Thanks Steve.
The AVI should have no trouble driving your Shahinian's Alan, it's got oodles of power. Having heard a few Meridian amps in the past, I'd say the AVI has quite a similar character, i.e. it's very neutral and just gets on with the job.
£1k integrated amp for Shahinain Obelisks?
- Thread starter alanbeeb
- Start date
Thanks Steve.
The AVI should have no trouble driving your Shahinian's Alan, it's got oodles of power. Having heard a few Meridian amps in the past, I'd say the AVI has quite a similar character, i.e. it's very neutral and just gets on with the job.
JezmondTutu
pfm Member
Of course, a Nait will drive Obs but DV's point is that to get the best out of them, you really need something with a lot of grunt & capable of working down to 2 ohms.
My highly modified NAP250 certainly worked with mine, but they have a lot more to give if you run them with the right amp.
What's that AVI amp rated at then? I'm not an AVI hater (owned ADM9's myself) but I'd have doubts over its ability into Obelisks. Good luck anyway.
My highly modified NAP250 certainly worked with mine, but they have a lot more to give if you run them with the right amp.
What's that AVI amp rated at then? I'm not an AVI hater (owned ADM9's myself) but I'd have doubts over its ability into Obelisks. Good luck anyway.
James Evans
Bedroom Bodger
ATC SIA150 thingamibob?
TimF
pfm Member
The Krell KAV 400 and the ATC SIA 150 both will drive Obs well. I would also recommend if one can find a Plinius integrated, an 8150/8200/9200 variety, but I have no idea what they would cost across the pond. These are recommended by Shahinian.
I currently drive my Ob2's with a Plinius 8200 and it does a very fine job. I also played them on a Naim Uniti and Naim Nap-100 for a short while(shock horrors!), and within reasonable levels did an okay job, still very good to listen to.
While the Obs are somewhat difficult to drive and takes very good amplification to bring them to their utmost, sometimes we all have to start somewhere and simply can't afford the best-whatever that is, for them.
My opinion is that I would rather have a pair of Obs running at maybe 50% or even 75% of what they can do, than no Obs at all-especially if you got the Obs at a good price to begin with. Better amplification can come later, depends on maybe the big picture. Mine are a work in progress, and maybe it will be a long journey on the amp/source end, but I still enjoy them. FWIW....Tim
I currently drive my Ob2's with a Plinius 8200 and it does a very fine job. I also played them on a Naim Uniti and Naim Nap-100 for a short while(shock horrors!), and within reasonable levels did an okay job, still very good to listen to.
While the Obs are somewhat difficult to drive and takes very good amplification to bring them to their utmost, sometimes we all have to start somewhere and simply can't afford the best-whatever that is, for them.
My opinion is that I would rather have a pair of Obs running at maybe 50% or even 75% of what they can do, than no Obs at all-especially if you got the Obs at a good price to begin with. Better amplification can come later, depends on maybe the big picture. Mine are a work in progress, and maybe it will be a long journey on the amp/source end, but I still enjoy them. FWIW....Tim
linntroika
pfm Member
Just my 2 cents
I have Arcs which are not as hard to drive , however going from a Nap250 then modded with NCC boards to a Dynavector was a monumental jump in overall performance . I was gobsmacked at the DV ability to bring the Arcs to life , it really was night /day
They are a great speaker , probably better to find a starting point on amplification and then when the time is right you can upgrade to something like a DV
Enjoy your Obs , they are a unique speaker
I have Arcs which are not as hard to drive , however going from a Nap250 then modded with NCC boards to a Dynavector was a monumental jump in overall performance . I was gobsmacked at the DV ability to bring the Arcs to life , it really was night /day
They are a great speaker , probably better to find a starting point on amplification and then when the time is right you can upgrade to something like a DV
Enjoy your Obs , they are a unique speaker
I was a happy Shahinian/Creek Destiny user for some time. Not Obs though - just humble Compasses.
gary yeowell
pfm Member
Franz, Compass's are nothing like Ob's when it comes to amps. Like i said, my Nait2 drives my Arc's well, and they are more difficult than Compass's. Ob's on the other hand sound dead unless they get what they need. More recent Ob's might be different but the circa2000 pairs i've tried sounded like they were drowned in treacle with amps i have tried except a Nap300.
I do wonder if DV's comments about the Obs still apply to the Ob2s. I know that the original Obs were a nightmare load for the amp, but I'm told (by more than one Ob2 owner) that the Obelisk 2 speakers are *much* easier on the amps. That's not to say they are necessarily an easy speaker to drive, but nothing like they used to be.
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
Its an illusion. I went from the original Obs to the Obs 2 and these new speakers may look the same but are another step up in presentation/clarity. I think its that latter that gives the impression that they are easier to drive. The main changes were a) the woofer is now the same as in the Hawks and b) the mounting board for the treble/mid-range drivers is now Finland Birch. The rest is pretty much the same but the grill cloth is black rather than chocolate.
You ought to hear how dynamic and detailed the Obs can sound. They sound effortlessly natural and musical with dramatic changes in SPL.
Cheers,
DV
I understood the cross-over design had been substantially overhauled, and that was where the more consistent, more even loading had come from, compared to the originals.
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
Yes there is a cross-over mod that goes with the woofer. If you look on the Shahinian web site they can upgrade both. Not sure if John Burns can do this in the UK or if they must be shipped to the US.
Cheers,
DV
Disbeliever
pfm Member
New or 2nd hand, and must be reasonably easy to find i.e. not unobtanium!
Medium sized room, 8ft ceilings, carpet, curtains, soft furniture, 14ft x 18ft.
Must be reasonably sized - not behemoth, so can fit on TT-sized wall shelf which can support 35kg+. All types of music played.
Remote control a must.
Any suggestions?
Yes I have the excellent New Rotel 1582 MK2 power amp 200 wpc if interested PM me
Rob400
pfm Member
Obs 2 have updated cabinet bracing which hasn't been mentioned. All in all a very much improved speaker to Obs 1. I've heard a DV L200/Densen B310 drive the 2's ok but lacked some grip. My L300/HX100 does a great job with my 2's. There is great synergy between the components.
Can't see any 1k integrated driving Obs 1 or 2 completely successfully to be honest. It's not just about power either. They are very revealing and warrant a very good source and amp.
Can't see any 1k integrated driving Obs 1 or 2 completely successfully to be honest. It's not just about power either. They are very revealing and warrant a very good source and amp.
Why would you buy a 2k 2nd hand pair of speakers and then only spend 1k on the amp? I would look at spending that money on the DIY HackerNAP in the classifieds and a decent enough passive pre. The Obs need Amps more than power. A KSA 50 sounds fantastic with them and a KSA 200 is not really much better - it is better, but not so much that I could justify keeping mine. My Bedini is better again.
Julf
Facts are our friends
You are unlikely to improve a 1k amp really significantly even if doubling the price, whereas speakers will have the potential for a much more significant improvement (or at least difference).