[misterphoneman]

Hello all!  Hey I’m a newbie to AudioCircle with scant knowledge of the audiophile world, mostly as it pertains to recording studio speaker systems.  I have a home studio and I’ve used NS-10’s for most of my adult life just for reference monitors and have recently switched to KRK Rokit 10-3’s with a KRK sub just to add some kick to my setup.  So lately I’ve been looking into upgrading my speaker system to a more respectable level but I have yet to find out which pair those will be.  However I was just wondering about my current amp for now.

I was using a Samson Servo 300 amp on my NS-10’s and it seemed to work fine enough for the application.  I've seen one or two comments out here on AudioCircle that spoke kindly enough about the Samson Servo line but not a full fleshed out conversation however.  So I'm not sure if I upgrade my speakers, whether my Servo 300 would be sufficient for the task or is it destined to the closet or Ebay.

Would anyone out here actually go as far as using a Samson Servo 300 amp (or any of the Samson Servo line) on audiophile speakers or is that just outright blasphemy?  I'm looking at the Chinese made Elite Aesthet I MKII speakers (specs are below).  Now whether you guys consider those "audiophile" or not is probably subject for a different thread but they do use ScanSpeak drivers so that's got to count for something right??  Or if I'm barking up the wrong tree, is there a respectable amp (new or used) on the market for under $1,000 that anyone could recommend?  Thanks!

http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/power-amplifiers/servo-series/servo300/

Elite Aesthet I MKII

Design:  2 way, 2 unit

Frequency Response:  42Hz-20kHz

Sensitivity:  86db/1M/2.83V

Nominal Impedance:  6 ohms

Power Handling:  50-150W

Tweeter:  Scan Speak 8513

Woofer:  Scan Speak 8545

Crossover Elements:  Large diameter OFC hollow inductors, Solen MKP polypropylene capacitors,Imported pure copper connection wires

Cabinet Material:  Multiple layered MDF

Finish:  Birds eye maple

Dimensions:  420H x 225W x 310D mm

Weight:  13.8kg x 2


[misterphoneman]

Here's a visual of the Elite Aesthet I MKII

[WGH]

... is there a respectable amp (new or used) on the market for under $1,000 that anyone could recommend?  Thanks!

Checking out the Trading Post there one amp that jumps out for it's excellent quality of sound that is close to your budget.

Job 225
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=143239.0

Not affiliated with the seller

[misterphoneman]

Ahhh thanks I will check it out!

[richidoo]

There's nothing wrong with Samson, especially if you know it well and like to listen and work with it. Why change?
It's usually better to only change one thing at a time. Give the change some time to wear on you before you sell the old stuff.  You might want to revert back after a month of living with the new gear.   Changing two things at once can cause confusion in what to blame if it's not right.

Those Elites looks like they have nice drivers, at least I recognize the woofer. Either ScanSpeak or its Usher copy. Both are excellent!

Been a while since I heard NS-10s in a studio. Did you ever tape toilet paper over the tweeters?


EDIT: I read your link. It's not class D so that's a plus as many of the inexpensive class D amps are pretty rough. But it does have cooling fans, so those might be audible in a hifi type system with low noise floor.

[misterphoneman]

Thanks for the sage advice, sounds like a solid plan!  I’ll definitely keep an ear out for the fans as well.

No I never did the tissue paper thing, lol.  I’ve heard of it but I’ve never actually witnessed that in the studios I’ve been in.  The mindset behind using NS-10’s (at least for me) is not so much how they sound rather that they sound the same from studio to studio so that your ears have a point of reference when you mix in various rooms that have NS-10's handy.  When somebody alters their NS-10’s to make them sound better it kind of defeats the purpose.  They might as well go grab a different (or additional) pair, ya know?  And here I am

[richidoo]

Yeah I remember seeing tissue paper taped to the top edge so they could be folded back on top of the speaker, or folded down in front of the tweeters. This was up in Boston circa 1985.

[misterphoneman]

Ahhhh yes, manually convertible LP filters LoL ... wish I was still in the 80's btw