Amp for unifield 3

vincent28 · « **on:** 18 Feb 2011, 02:22 pm »

hi fellows,

I did some research on amps pairing with u3.
so far, the outstanding ones paired in shows are

luxman int507u
kronzilla
audio space int ref3.

I hv inclination towards moon and passlabs, pre, power and int.
what do you think? any outstanding suggestions?

varsharun · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Feb 2011, 05:51 pm »

It depends on your budget. Your list is excellent, and you can also add Moscode 402au to the list. However if you want to stay in the "budget" range and still have close to 90% of the performance of the big names, I recommend the Primaluna Dialogue integrated/power amps. The Uni 3 mates much better with tube amps than solid I feel. Of course for optimum results, you may biamp with tubes for midrange and SS for the bass.

-Arun

Quote from: vincent28 on 18 Feb 2011, 02:22 pm

hi fellows,

I did some research on amps pairing with u3.
so far, the outstanding ones paired in shows are

luxman int507u
kronzilla
audio space int ref3.

I hv inclination towards moon and passlabs, pre, power and int.
what do you think? any outstanding suggestions?

jrun · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Feb 2011, 10:15 pm »

I can speak for the Audio Space ref3.1 with KT88's. I bought mine from Albert. He upgraded the caps before sending me the amp. I hooked it up to my VR4SR MkIs and gave it a listen. Not very impressive at first. Things really started to sound right at about 100 hours. I thought I was happy until I attended a demo at Audio Concepts in Dallas where they had Boulder solid state gear with Wilson speakers. I quickly realized my system was lacking dynamics and resolution and these are qualities I find important. I called Albert and he suggested a tube upgrade and some cable changes. Well, that did the trick. I used Gold Lion reissues from Jim McShane on the KT88 and NOS Telefunken in the phono stage and NOS Sylvania 6SN7 in the driver stage from Andy at Vintage Tube Services (both outstanding on service and advice). This really woke the Audio Space up. I was happy with every change I made and you will have to spend quite a bit more money to improve on the sound and the build quality of the Audio Space. This is a statement integrated. It is big and heavy with quality finishes on every surface. The photos you see of this piece do not do it justice. Good luck in your search.

vincent28 · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Feb 2011, 03:01 am »

I stay in Singapore so it might be a challenge to modify and maintain / troubleshoot audiospace int if there's issue. But it's definitely a great value at it's price. With regards to my budget, as I been the merry go round for past 10years, I reckon it's better for me to get it right , something that keeps me happy for at least 5yrs. Hving said that, i look at price value performance and tradeoffs I can live with. To me, I could live with 2 system if that's the way to go. One solid state And 1 tube amp. I dun think it's possible to possess both qualities at 100% without lots of $$.
My budget can vary from 5-20k.

McTwins · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Feb 2011, 07:18 am »

Hi
If you are gonna bi-amp with tubes I recommend an active crossover. The tubes will be happier.
Thanks

JackD201 · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Feb 2011, 06:18 am »

I'll be getting some Valvet A3.5 mono amplifiers in a couple of hours or so. They're German Class A Solid State, direct coupled (DC-150kHz) little beauties conservatively rated at 50wpc into 8ohms. These should do quite well with Uni 3s in small to medium rooms.

I'll report in later.

ceedee · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Feb 2011, 09:51 pm »

Just try this.

Good Luck.

Sounds nice.

Afterimage · « **Reply #7 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 06:30 am »

I'm thinking about these speakers for one of my systems in the future. The room in mind is 14 wide by 21 deep with an open area about 6 feet wide (entry way) on the back left. Ceilings are 8 ft on one side of the room and 9 on the other (R/L). Would a room like that be to big for these speakers? Don't have biwire or jumpers, so I would need to get around that. Music is mostly pop/rock, nothing to hard. thoughts?

JackD201 · « **Reply #8 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 06:42 am »

I think you'd be fine with U3s at any normal listening levels, say 90dB peaks in a room your size and from a listening distance from 6 feet up to about 12 feet away. If speaker size is not a problem and you need the flexibility of having more muscle I'd go with VR-4SR Mk.3s at about the same price and very similar sonic signature as the U3s for your room.

HTH

Jack

es347 · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 01:51 pm »

I'm with Jack. Your room size would like the larger Mk3s. I faced the same decision a few years ago in my relatively large room and went with the Mk2s at the time. The bass was sublime. Go for it.

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 02:04 pm »

Quote from: JackD201 on 22 Feb 2011, 06:18 am

I'll be getting some Valvet A3.5 mono amplifiers in a couple of hours or so. They're German Class A Solid State, direct coupled (DC-150kHz) little beauties conservatively rated at 50wpc into 8ohms. These should do quite well with Uni 3s in small to medium rooms.

I'll report in later.

Looking forward to your report.

Afterimage · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 03:20 pm »

Quote from: es347 on 23 Feb 2011, 01:51 pm

I'm with Jack. Your room size would like the larger Mk3s. I faced the same decision a few years ago in my relatively large room and went with the Mk2s at the time. The bass was sublime. Go for it.

One problem, wife thinks they are ugly.

es347 · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 03:38 pm »

So much for the Mk3s

Maybe you could sell her on these little guys:

BigSwede · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 03:46 pm »

Are those things actually wider at the top, or just leaning toward me?

es347 · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 04:12 pm »

If they were leaning toward me I'd be yelling TIMBERR-R-R-R-R-R

Afterimage · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 04:59 pm »

Wow. Those are brutal.

es347 · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Feb 2011, 06:15 pm »

Honest to God, they look like something out of Who "Framed Roger Rabbit" and for only a quarter million $$. And this my friend is why the high end has become laughable to many.

Afterimage · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Feb 2011, 03:53 am »

Are these speakers ruthlessly revealing? I have a lot of pop/rock in my collection, some of it is not the best production, and revealing speakers are not a good fit. In my experience, there is gear/speakers that are more friendly to those type of recordings. I was just curious as to how the Unifield 3 behave in this regard.

JVK · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Feb 2011, 12:09 pm »

Quote from: ceedee on 22 Feb 2011, 09:51 pm

Just try this.

Good Luck.

Sounds nice.

I have question. I am waiting for my new Unifield 3 and I want to change the unbelivable ugly stands. Can you give me any info about the stands for the unifields in the picture? Thanks!

Jack

JackD201 · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Feb 2011, 02:18 pm »

Yes they are very revealing speakers and any changes made upstream are easily discernible. They are warm with warm amplification and very fast with very fast amplification. Some care is needed with equipment matching with the Unifield 3. For your stated musical preferences I'd go with el34 or el84 based tube amps or solid state amps that run class A ( Passlabs XA series

)or A/AB the latter biased to run class A for the first 20 or so watts before switching over to AB.

I believe the hybrid Moscode Au was mentioned earlier in the thread and would be a good match for your needs. The best I've made Unifield 3's sound was with the Lamm LL2 pre fitted with Mullard CV491s and e88ccs and Lamm M1.1 monoblocks. This combination could play anything under the sun well. That's a lot of scratch though. I guess what I'm saying is that the speaker won't be the limiting factor.

If the wife can't tolerate the Stealth Fighter looks of the SRs, a different option would be the Unifield 1s with a pair of VSA shockwave subs. This combo also falls within the same ball park figures. The Unifield 1s are more forgiving of upstream components and are very good looking especially in piano gloss black.