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.
Most of the posts on this thread come from those much more experienced than I. However I’ve had a fair amount of exposure to older JBL’s , some small L19, some large, twin 15’s with a horn. Even though they show a reasonable Db output and sometimes state modest wattage, they LIKE POWER, BIG POWER ! I wish you lived close by as I have Rogue M-180’s Dark and a Hera pre. It would be interesting to mate them up. That being said and reading everyone’s opinion, My 2 cents is tubes 150 wpc or more. The Coda first then the Bryston 4cubed. If it was me i’d love to try those Atma-Sphere Class D monos mated to my Rogue Hera pre. In regards to that the Hera has a lot of gain, but it has 5 output settings. I’m running Tektons ( go ahead and shoot me 😆 ) , and they can run low power AND hi. So I’ve run a 50 wpc op amp for giggles and it’s great until it clips at 75-80 db. I have JBL 4312’s and 50 wpc Dynaco MK III’s will drive them to 85 db but the SQ is lacking. The First Watt would probably be nice for low level listening and the Pass would be pretty nice. Ask @hilde45 about his JBL’s he’d be spot on. So in closing maybe a pair of Class D’s and a First Watt or Pass to rotate. I live where it’s 100* today and I’m trying to scratch up $6K to call Ralph. Those Rogue M-180’s draw as much power as my pool and keep my living room warm in the winter. Bill at Rogue Audio paired the ST -100 Dark to the small Megapans , but I’m not sure they are powerful enough, you could call him. Damn I sure can ramble, Cheers , Mike B. |
Just wanted to take a moment and say thanks for all the posts, I have read and thought about every one of them.
Class A is intruiging but I am not wild about the heat generated in the summer. I have a closed off listening room and even with the Classe I get a fair amount of heat build up. I leave my SS gear on 24/7 and that is not a great idea with class A amps. I do shop the pre owned market quite a bit. I have always wondered about the Rowland Class D amplifiers, but it seems like most of those are earlier generation Ice modules, and I wonder how they compare to the new Purfi or Hypex offerings. I was reading a technical piece from the designer of the Purifi I believe, and his take on GanFet was quite interesting, in that the devices itself is not a game changer in terms of its relation to other output devices, but rather the circuit architecture matters more. Which leads me back to Purifi or Hypex. What seems to be the main variable is what is used for the input buffer, whether it be tube or certain kinds of high performance op amps. But on the other side of the coin folks seem to say good things about the Orchard Audio amps based on GAN Fet. One other thought I had is the Odyssey amplifiers. I have heard Klaus pieces at a couple of shows and they always intrigued me. I also remember a few posts of early failures on amps, but that was a number of years back. What I would like to stay away from is back breaking amps that take a huge amount of real estate in my system. Ideally I would like one I can house in my credenza.
The Classe leave in about 2 weeks. For an interim I can run a First Watt F7 till I find something that catches my eye. I do appreciate all your thoughts and insights. |
@neonknight This is correct. But I think you might be missing the implication. What this basically means is that you can build a lower noise circuit using GaNFETs. This matters because you don't want switching noise messing with digital devices or leaking into your FM tuner. By using GaNFETs we were able to get our class D amps to have a lower radiated noise through the air or on the AC line than most tube amps. We also get a low noise figure from the speaker too; even on horns its hard to know the amps are on (which they can be all day and still be stone cold to the touch) until the music plays. |
OP I don't have your speakers but I heard JBL a lot. i grew up using them, used as always. and you seem to be searching an amp that will bring the best of this speakers to your Particular liking.. To me, you are on the road of needing to audition more amps to find what you are looking for. with that said, IMHO, i suggest the following..(in any order) 1) AtmasSphere Gan Amps 2) AGD Duets 3) Rogue Dragon. i heard the last 2 above and i think that AGD are really good. very musical and has great control on the woofers. Tube amps as you have said are too hot for summer. if you want to test the waters of Tubes, I truly believe that 845 SET tubes are the way to go, i have a clone 845 type amp and that runs too hot for summer use. i believe that what you are liking is more towards a class D as for the reasons of light weight and not too hot to use. thereby the list above |
