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Meadowlark Kestral Owners! - Amp Help.

I recently moved the system into a room that sucked the life out of my EPos ES12'and have ended up with a pair of Hot Rod kestrals- Definetly an improvement in the low end. But things still didn't seem quite right. I replaced my CJ MV 52 (45 watt) with an old Rotel RB970(70 Watt) I had laying around and while not as smooth, things just worked better. I guess the answer is I need more power and am thinking of getting something in the 100-150 watt range Solid State. Any suggestions? The rest of the system: Micromega Stage 2, Audible Illusions Modulus 3. Oh yeah, I'd like to spend in the $700 to $1000 range. Thanks for you input
prfont
sedond
1,387 posts
 
hi prfront,

if ewe miss that sparkle, there may be nothing that will "correct" those kestrels. ewe may have to try something like proacs...

regards, doug

musikdok
120 posts
 
Don't give up on the H.R. Kestrals! I certainly respect the more experienced opinions that allude to their lack of extreme detail (relative to speakers costing *much* more), but I don't feel as if I'm missing anything with mine. I've always been able to appreciate changes upstream, and do have that *sparkle* (without etch) on the high end. Alas, the conundrum when one changes a variable in their system - it all too often necessitates other changes in search of synergy. I would definitely recommend bi-wiring to allow the speakers to perform at their utmost. Also experiment with placement. I think you're on the right track with amps - audition Bryston or McCormack. Both great values, as are the Kestrals. Regards and Happy Holidays to all, -John
jackd
1,037 posts
 
I have run my HR Kestrels quite successfully with a Music Reference RM-10 35wpc PP tube amp. This was recommended to me by Pat McGinty of Meadowlark. If you want to try SS I had the best luck with the Belles.
upscaleaudio's avatar
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upscaleaudio
258 posts
 
The best I have heard is with a tube ultralinear amp. I beg you to try this. The Kestrel Hot Rods are wonderful wonderful speakers. I had them hooked up one nite with the Ah! Tjoeb run direct into and Anthem Amp 1 and will tell you it was stunning. So musical. So I suggest the Anthem....or maybe the AES Super Amp. The Super Amp is a smidge out of you budget...not much...but worth it. While those speakers are sooo easy to set up to sound good...tweaking with rear wall distance and height via the spikes makes a HUGE diff....
prfont OP
89 posts
 
Kevin, you are so right about spiking and results. I had been demo-ing these at home and very causually placed them on DH pads(not cones) thinking these would be fine-WRONG. Last night I placed the speakers on two spikes and one BDR cone (I only had 4 spikes) and WHOA! Totally new speaker! All my misgivings about these speakers were washed away. Sadly, perhaps tragically, my CJ MV 52 has been alternately blowing left and right channel fuses so I've can't see what they'll do here. But that's another story..... Thanks again all - I finally know what everyone has been raving about. I think I'm 95 % there, and can sit back and relax knowing these will be sticking around.
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