
some other tube options I am considering other than C-J are:
1) ARC Classic 60 + LS2B
2) CARY SLI 80
It seems that there are some people use these combinations.Please comments on these combination..
Thanks. |
I own the SLI-80 and it powers my Silverline Sonatina II, even in triode mode, beautifully. However I suspect the power for the Proac 2.5 would be marginal unless the room is not very big.
Art |
my room size is 13x14 ...and openned to a dinner area.
I am wondering if i could put some shelves (like LP shelves selling in IKEA) to seperate the room. C-J-11a may not have enough power if cary can not do so. and many other
int amplifer (like VAC AVATA, ARC CA50) ususally provde 80W power..or even less.
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80wts is more than enough for the 2.5s...you should check out the Jadis, Rogue Audio, and Pathos integrateds for sale right now. I've not heard any of them put have heard good things about all. People whose ears I trust have very good opinions about the sound and build quality of the Jadis. |
Jadis do have a great reputation. people notice that it is hardest to do the bias adjustment on jadis, however. The service is another problem. I will check it out with guy who are selling it to see how's going on.
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I end up with Cary SLI-80 Signature with NOS tubes upgraded. I used only Triode Mode (40W? 50W) instead of
80W at UL mode, which works very well in my medium size room(24x13x8). The sound is smooth and beautiful.. I could live with it happily for a while and it definitely help to reveal the virtue of proAC 2.5. actually, SLI-80 beat the combination ARC SS D240 + C-J PV10 Pre tube.
The sound is in little soft side. I will keep eyes on the suggestions for the possible solution. C-J Premium 12 is good but beyond my budget. Actually, with Cary SLI-80, the volume knob is ONLY need to be set at 1/3 of maximum to get enough loudness. So, I agree that the power rate is not only factor to solve this problem.
Any idea? commments? on the amplifer which can produce beautiful mid and high as Cary and C-J Tube (or 20W SET) do, meanwhile, can provide a better bass control.
Thanks all for the help,
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