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Looking to Develop A Short List of Amplifier Candidates For A Pair Of JBL 4367 Speakers

Over a number of years I have owned JBL 4365 and eventually moved on from them. I tried a pair of Martin Longan CLX ART, but my room was not well suited for them. A failed experiment with a lot of lost hours in it. I ended up coming home to JBL and acquiring a pair of 4367.

They are a lovely speaker and are well suited for my 15' by 19' by 8' room. Controlled directivity from the horn augmented by minimal room acoustic panels and a light touch with the Trinov DSP system works for me.

The amplifiers I have been using are a pair of Classe Omega monoblocks. But the reality is they are massive, are way too much power for a pair of 94 db efficient speakers, cannot be moved by me alone, and are just wasted in this application. So they have been sold and are pending pick up when the new owner gets back from vacation.

So I am developing a short list of amplifiers. Going through the whole gamut, tube, solid state, and Class D. On the 4365 I once tried a pair of Audio Mirror Reflections since in my past I was a user of Single Ended Triode amps. But even with "larger" SET power, the woofers on the 4365 were not well controlled at all. Another failed experiment. With the 4365 I had used a PS Audio BHK250 with decent results, a pair of AVM Audio Amp Essential monoblocks with excellent results, and a H20 Audio 250 Signature Class D amp with interesting results. The AVM and Classe have provided the best results so far.

So the question is, are there Class D amplifiers that meet the sound quality requirements these days. I have seen some amps using a Hypex or Purfi module with a tube front end. Also have heard the latest generation Orchard monoblocks are worth looking at. Anyone have any other candidates, or thoughts?

In the past JBL was known to mate well with tube amplification. But I imagine this is going to have to be push/pull. In the past I have owned Dynaco and then Quicksilver before I went to explore the world of SET amplfiers. When I bought the 4365 I had thought they were going to be agood match with my Electraprint amplifier, but I was completely wrong on that one. What power level would I have to reach with tube amplification?

Finally in terms of solid state, the choices are huge. I know McIntosh was often a favored pairing, but I have never been a fan of the brand. I wonder about some of the solid state Conrad Johnson offerings, but I think they may be getting long in the tooth these days. I have thought about BAT. I actually have a First Watt F7 here that is my back up amp and it runs them better than a person would have imagined. The latest generation of AVM is now a hybrid, and ownership by Burmester might be a good thing, I would like to think I could get service in the US for them.

Any thoughts or experiences you want to pass along would be greatly appreciated.

neonknight

Showing 1 response by thomasok

thomasok's avatar
thomasok
12 posts
 

I recommend you check out the Lejonklou HiFi solid state amplifiers from Sweden.  They have an integrated amp, the Boazu 2, under $5000 and exceptional, yet relatively compact, mono block power amps at $6500 each, the Tundra Mono 3.

Check Part Time Audiophile show reports for RMAF 2016 and 2017.   In 2016 Rafe Arnott gave the Lejonklou/Nokturne Audio room Best Sound of Show with the previous Tundra Mono 2.2 driving a pair of JBL 3677 speakers.  The following year he said the room was even better (although a subwoofer, also JBL driven by a third Tundra Mono had been added).  
 

I am the North American distributor for Lejonklou HiFi you might expect some bias.  But I had never heard the JBLs sound that good with other electronics and they were my personal speakers for a number of years.  Now I am running a fully rebuilt pair of Quad ESL speakers with the Tundra Mono 3s and they musically outperform anything I have heard on them.  I brought an older stock pair of Quads to Axpona in 2019 with the Lejonklou electronics and John Atkinson said they were one of the highlights of the show.  A review from Stereophile on the Boazu 2, along with our streamer, the Källa, and our MC phono stage, the Entity 1.2, should be out within a few months from Alex Halberstadt.  I don’t know what speakers he will use but he owns Altec A7s and is a fan of horn loudspeakers.  I believe he reviewed one of the newer JBL monitor speakers a while back and quite liked them, although I don’t remember if they were 4367s.

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