[jrebman]

That just about says it all.  For a variety of reasons I'm seriously considering the RWA Sig 30.2 amp for use with my Sapphire XLs and I'd really love to hear from anybody who has run this combination in their system.

Keep in mind that I'll eventually be running the Sapphires from somewhere between 60 - 80 Hz and up, with first one, and eventually 2 Force XLs filling in the bottom.  High pass filtering will be done at line level, so won't rob any efficiency from the speakers.

Thanks,

Jim

[jrebman]

Nobody?

I'll post another request over on the RWA circle as well.

Note, I have no doubt that the amp can drive the speakers, and do it well, just wondering what sonics are like -- especially helpful would be comments from folks who have previously owned other tripath amps and used them with the Sapphires.

Even if you have the original Sig 30 and have used it with the Sapphire XLs, please tell me about it -- either here or in PM if yo wish.

Thanks,

Jim

[Zero]

Jrebman,

I'd suggest you PM "Tonepub".  He currently owns both pieces. Maybe he's had a chance to hear how the combo works....

As an aside, I owned the Signature 30 and the ACI Sapphire XL's last year. Unfortunately I didn't have both pieces at the same time. Still, I'd suspect that the two components would work very well together. Although the XL's can perform well with modest current, the Scan Speak drivers tend to strut their stuff once fed healthy doses of clean, gripping power. I'd imagine that the RWA would bring out the best in the XL in terms of micro-detail, control, coherency, and speed. Sometimes the XL will have a tendency to sound a bit bloated in the lower mids/upper bass when matched with euphonic sounding components. A more linear amp should never unearth those issues.

Either way, good luck!

[TONEPUB]

Hi there:

This combination works incredibly well together, regardless of whether you have the subs or not.  I've had my sapphire xl's for quite a while now and have never had a problem driving them with tube or solid state.

Because they present such a neutral impedance curve I've had excellent luck with the red wine amp, the pass First Watt amps, and my current favorite, the luxman 590.

The only time the sapphire's have sounded a little bloated was when the source components have not been up to the task.

I think you will be very happy with the 30.2 and ACI....

Some of the best value going!

[jrebman]

Jeff,

Appreciate the input. I have a Force XL, but have been living very contently without it for several months now, so I can't wait to hear what happens with it in and tuned.

Source components are well up to the task -- EE Minimax phono stage, fully tricked-out Bolder SB3 and Ultimate Nirvana PSU, and other goodies as well.

Thanks for the reply -- just what I was hoping to hear .

-- Jim

[CSI]

Hi Jim,

Funny you should ask. I've had my Sapphire XL's for some time and have driven them with a number of fine amps. I don't particularly want to list them here since they are all excellent but, for various reasons, there was always a little something missing (I'll be happy to give you a list and elaborate further in a PM). So I fell for the AC hype (sorry, I meant enthusiasm) and my RW 30.2 arrived last Saturday. Been on all day long plus a few evenings ever since. First, there is the power issue. I wasn't too concerned going in for two reasons: I've used a 35wpc tube amp with the Sapphire's and for me, that was plenty (small room, mostly jazz at medium volume). Second, 6Moons had good luck with the 30.2 driving even less efficient speakers in a larger room.
So don't worry about volume (if you have a problem, send it back. Vinnie has people standing in line for these things). So what else have I heard this week (break-in time)? This is the most expensive amp I've ever owned - but not by a huge margin. This is the best amp I've ever owned, and by a rather surprising margin. Don't intend this to be a full review, just an answer to your question. One other thing..although Vinnie doesn't talk about it much, one of the things I was looking for was a better balanced top end. Even though I'm not a head banger, the Sapphire's can be just a touch too polite and a more prominent upper-mid/treble can help. The 30.2 solved the problem instantly and it is already improving (top opening up more) after just 30 hours. But enough of this. Send in your money before the economy collapses and you have second thoughts. Other gear: Force XL (but Sapphire's run full range), Dodd Battery Preamp, Qsonix Media Server, CIAudio VDC.2 DAC. After you've jumped off the grid, join the crowd and abandon optical digital players.

[CSI]

Hi Jim,

Didn't read the early posts closely. With the SB3, looks like you are already into computer audio.

[TONEPUB]

Jim:

Let us know what you think...

Again, what I've noticed with any chip based amps is that they are a bit more speaker dependent
than some other amplifiers.  But the Sapphire XL's have always proven to be very easy to drive
and I've probably used mine with about 40 different amplifiers over the past two years.

They have never been a problem with any combination I've tried yet. 

Keep in mind that the 30.2 will take about 150 hours to really sound it's best, but after about
a week, it will open up quite a bit.

Hope you enjoy your 30.2!

[jrebman]

Jeff, Yup, been there.  This will be my third RWA amp -- Clari-T, Sig 70s, and now the 30.2.  The signature amps can drive just about anything, but the synergy is the thing.  On the other hand, the Sapphires just seem to have that magical ability to sound great with just about everything.  To my ears, the amp/speaker synergy has always been the hardest thing to get right, but with all the things said here and in PM, I'm really looking forward to what I believe will happen.

CSI -- thanks so much for your comments.  They addressed some of my concerns even though you had no idea that I've owned a few tripath amps before, and somehow you knew just what to say .

Yup, no more expensive CD players for me -- my mostly stock 3910 will do fine for those times when I want to preview a disc, or play an SACED or DVD-A disc.

Now it's time for some long-overdue sleep...

Thanks everybody -- Zero too, sorry to have neglected your input so far -- I'm a little sleep deprived right now and not all that coherent, so I better get offline and check back in when the brain cells are working again.

-- Jim

[sabes]

Jim: what happened to the cayin? don't worry if the 30.2 can't drive your sapphire's (although i'd be shocked if that were the case) - there's always the 70.2's, and they're a different animal than the 70's are. i've been listening to them for a few weeks now with a VAC Renaissance mkII pre, planning to eventually a/b them with my VAC pa100/100, but the sound is so beguiling i can't bring myself to upset the applecart!

[jrebman]

Sabes,

As to the Cayin and what happened, well, nothing really except that I did some tube rollinmg and that took it up several notches, and then you know... gears start turning, "coincidences happen" and suddenly you find yourself saying "What if?".

I replaced the 12ax7s with a pair of NOS 5751s and the 12au7s with a pair of RCA cleartops and a NOS Mullard/Blackburn rectifier and all kinds of good things popped to the surface and it started to remind me more of the kind of transparency of the Sig 70s I had, and then...

Well, I have to say that I am in no way hurting with the Cayin and I really like the amp a lot, even more than when I first got it, and I'd still consider it a really good amp.

I don't know exactly what led me to have another look at theRWA .2 series amps, but I did and now here I am.  Looks like my hunch has been confirmed by Jeff and CSI, so now what to do?   I know what, but I have to sit on it just a bit longer -- just because.

I definitely want to give the Grover speaker cables a try as well.

I'll report back.

-- Jim

[jrebman]

What can I say?  I did it., signed up for a 30.2  Now all I have to do is wait, break-in., and enjoy.

I will certainly let folks know how things turn out, but that's a few months away yet.

-- Jim

[Zero]

Jrebmana - No worries.  Considering the bulk of my post is nothing but a sharp guesstimate, its damn near worthless anyway ..       Let us know how it works out!