ESP P3A component recommendations

[clog]

Is the P3A something for me ??

For a long time now I've been following the various ESP P3A threads and especially the words of mr SAKIS did me wondering If the P3A would bring me closer to audio heaven than my trusted old Pioneer M73. The M73 is a Pioneer heavyweight power amp from around 1990.
I also wonder if the P3A would be a good match with my Quad 2805 ESL speakers.

 

[east electronics]

For a long time now I've been following the various ESP P3A threads and especially the words of mr SAKIS did me wondering If the P3A would bring me closer to audio heaven than my trusted old Pioneer M73. The M73 is a Pioneer heavyweight power amp from around 1990.
I also wonder if the P3A would be a good match with my Quad 2805 ESL speakers.

To my opinion NO ...no big time ... the power produced by the pioneer will never be reached from a P3A in any configuration ( even bridged ) ..

If one had the ability to make a blind test between them , which obviously had to be done in more sensitive speakers and in a given lower power level the results could favor the P3A which is going to sound far more free , clean , real, analytic and faster than the Pioneer .

The specific results are not because the P3A is 10 times better than the Pioneer its because smaller amplifiers can be made faster . Bigger amps you need to be careful with and cannot be made that free and fast .

So in your case its a NO ..the P3A is not suitable to your application .

Mind the Pioneer though... its old enough to have soldering and capacitor issues and you need to be careful if ,when and who is going to perform a repair to it . The amplifier inside is chaotic and there is parts that are totally unobtainable especially in the front board so ... i recon that you should take a look at him before its too late .

Kind regards
Sakis

 

[clog]

Dear mr Sakis, thank you for your advice. I Realize that the Pioneer is becoming an oldie and that is in need of restoration, although i never have a problem with it. With your experience in this field you would be the perfect person to overhaul this amp. But if i'm right you live in Athens and I live in Holland. Furthermore the amp weighs about 21 kg's. So it will be costly and risky to transport. On the other hand I've never been to Athens ................

Well on to the question if the P3A would be a good match for the Quad 2805 ESL. After some research as to the amp requirements for the esl's I found this:
"the esl should be used with an amplifier of 20V-30V rms output capability. Protection circuit in the esl limits the maximum input voltage to 40V and there is no benefit from using an amplifier with an output grater than 30V rms."

As a noob i would say the P3A is even better suited to my esl's than the pioneer. Am I Wrong in this ??

 

[Bigun]

I designed the TGM8 to sound like the P3A but also be able to provide a lot more power and drive more difficult loads. It may be an option, but it's more expensive and more difficult to build. A few people who built it also like the sound. I don't say it is perfect, but it is another option for you.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/245619-tgm8-amplifier-based-rod-elliot-p3a.html

 

[clog]

Interesting Bigun. I will checkout the thread. In one of the first posts it seems that you use some smd components. A bit scary for a newb, but perhaps i have to get my feet wet.

 

[Bigun]

The SMD parts are pretty easy once you've jumped in and use them - I have restricted myself to using SMD only for resistors (and not really small ones either) and diodes, everything else is through-hole. But the boards are full of parts, it's a busy-build and although the results are great, it could be unsuitable for a newb depending on how much of a newb you are