I recently bought a pair of SP Technology Timepiece 2.1s to replace my aging 15" Tannoys in my studio mastering set up. I listen to them at a distance of 6 feet (midfield, in the parlance). At the same time, thinking I needed also to upgrade my amplification, I bought a pair of Nuforce ref 9SEs, being assured by a few advisors that they were up to the task.
I suspect that they are not.
The Timepieces are not only power hungry, they are also an 8 ohm load, and almost all solid state and digital amps are optimized for 4 ohms, unfortunately, Nuforce not excepted. Whereas I do like the sound of the Nuforces, compared to what I am used to, I get the distinct impression that the TPs would like a bunch more power to really "open up" on loud and complex orchestral peaks, for example. In other words, there comes a point (a little too early for my taste) where things start to get "louder" instead of "bigger" in turning up the volume, if you know what I mean.
Given that the Nuforces are rated at 150 W into 8 ohms, albeit with 3 dB of headroom, I am thinking that what I need is an amp that will deliver (with the same 3 dB of headroom) at least 300 W, preferably 500 - 700 W into 8 ohms. This apparently leaves tubes out of the picture.
A few contenders seem to exist. To my knowledge they include Jeff Rowland model 501 (550 W into 8 ohms), a pair of Belles 150As bridged, (again 500 W into 8 ohms), the Dussun V8i (only 250 W, but reputed to perform like much more) and (wild card) the Crown Macro Reference (750 W into 8 ohms)
The McCormack DNA 500 would probably work a treat but, even second hand I don't think I could swing it and the Rowland and Belles would be a budget stretch.
So one part of my question is - has design of solid state improved over the years to the point that the Crown which in its day was called the best amp on the planet is now eclipsed by most modern amps? I can get one for $1250 but I can also get a Dussun for similar money. I wonder how they would compare.
Two considerations:
1. I have learned that my subwoofer set up (I use a pair of Hsu subs from 35 Hz down) requires a conventional amp in that the passive crossover takes its feed from the speaker outputs and will not work with class D because of the floating nature of the speaker outs. I'd rather not get into changing to powered subs at this time, partly because the Hsus integrate perfectly with the Timepieces.
2. I think the sound of an amp not straining has to take priority over the last bit of refinement - that is I am forced to sacrifice a little finesse in the interest of fully adequate power.
Lest you get the wrong impression, I am only trying to get real-life levels, not higher, but for the speakers not to sound strained at those levels I need to have a fair amount of surplus power in hand. As an aside, this reminds me of a finding by Hi Fi News years ago that one of the performance characteristics that define a particular amplifier's sound is its recovery from clipping, and that is because in fact amps are slightly clipping quite often when played moderately loud, so that enters into the equation more than most users realize. The corollary is that the sensation of effortlessness is mainly the lack of the sound of clipping recovery, i.e. the sound of adequate power reserves.
I've got to say, this makes me yearn for small tube amps and efficient drivers in an open baffle!
Don't get me wrong, I think the Timepieces, with enough power, will suit my needs perfectly, those needs being extreme tonal accuracy, particularly through the entire lower midrange and bass. The quality I am hearing in that region is superb - just need more of it!
So, if anyone has any suggestions I'd be glad to hear them.
Thanks for reading.
Russell
