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Shindo Montrachet EL34 amp -- can it handle impedance of Snell Type A?

I have a Shindo Montrachet EL34 amp and Vandersteen 2wq subs that cross at 100hz with passive first order MP-5 crossovers. I either need to sell the amp or sell my Quad ESL-63 speakers, which I also love, because the authorized Shindo dealer tells me the Quads could damage the Shindo (it is really designed for higher efficiency 16 ohm Shindo speaker loads). I believe the Quads drop to 3.5 ohms or so in the bass and rise quite high in the treble.

I have an opportunity to acquire an old friend -- Snell Type A speakers. I am not worried right now about the Shindo's ability to "drive" the Snells in terms of power/dynamics. But I am concerned that the Snells could also present difficulty/danger for the Shindo due to impedance. The Snells have a minimum impedance of 4 ohms, but I do not know the exact maximum or the full impedance curve. I'm trying to find out, if anyone knows the impedance curve.

Does anyone know if the Snells would be safer with the Shindo than the Quads are? Does the fact that the Snells are a dynamic speaker and not an electrostatic inherently make it easier for the amplifier to stomach?

Thanks for any thoughts. Again, not looking for sound quality advice or speculation. I will be able to listen to the Snells before buying. But I don't want to endanger the Shindo amp.
montaldo

Showing 3 responses by bradf

bradf's avatar
bradf
324 posts
 
Ken Micallef writes for Stereophile. he has both Snell and Shindo components. He may be able to provide you with or at least provide a reference to the info you seek.
http://kenmicallef.com/

Snell Acoustics
300 Jubilee Drive, PO Box 3717
Peabody, MA 01961-3717
(978) 538-6262
www.snellacoustics.com

bradf's avatar
bradf
324 posts
 
@almarg 

Al,
I have no information as to why, but my Ars Sonus Filarmonia SJ Integrated (EL34 PP) has 8 Ohm output taps (only) and there are cautionary notes in the owners manual warning that damage could occur to the amp if operated with speakers that drop below 4.3 ohms impedance.
I use the amp with Merlin TSM Black Magic speakers and a REL R305 (powered).


Brad
bradf's avatar
bradf
324 posts
 
I see you have the Shindo Montrachet EL34 amp for sale here on AG.
I was thinking that the Auto transformers sold by Anti-Wire may be a solution to matching your speakers to the Shindo, by increasing speaker impedance. I am sure you already have given this some thought, but hadn’t seen it come up in the conversation/post. Even though the autotransformer would make the amp load non detrimental, I am not sure what tonal/timber changes they may cause; something you would have look into . http://anticables.com/autoformers
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