[Rclark]

This is beginning to remind me of the Watt Wars of the 1970's...the guy with the most watts wins.  I thought things had changed since then.

Jim

I don't see it that way, I see it as matching the proper tool for the job. If I was into super high efficiency I wouldn't be looking at a large amp. Then again, maybe I would.

I don't see it as a D swinging thing. My "Big" amps are the size of a coffee table book. It's about what they do, how they perform. Again, I do most of my listening at quiet levels, hardly beating my chest with my stereo over here. But the big amps do it best, even that. More power is better.

[Hasse]

I can report that the Pass Labs INT-150 is a OUTSTANDING match for the 1.7's.  The INT-150 supplies 300 watts @ 4 ohm nominal load.  The music comes from a totally BLACK background,  and the clarity and 3D presentation is truly impressive.  It only has two gain stages, and XLR inputs provide the lowest possible noise and distortion.

Good to hear that the Pass amp works well with your Maggies. I am currently driving my 3.7´s with a Bladelius Grendel (700W @ 4 ohms, 350 at 8 ohms) but I´m tempted to try the less powerful (on paper  ) Pass Labs XA100.5 monos 

[josh358]

I wonder if anyone has experience with these. 1800 watts at 4ohms per, $3000 shipped. 99 pounds each, their "all out" class AB SS design.

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/reference-series/products/xpr1

Have you seen the XPA-1L? Class A up to I think 35 watts with a supposedly seamless transition to AB when driven hard.

Something I find intriguing. I have no idea whether it works or not but I sure would like to play with the switch that lets you go between A and AB to see what, if anything, it does to the sound.

[Rclark]

Not as interested in the xpa-1's. Already come across some people who've compared them Ncores and the 'cores win handily. This XPR looks interesting though. The power/price ratio is off the charts for those with big/multdriver speakers or giant panels.

[berni]

Not as interested in the xpa-1's. Already come across some people who've compared them Ncores and the 'cores win handily. This XPR looks interesting though. The power/price ratio is off the charts for those with big/multdriver speakers or giant panels.

Win? In which aspect? If you compare only the reproduction then ncore has a lot to do to get good.
I would love to hear d class which is playing music, even the Spectrons can't. Sorry, but there is still a long way to go. Making a unit affordable, with a lot of talk makes them more interesting as how they really sound.

[Rclark]

Win? In which aspect?

In sound quality. By direct comparison. I wouldn't say they are "affordable" either. The diy is almost $2000, the retail 1200 amps are over 10k.

[medium jim]

Jim

[SteveFord]

I haven't heard the NCore so can't offer an opinion but it really is whatever makes you just enjoy your stereo.
Do you WANT to turn it on and listen to it or do you turn it on and wander off to do something else?
Once you find the sound that leaves you sitting there enjoying it, you're all set.
There are many different roads to happiness!

[josh358]

Not as interested in the xpa-1's. Already come across some people who've compared them Ncores and the 'cores win handily. This XPR looks interesting though. The power/price ratio is off the charts for those with big/multdriver speakers or giant panels.

XPA 1's or 1L's? The 1L is an entirely new beast.

[medium jim]

I haven't heard the NCore so can't offer an opinion but it really is whatever makes you just enjoy your stereo.
Do you WANT to turn it on and listen to it or do you turn it on and wander off to do something else?
Once you find the sound that leaves you sitting there enjoying it, you're all set.
There are many different roads to happiness!

Well said. 

Jim

[Rclark]

XPA 1's or 1L's? The 1L is an entirely new beast.

Is it? Thought is was just the economy model. XPA-1's.

[Rclark]

I haven't heard the NCore so can't offer an opinion but it really is whatever makes you just enjoy your stereo.
Do you WANT to turn it on and listen to it or do you turn it on and wander off to do something else?
Once you find the sound that leaves you sitting there enjoying it, you're all set.
There are many different roads to happiness!

Not sure how this is topical, but ok.

[SteveFord]

Sometimes these things can drift into some sort of weird areas without anyone meaning for it to happen, that's all.

Back on topic, I think that AndyR might be the monster amp king; last I heard he's running enough power to shut down the East Coast of Australia, I do believe.

[medium jim]

And that AndyR constructed a wind turbine to power them and his FrankenPans!

Jim

[josh358]

Is it? Thought is was just the economy model. XPA-1's.

No, I just learned about it the other day. It's a new model that's switchable between Class AB and Class A mode, and when it's in Class A, it automatically switches to Class AB above 35 watts. Sounds interesting, no?

[kevin360]

I did have what I consider a seriously powerful amplifier in the Pass X350 – capable of pushing 700W into 4 ohms (the first 40W, or so, into 4 ohms being class A). That bias meter on the front was an indicator of the departure from class A – when it was 'at rest', the amp was running in lovely class A. It was a terrific amp with the MMGs because it 'loafed' along in class A. It was a terrific amp with the 3.7s because it had the goods to render solid, tight, loud bass from them. It was superb with the 3.7s after introducing the XO, because it spent lots of its time in class A (didn't take long to fall in love with that sound).



How could I not answer the call of the obvious? I either wanted to try 100W of class A or something in that range from a valve amp. I'm not going to deny coveting a pair of Pass mono-blocks, but I designed and constructed my cabinet with a single (main) amp in mind – hence, its prominent location. Had I gone that route, I think they'd qualify as 'big guns'. I ended up with a 150W valve amp, which is no small potatoes, but it doesn't qualify as monster power – insufficient, actually, to drive the 3.7s full-range (no big deal because I didn't buy it for that purpose).

I have no objection whatsoever to a thread celebrating seriously powerful amplifiers, but there is no  'one size fits all' statement which can be validly made regarding power requirements (or which technology is 'best'). Context, as with all things, matters. There are many variables to consider.

[josh358]

I wonder what happens with the Emotiva when you push beyond 35 watts. I saw some comments that said it sensed overheating and switched to AB when that happens, not sure how effective that would be on inefficient speakers like the Maggies. That would occur at maybe 98 dB SPL.

[medium jim]

Kevin:

You might just be surprised, I bet you could drive your 3.7's without subs with your current amp.... I'm contemplating going full 2.0 with mine to see how it sounds. 

Jim

[kevin360]

You might just be surprised, I bet you could drive your 3.7's without subs with your current amp.... I'm contemplating going full 2.0 with mine to see how it sounds. 

In fact, I wasn't at all surprised at the results when I tried it. Volume and dynamics weren't issues, but the tautness of the bass was. Prior to redirecting the bottom end away from the 3.7s, which, by the way, is not something I regard in a negative light at all (it's something I prefer as a matter of course), big power was an absolute necessity. To my ears, the midrange and lower bass approaches the quality of a good pair of stats when the panels aren't asked to reproduce deep bass. It's one choice among many, but it's one that I make without the slightest regret.

Don't forget that I previously did have big power on tap. The 3.7s managed to draw heavily on its reserves when driven full range. I witnessed radical rotation of the meter on the front of the X350.

[medium jim]

In fact, I wasn't at all surprised at the results when I tried it. Volume and dynamics weren't issues, but the tautness of the bass was. Prior to redirecting the bottom end away from the 3.7s, which, by the way, is not something I regard in a negative light at all - it's something I prefer as a matter of course. To my ears, the midrange and lower bass approaches the quality of a good pair of stats when the panels aren't asked to reproduce deep bass. It's one choice among many, but it's one that I make without the slightest regret.

Don't forget that I previously did have big power on tap. The 3.7s managed to draw heavily on its reserves when driven full range. I witnessed radical rotation of the meter on the front of the X350.

Point taken...

Jim