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rcryan

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Last year I purchased a pair of Prodigys as a Christmas gift for my wife (honest - she loves her music too). I've been shopping unsuccesfully for an upgrade for my Parasound 2200. I'm looking for suggestions or lessons learned in applying amps to these speakers. Would anyone have suggestions in the <$12K range.

Thanks in advance.
 
rcryan said:
Would anyone have suggestions in the <$12K range.
Lots of choices with that budget... Here are some examples in no particular order:
Monarchy Audio
Blue Circle Audio
Balanced Audio Tech (BAT)
Pass Labs
Aria Audio
Audio Research
Cary Audio
Conrad Johnson
Bryston
Classe' Audio
Odyssey Audio

I'm sure there are quite a few more that I've missed. You'll need to be more descriptive about the type of music, how loud, room geometry, and your preference about bass, vocals or highs (details). For example, tubes on the panels are unmatched when it comes to vocals and midrange.

Good Luck
Spike
 
I second that Classé nomination, and loved how it sounded, but we all have different ears.
 
Spike said:
For example, tubes on the panels are unmatched when it comes to vocals and midrange.

Good Luck
Spike

We have put high grade tubes (Audio Aero monoblocs) on the panels of our Monoliths and were distinctly underwhelmed compared to Plinius amplification. I suspect high grade powerful pushpull valve architecture would be significantly better than the 40W SET in this context but again there are good solid state solutions. Tubes are very system dependent and often cost a lot more than similarly effective solid state and require maintenance/replacement etc.

We have listened to Krell, Classe, Plinius in powerful solid state and the Plinius is the most 'tube like' without the soft focus vocals that are a feature of a lot of tubed amplification.

As usual this solution will not suit everyone. Statements about a style of presentation being 'unmatched' are absolutely correct in that the listener prefers the presentation of a tube amp and there is nothing wrong with this.

Kevin
 
kwr said:
We have put high grade tubes (Audio Aero monoblocs) on the panels of our Monoliths and were distinctly underwhelmed compared to Plinius amplification. I suspect high grade powerful pushpull valve architecture would be significantly better than the 40W SET in this context but again there are good solid state solutions.
As I had posted in a thread regarding tubes and logans SET amplifiers are not good match for Logans due to the wide impedance swing presented at the amplifier/speaker interface. Push-pull amplifiers fare much better driving the Logans...

Spike
 
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Thanks for all the suggestions.

Room specifics: rectangular 38' deep and 24' across. System is placed in the upper right (imagine an overhead view) area of the room. Speakers are 8' apart and 4' from the right wall, 3' from the back (top) wall. I would describe it as acoustically live. Windows (3/4 of floor to ceiling height) on all three walls with no covering. The back (bottom) wall is stone and wood cabinetry. The floor is tile and it a a flat roof - low ceiling - FLW type home. I've attached a hastily shot jpg.

Listening tastes include high vocal content with the occasional blasts of Texas blues men.

I'm looking at a set of Cary 211s.
 

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Oops... Need some work on image sizing. Sorry.
 
kwr said:
We have put high grade tubes (Audio Aero monoblocs) on the panels of our Monoliths and were distinctly underwhelmed compared to Plinius amplification. I suspect high grade powerful pushpull valve architecture would be significantly better than the 40W SET in this context but again there are good solid state solutions. Tubes are very system dependent and often cost a lot more than similarly effective solid state and require maintenance/replacement etc.

We have listened to Krell, Classe, Plinius in powerful solid state and the Plinius is the most 'tube like' without the soft focus vocals that are a feature of a lot of tubed amplification.

Like we have stated here, each to their own in regards to components.

Back a few months, with all the talk about how ML's really sing with tube amps, I had to try them out myself. I tried VTL, ARC, Cary, CJ, & Quicksilver amps on my setup. Each had nice midrange to varying degrees, but lacked in either low end control, and/or rolled off highs. I just could not find a tube amp that I really liked. Then, I tried the Plinius SA-102 and here was an amp that had tube like mids, but also provided control and authority in the bass (not easy with the CLS) and also extended nicely into the high end without that typical solid state treble sound - in Class A mode. A/B has some slight solid state brightness to it, but nothing like some of the other solid state ams. With the 102, Class A is selectable so you do not have an extra space heater running all the time. There were some other solid state amps that I tried, and they just did not compare to the Plinius. While there might have been some other tube amps I could have tried, once I heard the Plinius mated up with my ARC Tube Pre, my search stopped.

Dan
 
rcryan said:
I'm looking at a set of Cary 211s.
It's best if you email Dennis Had of Cary Audio and ask him about running the 211 full-range to drive the Prodigies. I recalled that he was not too thrilled with the idea of either the 805 nor 211 driving ML full-range when asked about my ReQuests. They're fine for driving the panels but not full-range. He recommended the V12R or SixPacs for MLs. Now, a pair of Cary V12R monoblocs or the BAT VK150 will fit the bill nicely :)
I noticed the ARC preamp, so why not consider ARC amplifier to mate with its counterpart?

Spike
 
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Thanks for the contacts at Cary.

Very observant on the AR. What started this process was the addition of a Electrocompanient CD player. It has XLR outs and my AR LS3 has RCA in with XLR out. I envision another change in the future. At this price level I'd like the unit to look good enen when we aren't listening to it. All the AR reviews seem to indicate big, heaviy, hot, and ugly. I definitely agree with ugly.
 

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