Nimbus with 45W?

dex67 · « **on:** 9 Nov 2015, 11:46 pm »

would my Nimbus be happy with an amp that delivers 45W/ch?

toddc2 · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 01:28 am »

Quote from: dex67 on 9 Nov 2015, 11:46 pm

would my Nimbus be happy with an amp that delivers 45W/ch?

Well, it all depends if she puts out as much as they say she does!

JerryM · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 01:38 am »

^^

A couple of years ago at RMAF, Vapor ran 40 watt SET monos and Nimbus Whites with great success.

Pete Schumacher · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 02:58 pm »

Quote from: dex67 on 9 Nov 2015, 11:46 pm

would my Nimbus be happy with an amp that delivers 45W/ch?

It all depends on how loud you like to listen. If you want to turn it up to shake the walls and make it sound like 5th row at an AC/DC concert then 45W may not be enough.

But for any sane listening level at a listening distance of 3-5 meters in a room that isn't an aircraft hangar, then 45W is probably all you'd ever need.

I have on hand a pair of monoblock SET amps using 805AT output tubes delivering 35W that we used during multiple show events if you'd be interested.

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 05:03 am »

45w will do very well with the Nimbus. Even for me who likes to rattle foundations once in awhile, the 40w Arte Forma 805 monoblocks were plenty 98% of time. We don't lie about the sensitivity spec. Our 93db is another manufacturers 96db sensitive

dex67 · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Nov 2015, 03:32 pm »

so...i had the new Technics int amp and CD player in my system for about a week...45W was enough to get the woofers going on my Nimbus...lots of detail...but...the celoos, the violins, the pianos sounded so nasal and 'digital' like...weird...so i put back my Densen/Jolida?Aaron set-up and everything is fine...i thought that for sure the Technics class-D int amp is the culprit...

Took both Technics units to 2 other audiophiles...one that has Focal Utopia speakers, and one that has Mission Pilastro speakers...guess what? No nasal sound, no screechy-metallic sound...nothing of the nastiness i heard in my system...i can't believe the cables had such a big impact...the sound was great!! not to the level of their other components, but the Technics hold its own against gear costing 20-30x more...

I'm still puzzled why that sound with my Nimbus...i know how well the Nimbus sound with my current gear...but why the nasal, metallic sound??...

one of my buddies ended up buying the Technics units from me, so no financial loss...i wanted the int amp to sound good cause i like the looks....oh well...live and learn

audioengr · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 02:15 am »

Are the ceramic midrange drivers less sensitive than the black paper ones?

Is there a new 15" woofer being talked about or is this still the same one as the original Nimbus? Efficiency difference?

Steve N.

Pete Schumacher · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 04:13 am »

Quote from: audioengr on 24 Nov 2015, 02:15 am

Are the ceramic midrange drivers less sensitive than the black paper ones?

Is there a new 15" woofer being talked about or is this still the same one as the original Nimbus? Efficiency difference?

Steve N.

The ceramic are slightly less sensitive than the paper, but when used in multiples as in the Nimbus, they actually get padded down to the same sensitivity to match up with the woofer.

We are considering the TD15H+ to use in a subwoofer, but even it has the same sensitivity as the original Nimbus woofer. The main difference with the TD15H+ is that it has a little more linear stroke than the TD15H.

Pete Schumacher · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 04:17 am »

Quote from: dex67 on 23 Nov 2015, 03:32 pm

so...i had the new Technics int amp and CD player in my system for about a week...45W was enough to get the woofers going on my Nimbus...lots of detail...but...the celoos, the violins, the pianos sounded so nasal and 'digital' like...weird...so i put back my Densen/Jolida?Aaron set-up and everything is fine...i thought that for sure the Technics class-D int amp is the culprit...

Took both Technics units to 2 other audiophiles...one that has Focal Utopia speakers, and one that has Mission Pilastro speakers...guess what? No nasal sound, no screechy-metallic sound...nothing of the nastiness i heard in my system...i can't believe the cables had such a big impact...the sound was great!! not to the level of their other components, but the Technics hold its own against gear costing 20-30x more...

I'm still puzzled why that sound with my Nimbus...i know how well the Nimbus sound with my current gear...but why the nasal, metallic sound??...

one of my buddies ended up buying the Technics units from me, so no financial loss...i wanted the int amp to sound good cause i like the looks....oh well...live and learn

Not sure what to tell you could be the cause of what you heard. We've had numerous different amps driving the Nimbus and never encountered anything like you described.

Maybe the other speakers aren't resolving enough to show the shortcomings of the Technics?

Folsom · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 04:58 am »

The amp might be vulnerable to resonances, that hit just right with the Nimbus. I'd have to see a schematic to say for sure. A zobel may fix it, and that's easy to try.

Pete Schumacher · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 05:16 am »

Quote from: Folsom on 24 Nov 2015, 04:58 am

The amp might be vulnerable to resonances, that hit just right with the Nimbus. I'd have to see a schematic to say for sure. A zobel may fix it, and that's easy to try.

The impedance of the Nimbus does peak at 17.5 ohm at about 2KHz, and 12 Ohm at 250Hz. The lowest impedance is 6.3 Ohm at 650Hz.

If the amp can't handle a swing of 11 Ohm without losing control, well, that's a problem.

A conjugate filter would be easy enough to build to smooth the impedance to a flat 6 Ohm.

Folsom · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 05:31 am »

The swing of ohm's isn't necessarily the problem.

The amp if oscillating to a resonance will sink more current, and combined with a swing in ohm, may drive the output devices into clipping.

On typical amplifiers I'd simply recommend the Zobel, like a 47R and .01uF cap in series. But now that I think about it the problem is the output of this unit may or may not need it. It depends, if it uses transistors or gainclones for the output it'd be great to try. But if it doesn't, and the output is coming directly off of inductors and tiny film caps bypassing to ground, the inductors probably need dampened.

You're welcome to contact me about having a look at the amplifier to see if it's easy to fix.

Folsom · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 06:10 am »

Oh, and I wouldn't call this a problem with the Nimbus. I'm sure it's crossover isn't abnormal, it's not active, so it's just caps, resistors, and inductors that aren't configured with any bizarre perpendicular shapes with misplaced pieces of metal, to act like an antenna.

dex67 · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 01:52 pm »

oh, i'm not saying this is a problem with the Nimbus...btw, my Nimbus is the 'Black' version so no ceramic drivers...

it was just puzzling to hear that nasal screetchy sound...very detailed, but very 'cold'...i heard the amp at the show driving the $17k new Technics speakers, and it sounded great! it did a very good job (not spectacular - heck it's a $1600 amp) with the Mission and with the Jm Labs...I guess it wasn't a good match with the Vapor...I returned it...I'm back to my trusted Aaron Millenium amp.

dex67 · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Nov 2015, 02:02 pm »

cute little things...too bad they don't match with my Nimbus...

dex67 · « **Reply #15 on:** 13 Jan 2016, 03:40 pm »

well, i finally found the perfect match for my Nimbus...let me tell you something...if anyone finds an used Cayin H-80A, buy it!!! I paid $850 for this unit and it's absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I've never heard my Nimbus sound like this!!! I finally got the tight bass that I was chasing without losing the soundstage, and instrument separation!

Ryan, when are you coming to visit? I think you'll be surprised how well the speakers sound with this integrated amp!

Folsom · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Jan 2016, 06:00 pm »

Told ya the speakers were good

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Jan 2016, 10:30 pm »

Quote from: dex67 on 13 Jan 2016, 03:40 pm

well, i finally found the perfect match for my Nimbus...let me tell you something...if anyone finds an used Cayin H-80A, buy it!!! I paid $850 for this unit and it's absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I've never heard my Nimbus sound like this!!! I finally got the tight bass that I was chasing without losing the soundstage, and instrument separation!

Ryan, when are you coming to visit? I think you'll be surprised how well the speakers sound with this integrated amp!

Wow, that Cayin looks like a beast ... and sounds like you stole it for that price! Congrats!

dex67 · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 Jan 2016, 06:37 pm »

here are some more pics of my system..Saturday night, being snowed in, I decided to replace the Densen 400 XS CD player with a Pioneer Elite blu ray player that I have in the pile of electronics hanging around...well, i was very surprised by the audio performance of the Pioneer...i guess those Wolfson DAC's are quite good...great pace, nice bass, and great definition between the instruments...maybe a tad narrower soundstage, but a great sounding player...
i tried to show the custom carbon fiber finish on the back and the top of my Nimbus...to match the pedestal that houses the crossover...

EdRo · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 Jan 2016, 07:00 pm »

Those Nimbus look Sa-WEEEET! Maybe the "Carbon Fiber Edition" should be an official option?