Looking for a partnering poweramp

[Ralph]

Hi all,

After having built the PRE-II/PSU preamp from WorldAudioDesign, I'm looking for suggestions on a partnering poweramp kit of high quality. Loudspeakers are home-built ScanSpeak Reference Monitor (eff: 86-89 Db, 4 Ohm). They need quiet a bit of power. What kit would you suggest? The poweramp I'm currently using is a Linn LK85.

Ralph

 

[AudioFreak]

3 more questions ....

1. What is the max rms power handling of the speakers

2. How much are you willing to spend

3. How much experience do you have building amps etc?

 

[Ralph]

3 answers

3. Not too experienced, I know how to solder, the preamp was my first DIY-kit.

2. Difficult, looking for quality in the first place. 1100 EURO/£ 700 or so?

1. 100W, but they are the best units you can get from ScanSpeak, so power handling is no problem.

 

[AudioFreak]

Well you'll probably want an amp with at least 50W per channel and therefore i'd tend to move away from tubes and toward the solid state arena. If you dont mind the heat produced by Class A, i'd probably recommend an Aleph from Pass Labs, see www.passdiy.com for details. You might also like to look at the leach amps if the heat is a problem.

 

[Thatch_Ear]

Another option is to get an active crossover and bi-amp your speakers using SS to drive the woofers. Hopefully that will allow your Linn to drive your mid/highs where you really want the tubes. 88/89 db drivers and tubes just don't go well together but if you aren't into really loud music and want to keep the tube warmth in the mids and avoid the harsh highs it is an option. I looked at some reviews of your amp and there was a lot of praise of the ability to plug in an active card for bi-amping but I got the impression that that won't work with your speakers. Just an idea and not knowing if the mids are sealed or open framed you might give some thought to changing out the mids and tweeters to something more in the 93 db range and still bi-amp. Ask about that in the speaker section. There are tube amps out there that have the power to run your speakers like some 100 watt mono blocks made by Bogen in the 50s but I can't really say what it would take to get someting like that rebuilt for great sound.

 

[Ralph]

Thanks for the suggestions about active filters for the Linn. They're not compatible with my speakers, as you mentioned. In the end I'll be looking for a serious ss amp for partnering my tube preamp.

Ralph

 

[phil]

Have a look here http://www.diyhifisupply.com/
Phil.