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Martin Logan woofer amplification

I was discussing a possible trade in for my Martin Logan Montis speakers. The store owner was reticent, stating that the amplifier for the woofer was an OP amp. I was surprised to hear that, since the operating space is so large. I thought it was a Class D switching amp, which should work well in a non ventilated cabinet, and operating at a low frequency. Any Martin Logan experts out there?
tennisdoc40

Showing 2 responses by mofimadness

mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
5,369 posts
 
I'm pretty sure the original Summits used a bi-polar amp for the woofers. I think this trickled down to the Montis and Ethos, (and of course the Summit X).

The specs for the woofer amp state 200 watts at 4 ohms. I would think a class D amp would have a much higher rating, (even for just a marketing tool).
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
5,369 posts
 
I based my above assumption on this review.

Here is the paragraph:

"The Summit's active amplification includes toroidal power transformers, as part of a high performance bipolar amplifier that is said to offer better tracking of the input signal and reduced hysteresis.

Other claimed benefits are a more open, dynamic performance than would have been expected with otherwise similar IE transformers, especially at high levels. In general terms, bass performance comes closer than previous designs to matching the speed and transparency of the electrostatic mid and treble.

The hard built crossover is derived from the network used in the Statement, with air core inductors, audiophile grade polypropylene caps and point-to-point hard wiring."
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