Raidho D1's and recommendations for amplifiers


Have Raidho D1's arriving in a few days and am now reconsidering my amp. I was planning sell my Clayton M200 monoblocks as a package with my old speakers. I was considering using Coincident Dragon Mk II (75w triode) monoblocks but reading various forums I get the impression these may not be adequate and D1's do best with 150w or more solid state amps. I'm looking for comments on suitability of Dragons and comments on alternatives that are known to be ideal with D1's.

Thanks
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The size of your room and your listening tastes are going to play a big role here. If your room is larger you may find that you don't have enough power. Moderate and smaller rooms should be fine.

The speaker appears to be a moderate 6 ohm load- and the amplifier does not have provisions for less than 8 ohms. So the output power and bandwidth of the amp will be reduced and the distortion will be higher. If you are playing in a lively room of smaller size this may not be an issue.
option 1: Audia Flight Strumento pre/power combination

The Raidhos were featured at TAVES - Toronto's annual audio palooza:

Best Sound of Show — Analogue

Bergmann Audio/Raidho Acoustics/Audia Flight/Sutherland Engineering/Transparent. Walking into this room was like an audiophile oasis. A Gene Ammons LP was on the the Danish-made Bergmann Magne Turntable ($12,999 incl. air bearing arm). Ammons’ breathy tenor sax was in the room sounding like live music. Beautiful, balanced, defined, rich, present. And, when listening to the incredible Esoteric LP reissue of Kertesz/Vienna New World, the tingle meter jumped through the roof. It was so refined. Sitting next to Audiophilia writer James Norris (another conductor and a brilliant violist) was instructive. We just kept smiling at specific moments where the sound reproduction transported us from hotel room to concert hall. World class. The sound had the power and the might, but with a velvet glove. I’m already planning negotiations with my wife after the upcoming review.

The Magne Turntable (and the more expensive Sindre and Sleipner turntables) are modern, Danish designs of simplicity and sophistication. A difficult achievement, but it’s what great designers do. The Bergmann Audio air bearing, tangential tracking arm (included with the ‘table) is a big cherry on the cake. It looks and feels amazing. Tolerances are microscopic and, when sliding the arm’s tube over the air stream, feels perfect. Complementing the Bergmann were the Sutherland Engineering Power Block phono stage ($11,000), Raidho Acoustics D-1 Loudspeakers and the Audia Flight Strumento pre/power combination. The Raidhos and AF kit are very well known to me. You can find our recent, very positive reviews of both Raidho Acoustics and Audia Flight in a quick search on Audiophilia. All the manufacturers make excellent musical bedfellows with the sexy Bergmann.

Go to this page to see the whole report:
http://www.audiophilia.com/wp/?p=12511

opt1on 2: Taves 2014 Raidho X1 @Bel Canto Black

Bel Canto Black ASC1 Asyncronous Stream Controller and MPS1 Mono Block PowerStream amplifiers

http://www.serious-music.com/Blog/?p=1029

OPTION 3:

Jeff Rowland Aeris D/A converter and Jeff Rowland 625 power amplifier,

http://www.stereophile.com/content/raidho-and-rowland

I thought the Raidho D-1 loudspeaker ($28,000/pair, including stands), was among the most interesting and musically impressive new products at SSI. Raidho, a Danish company known for their work with ultra-lightweight ceramics, has developed a process for bonding to their speaker diaphragms a thin coat of industrial diamond, conferring even greater stiffness and freedom from unwanted resonances. Paired with a Jeff Rowland Aeris D/A converter and Jeff Rowland 625 power amplifier, the Raidhos were impressive on a variety of material. We’ve all heard demonstrations where we came away saying, “I can’t believe they got so much bass out of such little loudspeakers,” but in terms of the sheer quality and scale of that bass, the Raidho/Rowland combination was on another plane altogether.

Thanks for the recommendations and great advice, especially re impedance and sensitivity. Raidho doesn't publish sensitivity in their promotion literature that I could find but I'd read they were not sensitive.

Atmasphere - good points. My room is small @ 14x16 with ceiling transitioning from 9 to 14 ft; and my musical taste is varied from classical blues to jazz to rock, etc. I enjoy at times turning it up loud!

Akg_ca - Thanks - Not familiar with Audio Flight but have heard Raidho D1's match well with Rowland, Devialet, BALabo, Hegel, Robert Koda, Ypsilon, Soulution; Raidho often use Rowlands at shows. Only Hegel and Deviate are in my price range. Any comments on these two?
Raidho will be at Axpona this year to show off their new Aavik integrated with the Scansonic MB 2.5's Raidho X3 and D3.