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Shahinian hawk amp recommendations

Julian Slinn said:
The NAP 250 worked well with my first pair of ARCs in 1994 did a decent job. The NAP 160/180 where unregulated and did well with the Oberlisks however the NAP 250 was bettered so too the Nap135s as much as the Nap 500 sexy it didn’t surpass the 1.2 in anything but size and cost.

At this point in time my hifi requirements had surpassed box counts and gimmicks of audio control and management I felt the Audiophile Base platforms where probably one of the best isolation platforms available all stands such as Quadtaspire and the Naim Frame where just overly expensive and offered little to no benefit. My aim was to have a system I could place on the floor and it still boogie.
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Around 2005 I had a pair of Velodyne DD18s a Dynavector HX1.2 a pair of ARCs and believe It or not a Revox Intergrated Amp. At the time I was living in Camden and we found support in a local pub that had an awesome basement and land lady Wendy. We rallied around and met a group of DJs willing to play and boy did the house rock it was mental the DJs loved the system various two/three deck analogue and digital turntables played the night away and probably to the best sound they have ever heard. A neighbour of some two miles away complained
 
…I’m more than a little late to this thread, but if you already have an EAR amp, what about upgrading to a pair of the 509mk2 mono blocks? They are supposed to be able to drive just about anything.
I’m planning on getting a pair myself to power my Obelisk 2s (currently using an HX100).
 
ACM said:
…I’m more than a little late to this thread, but if you already have an EAR amp, what about upgrading to a pair of the 509mk2 mono blocks? They are supposed to be able to drive just about anything.
I’m planning on getting a pair myself to power my Obelisk 2s (currently using an HX100).
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ACM

Curious as to why you’re moving on from your HX100 with Obelisks. I own one of, what must be, the very few HX100’s here in the US. Using it Obelisk 1’s and BBC style speakers.

Cheers
 
Clay,

I think that I might actually have just about the only 100V HX100 in existence, here in Japan!

Over the past few years I have slowly been adding EAR components to my setup, first the HP4 headphone amp and then the 88PB phono stage. I recently bid farewell to my trusty L300 which had been at the centre of my system for 17 years. In its place is now a Benchmark LA4 which really lets the 88PB shine through - with the L300 I was only getting a hint of what the phono stage is capable of.

So the 509s would finish things off nicely, I think. Although they are valve/tube amps, they don’t have the typical “tubey”
sound - people say that they sound more like solid state. They have bags of power too (100W) and they are said to be capable of driving just about any speaker.

That’s my reasoning, anyway…
 
I had the Obelisk Mk1 for a few years. Used them with a Bryston 4BST power amp which was IMO more than capable of driving them well. Did also demo a DYnavector HX1.2 at Graham’s in North London out of curiosity given the reputedly excellent match with Shahinians. For me, the difference was v marginal and I decided that it wasn’t worth the significant extra cash (plus Bryston used to have - still have? - a very long warranty period and a reputation for being v reliable).
 
I have Obs 1 and they are really singing driven by a pair of ICEPower 200w monoblocks. Previously used 140, 250, 110 monos, 110 monos with Avondale big cap boards.

I would suggest you try some of the class-D amps out there as a cost effective way of beefing up the power.
 
Mark is on to something. Years ago I auditioned an Audio Research DCI 200 integrated amp with my Obelisk 1’s. Class D modules within, the amp/ speaker combination had me listening well into night. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed I assumed I would find something better. I didn’t!
 
I remember back in the day the Obelisks being advertised with a pair of Magnum A100 mono amplifiers and relevant pre amp.. always wondered how the combo sounded.
 
My Duevel Venus omnidirectional speakers are (according to the 2021 HFN review) a pretty challenging load and are driven to my complete satisfaction by a Primare A34.2 class D power amp: 200W into 8 Ohms, 400W into 4. Current seems to be its forte; I've never heard anything indicative of stress.
 
I was amazed to see this thread come back to life after i'd started it over 4 years ago. I've since moved my Hawks on but without any doubt they were the best speakers I've had or heard.
I stuck with the EAR 899 for most of their life with me then around 2021 I cashed it in and used a Dynavector H75/L100 to great effect. The dynavector possibly edged it and used price was considerably cheaper than the EAR 899.
unfortunately the whole lot had to go last spring for a house renovation - I no longer have a dedicated room so i'm looking for Shahinian Larcs.

Were the Hawks hard to drive? well i can only comment of using the EAR 899 and Dynavector HX75. both performed splendid
 
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