amp for driving low sensitivity speakers

jonomd

New member
Nov 13, 2010
27
0
0
Visit site
About to upgrade my amp at moment. Already rejected yamaha s500 and Rega brio 3. Looking to Rotel 04se or marantz pm6003 (if new).
At moment back on rotel 931.
i already own Dali Lektor 2 and Musical Technology Kestrel( I think).
The Musical Technology Kestrel speakers (floorstanders) have a sensitivity of 85db though 6 ohms. I was told they need a gutsy amplifier as they are not easy to drive. The rotel I have simply cannot drive then (very strained) and not sure it is getting best of dalis either.
I have only tried kestrels with an arcam 5 amp but later found out that it was arcam 5 amp that was not to taste.
Just wondering if any of the two above amps would be capable of driving these kestrels.

I am willing to go second hand but hifi shops here are in short supply and prices on auction have been going very high on quality gear. Many suggestions have been made to a previous question( rotel 1062, arcam 10, arcam 9 , Roksan kandy, musical fidelity a3, creek evo). Due to high bidding or my working hours just have not been able to get any results. The arcam 9,10 seem to be more readily avaliable but some reservations due to being not keen on arcam 5. ( i thought the arcam 5 was had excessive warmth and laid back) though not sure if that is a fair description of amp.

Should these two fail to drive the kestrels any other suggestions would be welcome.
Still willing to go second hand. Fairly sure I don't want a laid back or a overly warm sounding amp. £250 top for second hand. £350 for new). should these two fail to drive the kestrels any other suggestions would be welcome.

I have no problem buying second hand and reselling again if not suitable.
Thanks
 

Frank Harvey

Well-known member
Jun 27, 2008
567
1
18,890
Visit site
Nice speakers the Kestrels - tight, detailed, informative.

The best I heard them was when I was working at Griffin Audio, on the end of Naim. They were usually tried with the 92/90.3 pre/power, but they sang on the end of the 102/180. These Naim's allowed the Kestrels to retain their character.

The Alpha 9 is like the Alpha 5 - smooth and warm. The Alpha 10 is quite different, with a more neutral sound. From your info, the Alpha 10 would be more ideal for you.
 

jonomd

New member
Nov 13, 2010
27
0
0
Visit site
Never had chance to hear what kestrels are capable of. Had dismissed them but found it was arcam 5 that i was not keen on. Think i will persist and go for the arcam 10. Certainly many recommendations.
The arcam 5 nice enough amp in many ways but not to our taste.

Thanks again
 
jonomd said:
Never had chance to hear what kestrels are capable of. Had dismissed them but found it was arcam 5 that i was not keen on. Think i will persist and go for the arcam 10. Certainly many recommendations. The arcam 5 nice enough amp in many ways but not to our taste. Thanks again

Hi jonomd

If its not too late -

What do you and anyone else who is also likely to use the system generally listen to?

Your source component/s?

The size of your room?

Listening distance?

General listening level?

Interconnect/s and speaker cables are?

Do you use the tone controls on your RA-931 and is this a feature which you would like the new amp to retain? Any other features (such as a headphone socket, remote control, phono stage etc.) which you would also like to have on the new amplifer?

In the meantime i'll recommend that you should also seriously consider Rotel's superb RA-1062. Not only will the RA-1062 give you the tonal presentation you're after but the RA-1062 also offers better quality of performance (partly due to its ability to maintain control, drive and stability into difficult loudspeaker loads). The RA-1602 will simply energize your speakers far more effectively then the Alpha 10.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 

jonomd

New member
Nov 13, 2010
27
0
0
Visit site
hi,thanks for response, certainly both arcam 10 and rotel 1062 are strongly recommended. I do like rotel and the 931 which was a cheap amp at time (1996) was very good for price.
The yamaha s500 i simply did not take too. Looked good on paper. The brio was a nice amplifier though. Maybe a wee bit slightly safe sounding. Seems they excel with rega speakers so may still be a option.
The dalis will be sold on. as i already have the kestrels I would like to see if I could use them as they are well regarded.
The listening room is 4 by 3 m. Listening very varied. 70's 80's rock and pop, acoustic,classical, folk dominate. Listening at close range and fairly low volume. Interconnects not sure think linn af some kind. Speaker cable Qed Qudos but will be upgraded (possibly chord silverscreen). Room is well furnished.
Never used tone controls on rotel.
For these suggested amps I can wait. Not averse to trying used amps inbetween.
It may be that if the kestrels need a lot of space which would make them unsuitable for the time being but will be kept. Still looking for the amps even if i cannot use kestrels for time being.
Cheers
 

jonomd

New member
Nov 13, 2010
27
0
0
Visit site
Forgot a bit . Source is marantz 48 and yamaha hd1500. Also have a project debut record player ( this will be upgraded in due time). The intention is to add a dac (moon,musical fidelity m1 or rega) for the sources.
Yamaha has a decent headphone output. Remote,tone controls not important. Phono ideal but can be added later.
Cheers
 

WinterRacer

New member
Jan 14, 2009
34
1
0
Visit site
David,

The Naim 180 only has about 60watts/channel (IIRC), what is it about this amp that makes it work well with low sensitivity speakers? Wouldn't something with more power be better?

Thanks.
 
jonomd said:
hi,thanks for response, certainly both arcam 10 and rotel 1062 are strongly recommended. I do like rotel and the 931 which was a cheap amp at time (1996) was very good for price. The yamaha s500 i simply did not take too. Looked good on paper. The brio was a nice amplifier though. Maybe a wee bit slightly safe sounding. Seems they excel with rega speakers so may still be a option. The dalis will be sold on. as i already have the kestrels I would like to see if I could use them as they are well regarded. The listening room is 4 by 3 m. Listening very varied. 70's 80's rock and pop, acoustic,classical, folk dominate. Listening at close range and fairly low volume. Interconnects not sure think linn af some kind. Speaker cable Qed Qudos but will be upgraded (possibly chord silverscreen). Room is well furnished. Never used tone controls on rotel. For these suggested amps I can wait. Not averse to trying used amps inbetween. It may be that if the kestrels need a lot of space which would make them unsuitable for the time being but will be kept. Still looking for the amps even if i cannot use kestrels for time being. Cheers

Hi jonomd

Thanks for your reply.

The RA-1062 will do the trick :bigsmile:

As for alternative speaker cables standard 300 - 500 strand OFC types will be more then good enough.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 

Frank Harvey

Well-known member
Jun 27, 2008
567
1
18,890
Visit site
WinterRacer said:
David,

The Naim 180 only has about 60watts/channel (IIRC), what is it about this amp that makes it work well with low sensitivity speakers? Wouldn't something with more power be better?

Thanks.

Never judge Naim by their specs - you can spend over £6k on a NAP300 power amp and only get 90wpc. That may seem very close to a Yamaha AS500, but they're leagues apart in terms of current drive, control, headroom and stability.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Sorry for late reply to this thread, I just came across the forum. I have the MT Kestrel speakers (bi-wired with QED Qudos Silver cables) and in the past used them with a Denon PMA-250 III amp which was only 30W per channel. Sounded really sweet with input from SystemDek IIX 900 record deck and Marantz CD-63 KI-Sig player. I later upgraded to a Denon PMA 480-R amp (50W x 2) and noticed a significant degradation in sound quality. The power supply in the smaller Denon amp failed (unfortunately beyond economic repair), just as I was planning to buy another and go down the bi-amp route. Today, I am using another small amp, a NAD C315 BEE which is a bit heavy on the bass, but very warm. There's no substitute for trying the components together before you buy. You may be surprised to find out how little power you can get away with.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts