Pugget,
I have both Obelisks and Diapasons, and after playing around with a lot of amps, my conclusion - and that of a friend who has both speakers, too - is that indeed, all Shahinians do need a lot of current, of a powerful solid state amp, to sound their best.
In our experience, strange as it may sound, the Obelisk is a more difficult-to-drive-beast than the Diapason. It needs a lot of current especially for the bass to sound controlled, which is true for the Diapasons, and probably Hawks, too. I do not know your AR amp, but it being a tube amp, I suspect it to be less than optimal for either the Obelisk or the Hawk. If you are determined to go the Shahinian road further, I would look into Plinius, Naim, Densen amps, to name a few which have proven to sound good with shahinians.
Regards,
Florian Hassel
I have both Obelisks and Diapasons, and after playing around with a lot of amps, my conclusion - and that of a friend who has both speakers, too - is that indeed, all Shahinians do need a lot of current, of a powerful solid state amp, to sound their best.
In our experience, strange as it may sound, the Obelisk is a more difficult-to-drive-beast than the Diapason. It needs a lot of current especially for the bass to sound controlled, which is true for the Diapasons, and probably Hawks, too. I do not know your AR amp, but it being a tube amp, I suspect it to be less than optimal for either the Obelisk or the Hawk. If you are determined to go the Shahinian road further, I would look into Plinius, Naim, Densen amps, to name a few which have proven to sound good with shahinians.
Regards,
Florian Hassel