2. amps-preamps
  3. 1135578313

quandary: inefficient speakers, low-power amp

Hola fellow Agonners,

Help me figure this out. I'm running a system that presents what I guess is pretty much a nightmare scenario for one or more of the components involved: Dynaudio 50 monitors, notoriously power hungry at something like 86db/4 ohm rating, Anthem Amp 1 EL34 based power amp (40 watts/8 ohms I believe), and a Creek passive pre. My sources are Sony DVD feeding a Muse 2+ Dac and Music Hall MMF-5 w/Dynavector 10x4MkII cart feeding a modified NYAL Super It phono pre. This system sounds damn good to my ears, but I'm afraid I'm putting undue stress on the amp, speakers or both. I frequently run the preamp wide open or close to it, and it gets loud but not always as loud as I'd like.

I've considered getting more efficient speakers and keeping the Anthem (truly amazing sound for the $$$ I paid here on the 'Gon, especially with NOS 12AX7 in place)...or looking for a more powerful amp and keeping the Dynaudios (another amazing bang-for-the-buck product)...or just putting in an active pre to see if that improves matters. I really love both the amp and the speakers, but am I crazy for trying to make this setup work? I don't want to fry anything, but this combination sounds so good that my impulse is to crank it up as loud as it will go.

I wanna keep tubes in the system, so I'm thinking, either go with an active pre and keep the Anthem, or get another hybrid amp (like the modified Moscode 300 I used to have, or the Anthem Amp 2) and keep the passive one. Or hell, add a tubed one. Thoughts, feedback?

Thanks,

Jeff
jfacker
jfacker OP
85 posts
 
Hey everybody, thanks for all the responses. Thanks especially to 231cobra for assuring me I'm not about to blow something up. I hope you're right!

The room is roughly 15' by 16.' Thick walls, medium-length carpet, lots of furniture. Definitely not "live" sounding.

The Audience 50s are a two-way standmount with only one set of binding posts, so biwiring is not an option. If I had tower speakers with different posts for woofers and tweet/mids I would definitely look at biwiring with the Anthem on top and something like an ATI on the bottom, but that's for another day.

Popular wisdom is that you need to hit the Dynaudios with gobs of serious power, but I've run them with two different SS amps in the 125-150 watt range and I have to say, the Anthem absolutely smokes 'em in every way. I wouldn't have believed it myself -- I bought the amp at what I thought was the end of my time with these speakers, but I hooked it up to the 50s just for kicks and was stunned by the sound. Mama mia! I do like the combo so it sounds like the pre is what I want to look at replacing next.

Thanks again for all the feedback!
213cobra
762 posts
 
Based on your room and alternate amp experiences, borrow if you have to and try an active preamp. Get some voltage gain going into your power amp, then tell us what you notice. I think the sources are not driving the input section of the Anthem power amp very well. Answer that question and you'll have a much better idea how to proceed.

Phil
jax2
3,031 posts
 
It may be a more expensive experiment, and I cannot speak to actually reccomend the solution as being good or bad, but you might also consider Paul Speltz's Zero-Autoformers as a possible solution. They are essentially in-line (speaker cables) transformers that make your amp see the speakers as having 2X, 3X, or 4X the impedance. A more thorough explanation and reviews are available on the website. I have no experience with them to speak of. Actually I have a pair of them that belongs to my friend Peter, but I have not hooked them up. He may be selling his pair as he'd purchased them to use with his Quads (electrostatic speakers) and was not pleased with the results there. Your Dynaudios are a different animal though. Anyway, some folks like what these things do. Just two more pennies in your hat.

Marco
mor2bz
41 posts
 
get an active preamp; i recommend one by wright sound

if you need another anthem amp 1 i have one
jfacker OP
85 posts
 
Hey guys,

Update: I got a nice active pre (Audio Refinement Pre 5) to play around with. Kazam! No problem blasting the system loud enough to peel paint. However, I found the whole sound shifted dramatically. Even the PRAT -- with the Creek passive, I was getting sort of laid back sound - the system now sounds faster, more urgent. The sound is tighter overall, more dynamic (surprise, surprise), but initially, it was unbearably aggressive to my ears, a little white and flat-sounding, very solid state-ish. So I went to fooling around with cables and tubes. Found out the biggest culprit was the Russian-made 12bh7s in the Anthem (follow the Amperex 12ax7). With the Creek the Electro Harmonix 12bh7s gave me more drive and a clearer, cleaner sound than the NOS tubes I had, but with the AR in the chain they're overkill. Swapped 'em out for some NOS Sylvania 12bh7s and the sound is quite good -- it has the richness, depth and nonfatiguing quality of the Creek, but with more slam and higher SPLs.

I still feel like I'm missing some of the depth I had with the passive setup, though. Now I'm eyeing the stock power cords on the AR and my Muse DAC. And thinking about getting different NOS 12bh7s to roll into the Anthem. Damn this hobby and its infinitely forking paths to nirvana/neurosis!
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