Hi all, first post. Ive just begun to scratch the surface of of diy audio and recently stumbled onto nelson pass' website. very exciting and overwhelming stuff!
my question: What amp would you build to match an altec Lansing 605b speaker?
I was fortunate enough to inherit a pair of speakers from my grandfather who built the cabinets in the 70s. The matching cabinets were clearly designed for a pair of 605s however he put a 605b in one and a 601-8e in the other. Sadly I'll probably never know why.
I'm a professional classical musician and have very discerning ears. So sound quality is very important. Also I'm a noob when it comes to electronics and know just enough to be dangerous. So a simple design would be preferred. Because of these speakers' Amazing efficiency I'm thinking 10w pc should be plenty of power. Even though both can handle 35w idont need them to run that loud. The 605 is 16ohm and the 601 8ohm, will this cause any issues if I build a single 2channel amp? I'd rather not build 2 separate amps.
My current setup uses an old pioneer vsx-d510 along with a set of Jamo classic 4s in 5.1. I watch a lot of blu ray movies and listen to a fair bit of music. I'll be upgrading soon, but due to budget will have to stay in the 30-40% off of last year's $1000msrp receiver (ive been looking at marantz, nad, and pioneer) and then hopefully be able to build a nice amp for the altecs. Suggestions for the receiver would be helpful too.
Thanks
my question: What amp would you build to match an altec Lansing 605b speaker?
I was fortunate enough to inherit a pair of speakers from my grandfather who built the cabinets in the 70s. The matching cabinets were clearly designed for a pair of 605s however he put a 605b in one and a 601-8e in the other. Sadly I'll probably never know why.
I'm a professional classical musician and have very discerning ears. So sound quality is very important. Also I'm a noob when it comes to electronics and know just enough to be dangerous. So a simple design would be preferred. Because of these speakers' Amazing efficiency I'm thinking 10w pc should be plenty of power. Even though both can handle 35w idont need them to run that loud. The 605 is 16ohm and the 601 8ohm, will this cause any issues if I build a single 2channel amp? I'd rather not build 2 separate amps.
My current setup uses an old pioneer vsx-d510 along with a set of Jamo classic 4s in 5.1. I watch a lot of blu ray movies and listen to a fair bit of music. I'll be upgrading soon, but due to budget will have to stay in the 30-40% off of last year's $1000msrp receiver (ive been looking at marantz, nad, and pioneer) and then hopefully be able to build a nice amp for the altecs. Suggestions for the receiver would be helpful too.
Thanks
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build ACA for pocket money , to have a sniff of things
then build latest iteration of F5 , use it either for 605B FR or just for bass , with ACA for squawker
or stretch little more , and build F6 , as definitive FR amp (use ACA for bedroom )
contact Semisouthfan for outputs
then build latest iteration of F5 , use it either for 605B FR or just for bass , with ACA for squawker
or stretch little more , and build F6 , as definitive FR amp (use ACA for bedroom )
contact Semisouthfan for outputs
the aca looks fun. y
in simple terms can you explain the advantages/disadvantages of thef5 vs f6 vs the zens for my setup?
by "fr" do you mean front, fast recovery, or full range?
squawker: are you Referring to the horn on the 605 that handles the highs? if so wouldn't that f5 + aca combo be more of a true bi-amp configuration? in that case I'm guessing I'd want to pull the n1600 crossover from the speaker cabinet and run it between the receiver and amps, correct?
in simple terms can you explain the advantages/disadvantages of thef5 vs f6 vs the zens for my setup?
by "fr" do you mean front, fast recovery, or full range?
squawker: are you Referring to the horn on the 605 that handles the highs? if so wouldn't that f5 + aca combo be more of a true bi-amp configuration? in that case I'm guessing I'd want to pull the n1600 crossover from the speaker cabinet and run it between the receiver and amps, correct?
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ACA is cheap , but only because Papa decide to made it that way , for benefit of masses
it will give you first hand experience with A class and also with building it
F6 will give you most for the money if using it for FR setup - full control of big cone , and enough lush , needed for squawker , while F5 can be on cold side .......... and most of Zen amps can be either too lush or too wimpy
FR = I meant usage of 604 with passive xover (contrary to active biamp , with either active or passive xover on line level)
squawker - yes , that means mid/high horn , for diggers/lovers/aficionados 😉
original xover can't be used on line level - just in front of spk. driver(s)
btw- permanent setup/usage of 604 + any of Pass amp with AV receiver is ruining it potential
make proper preamp + amp + 604 for hi quality stereo listening , and use one of preamp line inputs to route (line) signal from AV receiver , so they can serve as main drivers in HT setup
it will give you first hand experience with A class and also with building it
F6 will give you most for the money if using it for FR setup - full control of big cone , and enough lush , needed for squawker , while F5 can be on cold side .......... and most of Zen amps can be either too lush or too wimpy
FR = I meant usage of 604 with passive xover (contrary to active biamp , with either active or passive xover on line level)
squawker - yes , that means mid/high horn , for diggers/lovers/aficionados 😉
original xover can't be used on line level - just in front of spk. driver(s)
btw- permanent setup/usage of 604 + any of Pass amp with AV receiver is ruining it potential
make proper preamp + amp + 604 for hi quality stereo listening , and use one of preamp line inputs to route (line) signal from AV receiver , so they can serve as main drivers in HT setup
Ok, which preamp do you recommend? all the av preamps I've seen start at $2,500-$3,000 which sadly is several times over what I can afford. Is there a commercial stereo preamp I should consider?
My source material is almost entirely blu-ray movies or lossless cd rips (wav/flac) all coming from my htpc. I have a few lps but no turntable.... something else to get eventually....
If I build a F6 and a diy preamp, how much should I budget for parts. I will probably build my own chassis out of wood, so will save significant cost there. I have quite a bit of old computer hardware lying around, would I be able to cannibalize any of that for parts?
find F6 thread , go to FIRST WATT and read everything
old computer hardware - maybe just NTCs from PSUs 😉
you can buy input Jfets here in Store or from Spencer
outputs from Semisouthfan
everything else ........... if you don't find enough info in F6 thread - just ask there or in your own building thread
I can't be more specific , cause we are on different sides of Big Splash
edit : preamp - any of B1 iterations is adequate for your case , even completely passive - just selector and volume ; you can put buffer later , if you choose to
old computer hardware - maybe just NTCs from PSUs 😉
you can buy input Jfets here in Store or from Spencer
outputs from Semisouthfan
everything else ........... if you don't find enough info in F6 thread - just ask there or in your own building thread
I can't be more specific , cause we are on different sides of Big Splash
edit : preamp - any of B1 iterations is adequate for your case , even completely passive - just selector and volume ; you can put buffer later , if you choose to
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