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Shahinian Arc - New power Amp ?

linntroika

linntroika

pfm Member
Hello

Firstly i am very happy with my current setup - its taken me quite a while to get there (over a year experimenting) but may be tempted by a replacement power amp ?

This thread is specifically aimed at Arc owners (who are happy :) regarding their power amps delivery to get the most out of the Arcs ?)

Power amps that im considering are

Densen B330
Dynavector Hx 75 / 100
Teddy Mb100 monoblocks
Naim 300

Other Suggestion ??

Currently im running olive 250 (fully serviced 2012 , new Kendeil capacitors)

I DO NOT want to change any other component in my system (but the power amp is the oldest - 23 years ) - So new amp has to gel with 52

My system sounds airy ,detailed ,punchy and analogue :)- bass is a deep controlled Punch (but not isobarik extension)

Just wondering what changes a new power amp would bring


Rest of sys
Cds3/Txps/Ar Lunar/52(pots8 serviced)/Tsupercap/250-Mogami/Arcs(2006)

Cheers

Brian
 
Add Avondale M130s to the list or a DIY NCC200 job.

You could make Ian an offer on his 'Special' 180. It would look lovely on the rack with your 52 ;-)


Dan
 
I used an integrated EAR V20 valve amp and the speakers sounded fantastic.

You could try a pair of EAR 509 mono-block power amps, if the connections work.

Jack
 
I'm running a CB NAP250 into my Arcs, and I am really happy with the results.

Given your current setup, I'd think it would be worth considering a pair of NAP135s. I consider getting a pair off e-bay, but I decided I wasn't keen to spend that much without a dem.

Chris
 
Hi,

I ran a pair of 135 clones in to my arcs, sounded nice but now I have hackernaps and they sound even batter.
I recently serviced a 250 for a mate and it was disappointing when I tested it into my arcs, so if you want to stay Naim 135s but Densen's are good, I ran a B300 while upgrading my 135 clones and it sounded very nice, more musical them the 135 clones.

Pete
 
You may wish to future proof as the Obelisks may call........

Obelisks are a much more difficult load to drive and to get the most you'll need summat like the HX 1.2/100, Bryston, Krell, Passlabs etc or in my case a real find the Meridian 559.

FWIW I had a pair of 135s and then got them Avondaled to stage 3 (that cost £850!) but Obs are a difficult load that really came alive with the 559. Quite cheap to for what is two mono blocks in a single 42Kg package. You'll pay around £1400-1600 for one so just compare that price against the other amps. Naim use one pair of trannies in the output stage whilst the 559 uses 20 pairs that can sink 150A into 1 Ohm.

In case you missed it I have two 559s each set to bridged mode.

When I had my first 559 the thing that immediately struck me were the timbre of acoustic instrument that are so real. The tinkling of a tiny bell sparkled and with strings you can smell the rosin on the bows. As for bass even at low volumes deep organ notes vibrate through the concrete foundations and yer bones!

Cheers,

DV
 
linntroika said:
Hello

Firstly i am very happy with my current setup - its taken me quite a while to get there (over a year experimenting) but may be tempted by a replacement power amp ?

This thread is specifically aimed at Arc owners (who are happy :) regarding their power amps delivery to get the most out of the Arcs ?)

Power amps that im considering are

Densen B330
Dynavector Hx 75 / 100
Teddy Mb100 monoblocks
Naim 300

Other Suggestion ??

Currently im running olive 250 (fully serviced 2012 , new Kendeil capacitors)

I DO NOT want to change any other component in my system (but the power amp is the oldest - 23 years ) - So new amp has to gel with 52

My system sounds airy ,detailed ,punchy and analogue :)- bass is a deep controlled Punch (but not isobarik extension)

Just wondering what changes a new power amp would bring


Rest of sys
Cds3/Txps/Ar Lunar/52(pots8 serviced)/Tsupercap/250-Mogami/Arcs(2006)

Cheers

Brian
Click to expand...


If you are buying used consider a CJ premier 350 which is essentially a power amp for life and a complete bargain secondhand. If CJ made the same amp today it would cost in excess of £20k no doubt about it. It's way way beyond the likes of the HX1.2, NAP500 etc.. Bottomless power which will drive everything from a wharfedale diamond to an Apogee Diva, and the most un solid state like liquid SS power amp you will ever find with not a trace of harshness or grain. Martin Colloms has it scored as 3 times better than a NAP500 :p And still one of the best he's ever heard.

At lower money I can certainly also recommend the HX1.2 as a previous owner. Not a huge fan of the NAP300 personally especially when compared to the cheaper Dynevectors. A big plinius would also be a good idea but as stated but the CJ350 is in another league altogether.
 
Depending on money I would really recommend something NCC200 based.

I've now got Rana's old Bedini driving my Obs and it is fantastic. I simply can't believe that nobody on here wanted it at £500!


It all depends what you want more of I suppose
 
To the OP, a lot depends on the size of your room and how loud you listen to your music. I'm running Obelisks off a Naim Nait XS in a small-medium room (11x14ft) and it sounds wonderful to me. I've owned loads of gear in the past 20 years, including many Naim items (some several times!), but Nait XS / Obelisks is just about the best combination I've had really.

My conclusion, don't worry too much about something more high powered than what you already have (although by all means try it), just buy an amp that you like the sound of, that works well with YOUR speakers in YOUR room.
 
Allan Probin said:
To the OP, a lot depends on the size of your room and how loud you listen to your music. I'm running Obelisks off a Naim Nait XS in a small-medium room (11x14ft) and it sounds wonderful to me. I've owned loads of gear in the past 20 years, including many Naim items (some several times!), but Nait XS / Obelisks is just about the best combination I've had really.
Click to expand...

This is a joke! I have listened to a Nait XS driving my Obelisks, with and without a teddyCap - and it sounds comprehensively awful - it was like listening to 'music' underwater.

Alan let me do you a huge favor...I'll lend you my DIY NCC200 single box amp, if you like you buy. £600

You will of course need to also buy a preamp, how many sources do you have?

Dan
 
Run my Arcs with a Densen B330 , this was a big improvement over my previous DV HX75.
The new DV HX100 is the best thing I have heard with my Arcs , stunningly awesome !

Never cared much for my old Naim (NAP 250) into Arcs , too bloated in the upper bass.

Regards

David
 
Dan K said:
This is a joke! I have listened to a Nait XS driving my Obelisks, with and without a teddyCap - and it sounds comprehensively awful - it was like listening to 'music' underwater.

Alan let me do you a huge favor...I'll lend you my DIY NCC200 single box amp, if you like you buy. £600

You will of course need to also buy a preamp, how many sources do you have?

Dan
Click to expand...
Hi Dan, I've owned quite a few Naim pre-amps up to 252, quite a few power amps up to NAP300, although none were with the Obelisks at the time (that would be Mk1 Kans, IBL,SBL,SL2 or NBLs), and I have to say the little Nait with the Obs is about the most direct, immediate and communicative system I've had. Immediately prior to the Nait I had Rega Saturn/Elicit (with the Obelisks) and the CD5XS / Nait XS / Flatcap XS is a very obvious step up in terms of transparancy and drive.

I'm just using the one source by the way, a CD5XS with Flatcap XS.

Allan
 
The problem with driving the Obs is that they hover around 2 Ohms in the important treble region. This is the area where the ear is at its most sensitive and many amps are not happy driving such low impedance. If you read my post you will see that even 135s that were upgraded by Avondale with the SS Enterprise modules although good couldn't really handle the Obs at anywhere near realistic volume. Background listening maybe but lacked dynamics and timbre and the sound thickened up as the amps clipped. I have a piano in the next room and even when played quietly have lovely timbre and dynamics and its that which was my benchmark. Adding a more powerful amp changed the sound completely even on quiet instruments like a triangle.

You should at least keep an open mind and try to hear the difference that a powerful amp can bring to the party.

Cheers,

DV
 
Exactly DV.
With. Obs...
Nait xs. No
Nap200. No
NCC200, Hmmm, not bad at all, this I like..
Bedini, wow!
 
Dan,

In the list of kit I've tried in the past, I never mentioned that I did very briefly try out a pair of Obelisks, possibly six or seven years ago now. I would have had CDS3, 252, 250.2 at the time. John Burns dropped a demo pair off with me, set them up and left them with me for a week. Based on the experience at the time I would have said that 250.2 etc and Obelisks was simply not a good combination. The sound just sat on the floor like a lump. Overall result was that it just sounded flat and lifeless. This was in the same room I'm using now, but with the speakers firing down the length of the room.

Roll on to present day, room has since been re-arranged, speakers are against the long wall firing across the width. Now with Nait, sound is very much 'out-the-box' it easily spans the width and height of the back wall and at times it almost feels like I'm sat in a sphere of sound. The Nait also manages to have the Obs sounding lightening fast. I swear they're sounding as fast as Kans, but with a larger more natural scale. This is a world of difference compared to my experience some years ago. Whether that's down to room layout or the combination of electronics and speakers I'm not sure, but probably a combination of both as I think a lot of this is down to the Nait having a relatively lighter balance and not over-driving the speakers, swamping my difficult room with bass.

Allan
 
I don't think there's much to disagree on, Allan's happy and so are you. If only everything was that simple. Vive le happiness.
 
Allan-really pleased your still liking the Obelisks, if you are enjoying what you are hearing there is nothing wrong.

Dear Brian, in hindsight I found a big Pass Labs amp to give me the ease of listening i was after with obelisks, retaining all the things i enjoyed with the Dynavectors and Meridian options but with a more valve like presentation, i was using a Pass pre as well with WT front end, I had to listen to all the usual suspects before i could know, i thought i preferred the Dynavector HX 75 but now feel the Pass was a more refined amp, obviously arcs don't need this sort of power and current delivery so i would say, for the money a hx 75 is worth a listen and i bet oceanobsession's amp is a fine match. Anything above the arc and you would struggle to find a valve amp that would cope so you are in a nice position to try that option out if inclined.

good luck with your search.

Si.
 
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