What speakers ?, the rest of the system ?, your room ?, your musical tastes ?, and do you play louder at times ? If you want " musical ", you will likely get recommendations on getting a tube preamp, if you currently do not use one. Enjoy ! MrD. |
smrex13 mentioned the Nuforce STA 200 above, and it is the amp tomic referred to, as me being a fan. If memory serves me, your Vandy 2 Cs allow for biwiring, as I know Richard Vandersteen believes very much in the concept, as do I and others like tomic. Have you biwired them with your current amp ? If not, I would try that 1st, before anything else. If you notice a difference, and if you do, hopefully for the better, you might consider passively biamping your Vandys with a pair of STA 200s, $ 499. each, from AA. Or maybe you may like your amp again, at least until you upgrade the preamp. Depending on how you go, I would suggest passive biamping, vertically, meaning both channels of one amp is dedicated to one speaker. Just a preference I have always preferred, when using a pair of the same amp. Although I have owned, and am familiar with Vandy, tomic is definitely the Vandy guru guy for sure, based on all of my readings and followings here on the Gon. Just some thoughts. Enjoy ! MrD. |
I am currently running my pair of STA 200s in vertical passive biamp mode, on a pair of not well known, Signet SL 280 ex floor standers ( a sleeper of a speaker, imo ). They are a two way, and was a competitor with speakers under the $1500. price point when they came out. I do use them with a powered sub, centered between them, in a 10 x 12 room, and the system sounds awesome. I run the amps passively ( no preamp ), and feel they would do very well with the Vandy 2Cs. The biwiring option is the 1st thing to do, as the Vandys / amp will definitely " open up ". Enjoy ! MrD. |
The input sensitivity of the Nuforce STA 200 is .45 V. Enjoy ! MrD. |
mesch, I am using a Douk Audio little passive in my system above that I have found to be cleaner than the Schiit Sys, ( I finally had one on loan ) although it has only 1 in and 1 out. Less than $50. shipped. Tiny little thing, very well built and uses a top notch Alps 27 attenuator. I have, in my main rig, the Luminous Axiom 11, Walker mod, 3 in, 2 out, with remote ( single ended ), and it was a revelation eliminating my preamps ( I will still not mention the units ), but they were excellent, well reviewed preamps. I am a passive guy, all the way now. I have tried passive with over 20 different ss power amps, and wonderful with all of them. Enjoy ! MrD. |
Thinking about your situation, why do you feel it is your power amp that seems to be the weakness ? I read up on the amp, and some users are saying it was better than their QSC and Crowns, both of which I owned many. In my remaining arsenal of power amps, I have some Yamaha pro amps and a Smart Theatre Systems TA 242 ( a Hafler 220 on Steroids, biased in class A ), and they all do very well on my Klipsch Lascalas and Heresy 2s. Not to turn this around, but, I have owned Vandys, up to the models 3, and although I understand Tomic and others being fan boys, they were not my cup of tea ( not just Vandys ). Maybe you should step up to the 3s, as they will give you " more ". What other speakers have you owned ? Again, I am not looking to start any trouble here, but, being a retired audio consultant with quite a bit of experience with lots of equipment, I am just saying. Another thought would be, to get a powered sub, and if possible, with some crossover that can roll off the Behringer / 2Cs from handling the last octave or so, and take over from there. The Vandys will be more open and dynamic, and it might be that difference you are looking for. These are my thoughts. Over and out. Enjoy ! MrD. |
tomic, I very well appreciate you being a Vandy fanboy, as I understand their many attributes. You seem defensive, and no need to be. Although I mentioned I was not a fanboy ( I am not a fanboy of many brands, as indicated ), I never suggested the op change from Vandys, which you seem to have missed. I am a horn guy, so apples to oranges. As I suggested, the larger 3s, or the addition of a powered sub with crossover, would possibly do for the op everything he is looking for. BTW, the majority of pro amps I have been accustomed to, have one thing in common : they have " balls ". OP, can you tell me about your fan mod, as I have done them also ? Enjoy ! MrD. |
Tomic, ty, and back at ya ! You too have a lot of background and experience. Can you find me ( know anyone ) a pair of ADS L 2030s ? ( from a prior thread discussion )… So, jackd, if the STA 200 sounded fine with the Nola KOs and the Verity Otellos ( both very fine reproducers of music ), I would think a pair, passively biamping the Vandys, would be a good thing. Two STA 200s vs One Khartago….? Enjoy ! MrD. |
I am still not convinced it is the amp that is currently his weakness, but, as you say, he is the listener, and purchaser. BTW, I am no longer using my STA 200's in my main system, as I have been going through my closets and found an old gem that I am finding quite incredible ( with a few modifications ). It is an ADA PF 2501, and I am loving it. I also have the smaller unit, the PF 201, but this big boy is balsy, with finesse. I go back with ADA. |
Have not mentioned this yet, but I believe the Behringer amp comes supplied with no more than a 14 gauge power cord ( likely 16 gauge ). I am a power cord junkie, and without spending much money, you can buy a very reasonably priced 10 gauge power cord, which will, ime, give you more of everything you are looking for, and in the case of amp upgrading, you can always use it on the next amp. Hopefully, others will agree with me. If this sounds interesting to you, let me know what length cord you need, and I will recommend one or two, or, you can easily build one. |
The Behringer and Parasound A 21+ will both benefit using : WAudio High End HiFi Audio AC power cable power cord US plug, 2 meter. Amazon. $59. , all in, inclusive of shipping. |
tomic, I agree, but George spoke about horizontal bi-amping in this situation. |
|
bstat, jetter, I made a recommendation on a very good, inexpensive power cord. Did either of you do anything about it, to try? Enjoy ! MrD |
I would start with the one, for your Behringer, and let your ears tell you. Nothing more. The new pc will be obvious, but it will require a bit of " break in ". How much, depends. Let the amp play music with the new cord for a week, and you will be there ( a tuner or streamer, even at low volume ). I did not ask this, do you leave your amp on 24/ 7. You should, if you listen every day. It is not a class A amp, so you will not be spending so much on electricity. Just get the one pc for now. Enjoy ! MrD. |
Tube equipment, and hot running Class A amplification, I would ( have ) turned off. All other ss gear, I leave on, which sounds better, and I believe, lessens wear and tear on a product. But, both of these points to leave gear on 24/7, is always debatable. My ears tell me the first, and I have never had a solid state product fail on me. Well, I did have an older PS audio power amp, a 200 C, smoke a little upon turn on, but other than that, never. YMMV |
johnkent3, YMMV. The important thing, is that you are enjoying the MX1000, as this is what it is all about. Always, MrD. |
bstat, wonderful. I believe jetter ( who is, unfortunately, angry with me at the moment ), stated above, he was enjoying the Waudio pcs. I find that the iec plug might be a little loose at the amp end, and if you find this to be the case, trim a bit of painters tape, or electrical tape, to fit around the end of the pc plug, to widen it a bit ( circumference ), to make it more snug. Most tape is 1 inch wide, so you would need to minimize this, so the plug goes in all the way. You will hear differences, for sure, but the cable will take time to break in. Just does. Enjoy, and keep us posted. Enjoy ! MrD. |
tomic, I like the way you think ! |
You would need signal into the amp for everything to cook properly. I would recommend some audible output on the amp. You can take a source directly into your amplifier and use the input level controls on the amp ( you have a tube pre, right ? ). Bypass the pre for this break in period. You might actually like it without the pre, as this would be a " passive " hook up. If you cannot do this, it will all just take longer. But as I mentioned to you earlier, if you listen every day, the amp will do you so much better, in sq, if left on all of the time. It is also possible to unplug your speakers, as many solid state power amps are ok without seeing the load of a speaker. I would ask Behringer, or a tech of some kind, if it would be ok. My 3 Yammie pro amps have no problem with this. Maybe someone else here will jump in at this juncture. Tube amps like to see a load. |
If it were sunny outside, I would be at the pool. Give this cord at least a week, to break in, running your power amp continuously 24 / 7, with a signal ( it can be at low volume ), if you can. After a week, we can talk about another move to make. Keep in mind, some folks, like myself, hear dramatic changes in sq, generally for the better, with just a beefier power cord ( specifically on a large output power amp ), and some, hear little, to no difference. Need to see ( hear ) where you are at, with this one change. Be patient, my son....Enjoy ! MrD. |
bstat, anything to report ? or is it too soon ? |
