Atma-Sphere amps with Eggleston Andra II's

Hi Bill,

You might consider e-mailing Ralph Karsten with your question and include a link to John Atkinson's measurement page from the 2002 Stereophile review of the Andra II. Ralph's a very straight shooter. Here's the link showing Atkinson's impedance measurements:

http://stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/719/index6.html

The Andra II's impedance dips to 3 ohms at 60 Hz. At high volume levels (probably around 108-110 dB peak at 1 meter) that would likely be where your amps would run out of steam first. But run it by Ralph to see what the man says.

Not that it's any of my buisness, but if you have MA-2's and are looking for world-class dynamics you might consider the 16-ohm Classic Audio Reproductions T-5. The combination would be capable of clean peaks over 120 dB, with virtually no thermal compression below 115 dB. I don't sell Classic Audio Reproductions speakers but do think highly of them. I do peddle Atma-Sphere, just so you know.

Best of luck to you,

Duke

Bill: Although the MA2 Mk2.3 has power, they are not ideal for your speakers. Your speakers are a nominal 6 ohm speaker but has some impedence drops that are not ideal for OTL's. I would either get other amps or look at other speakers.

i have andra-2's and m.levinson 33h amps which is a great match. plus i've upgraded my wires to transparent ref-mm. after recently hearing halcro-driven wilson alexandrias i STILL couldn't be happier with my system. the andras only need 100W, and your amps have twice that. plus the andra-2 is easier to drive than the andra-1's. i am going to upgrade my speakers soon due to my cavernous room, so if you're interested let me know.

Bill,

I would have to agree with Jtinn on this issue. The AS amps are great, but Dynaudio drivers tend to like Solid State amps that are High Current.

I own a pair of Andra 2's. I agree with Jtinn. The speakers need some power. French fries's Levinson 33h must have alot of current. I think the 33h are 150 watt @ 8 ohm. I've talked with Egglestonworks several times about amps and preamps. They recommend a good solid state amp in the 500 watt range. At CES, they were using the Pass Labs 600.5 mono blocks and they were very happy with the 600.5's. I'm using a 300 watt Jeff Rowland 302 amp and feel that I run out of power on occasion. I've had the Andra's up to a 97 db peak on my Radio Shack db meter. Normally, I run my amp between 85 and 92 db. You have to slightly push the amp, (or is it the speakers), to get a well balanced live sound. They are awesome speakers. The Andra's have excellent dynamics. I listen to alot of Pink Floyd, Cream, and Hendrix lately. Guitar especially sounds just like the real thing. Bass and synthesizer are excellent as well. The speakers are capable of room-(my room 14'w x 28'l)- shaking bass response. Great speakers, but probably not a good match with your current amps though. Good luck. Stan