Better Amps For Talon Khorus CAT JL2 or Tenor 75?

The Tenors are incredible and indeed very special amps, but every time I have heard them with Talon, the bass was soft and not controlled, YMMV. As mentioned above, the Pass and Edge amps are also very good.

However, there are two critical issues at hand (at least I think they are critical):

1) The entire Talon line absolutely THRIVES on high-current solid-state. Feel free to ask Mike Farnsworth about this. Well designed tube amps sound great with Talon, but to get those dual midrange/woofer drivers moving and keep them under control, you MUST have the current. For example, at the CES show, the Tenors were driving the new Talon Firebird speakers, the midrange on up was absolutely STUNNING, but the LF was NOT that good. To be fair, I do not attribute this to just the amps, but also the fact that the room was WAY to small for those speakers. But, the majority of the LF response isuue was due to the Tenors (this is just my opinion, so don't get all upset on me). Also, the Khorus X MKII were featured in the Joule Electra room. Again, a very seductive and liquid presentation, but the bass, dynamics, and detail was just NOT there.

2) With the Talon line, to get the liquid and lush presentation of tubes, PLUS get the bass, dynamics, and detail, you do NOT need to spend megabucks on amplification. There are some fantastic well designed, high-current solid-state amps out there for a LOT less money than what the other amps mentioned go for (if you want recommendations, let me know), that will allow you to appreciate what the Talon line is capable of.

Ok, I have said my peace ;-)

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio

Mike- At CES this year I thought they were using the joule electra right of passage amps on the khorus X mkII, right? I don't think there are many speakers that could ask for a better amp then that(I like the joule amps nearly as much as I like the tenors- I did say nearly!). I don't think you could hold that amp responsible for poor bass, room, maybe but I don't think those babies would have any problem trouncing the Khorus's needs- though I have been wrong in the past. Just food for thought.... Happy listening

In the Joule Electra room, you are correct, they were using the "Right of Passage" amps. And don't get me wrong, the sound was wonderful, but I have heard much better bass output from the Khorus X.

The OTHER room with Talon featured the new Talon Firebirds being driven by Tenor. Please understand, I never stated that either the Electra or Tenor sounded bad, just that I have heard the Talon line sound more to my liking with other (and cheaper) solid-state amps.

Just reporting what I heard and my experiences with Talon speakers and MANY different amps. Again, this is all just my opinion. I just would hate for someone to get focused on a particular amp or two, without giving others (that may cost MUCH less) a fair shot. I stand by my statement that the Talon speakers LOVE high-current solid-state. At least that is when they sound the best to my ears, YMMV.

Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio

For what it is worth, I agree 100% with Mike at Father & Son Audio. I heard both Talon rooms at CES - and they more or less sounded exactly as he described them (I did not bother to report on the Joule Electra room in our trip report - the sound was neither remarkable nor overly dissapointing). Mike has much more experience than I with the Talons - and even though the 'Tenors and the Joules' (sounds like a hit TV show... :-) are two of the finest lines of tubed amplifiers in the whole blamed world - the Talon's bass was just not very present, detailed nor dynamic at CES and really did sound like it wanted something to drive it that can as tightly control the bass as, as... (I really wanted to put something humourous here but I just think it would get me into a lot of trouble - so use your imagination... :-) one of the better solid state amps.

- Mike (Audio Federation)

hi Guys; this looks like a fun discussion......so i'll give my Tenor-lovin 2 cents.......

it may be interesting how the Firebirds do when they are completely mature as a design.....in a proper room. i was in the Firebird room at CES early on Friday morning and Mike had still been tweaking with the Firebirds.....trying to get the bass to behave and integrate.

then on Sunday the bass was much better. turns out that Rives Audio (www.rivesaudio.com) installed a mid and low bass equalizer called a PARC in the room to reduce/eliminate the bass nodes. the bass was still possibly not perfect.....but these Firebirds are still prototypes.....so it is hard to fix any specific cause for that. in my experience with other speakers.....lots of ss current will possibly tighten bass but at a critical loss of bass texture and nuance compared to the Tenor......and to me live acoustic bass sounds more like what the Tenors do than what ss current might do.

so 'can' the Tenors be the ideal amp for the Khorus X or Firebird?

i'll answer that by describing my experience with my previous speakers, the Wilson Watt/Puppy 6s. i had a few very well respected ss 'muscle' amps on the WP6's.....the Levinson #33 and the Halcro DM-58.....and another couple of relatively high-current tube amps....the Atmasphere MA2 MkII.2 and the Red Rose Amp 1. after trying the Tenor on the WP6, it was crystal clear that none of those very nice amps were in any way close to how the Tenors did bass with the WP6....i heard texture and definition that made things sound real. did the bass performance move as much air.....maybe not.....but it sounded more like what i would hear live. the speed and 'jump' factor were there on the Tenors.....but not with quite the 'hifi' impact of other higher current amps. the Tenors presented an overall believable picture compared to pieces here and there.

so in comparing the WP6 to the Khorus X or Firebird......the Khorus speakers are certainly much more OTL friendly and should be less likely to benefit from ss amps than the WP6. the WP6 is notorius for liking lots of current.....which i certainly had with the amps i tried.....yet the Tenors were the best that i had heard on the WP6.

this may come down to taste.....what flavor of bass do you want? if you are looking for "Rock Show" bass.....ss might be a good choice.

personally, i'll choose naturalness over impact every time.

when you add in the fact that the top to bottom natural clarity of the Tenor is simply not availible in any other amp i have heard it becomes an easy choice.

my point here is not that any of the choices of the above posters aren't excellent or that they might not do certain things that that poster might prefer with the Khorus speakers......but if the question is what amp is the overall best amp with the Khorus X speakers......IMHO it is the Tenor.