|
Post by mm on May 5, 2015 13:06:55 GMT -5
:-)
|
|
|
Post by gzubeck on May 9, 2015 2:56:30 GMT -5
After, reading parts of this thread my head wants to explode. For the most part the 35 watts in class a are very clean and powerful. Unless you have a huge room 20 x 40 feet I can't see any reason why the smaller monoblocks would not work just fine. What I would be looking for is really low distortion into lower ohms like 2-4 ohm range like the sa- 250 amp. Here's the thing with amps...the reason why we want more powa is to keep the amp from being over taxed and allowing the distortion to remain really low. Once the distortion gets higher you really hear it in the higher frequencies which make your speakers sound bright and fatiguing. The higher power rated amps are not going to break any decent speaker unless your pushing dB's way beyond its intended use to begin with. All the highly rated speakers and tweeters from seas, scan speak, morel etc. Will not be damaged unless your doing something weird. The other thing is what's with having multiple tweeters in the speaker to begin with? Why not just purchase one highly sensitive tweeter to begin with. Somebody get a bulk purchase on tweeters? Lol!
|
|
|
Post by Gary Cook on May 9, 2015 3:03:07 GMT -5
The Class A 35 watts from a pair of XPA-1L's is really loud, I mean really really loud, without any distortion at the levels I listen. I don't see myself every using the whole 35 watts.
Cheers Gary
|
|
|
Post by mm on May 11, 2015 1:09:26 GMT -5
After, reading parts of this thread my head wants to explode. For the most part the 35 watts in class a are very clean and powerful. Unless you have a huge room 20 x 40 feet I can't see any reason why the smaller monoblocks would not work just fine. What I would be looking for is really low distortion into lower ohms like 2-4 ohm range like the sa- 250 amp. Here's the thing with amps...the reason why we want more powa is to keep the amp from being over taxed and allowing the distortion to remain really low. Once the distortion gets higher you really hear it in the higher frequencies which make your speakers sound bright and fatiguing. The higher power rated amps are not going to break any decent speaker unless your pushing dB's way beyond its intended use to begin with. All the highly rated speakers and tweeters from seas, scan speak, morel etc. Will not be damaged unless your doing something weird. The other thing is what's with having multiple tweeters in the speaker to begin with? Why not just purchase one highly sensitive tweeter to begin with. Somebody get a bulk purchase on tweeters? Lol! My listening room is much smaller, it is roughly 27 x 15 feet, but it has a cathedral ceiling and its acoustics (to my surprise) are great. Now, when I was much younger I was into music and stereo equipment and I actually new something about it, but then I took a long, almost 20 year break from better gear and a lot has changed since then… A little over a month ago I decided to dive back into music and finally buy something better to listen to. I called a well known electronic store and they suggested a Yamaha receiver with Klipsch RF series loudspeakers. My gut was telling me the receiver would not be sufficient to drive the speakers, so I called Klipsch and they confirmed my suspicion. They actually suggested an XPA 200 from Emotiva, a company that I had never heard of and I'm so lucky and thankful they did. I know that the XPA-1L's power would have been sufficient and they sounded outstanding, but I was a bit concerned about how hot they got even in A/B, not to mention when they operated in class A. The XPA-1s due to their size and much bigger heat-sinks do not seem to get as hot. Although this is very subjective and unscientific (I did not have 2 sets of the same speakers and 2 DACs to compare the two amps side by side), but it seemed that the XPA-1s had a little nicer and tighter base and sounded slightly better to me - or maybe it was just wishful thinking trying to justify the added cost. In addition, I may also be moving back to Europe in the future and if so my listening room will be quite a bit larger there with 12 foot ceilings, so I thought it might be nice to have the extra power. Anyway, the XPA-1s are in my possession and I do not intend to let them go anywhere without me. When I originally called Emotiva to inquire about the XPA 200, I mentioned Klipsch speakers and I was told to also look at Tekton's M Lores - again, I was very lucky they did. The owner of Tekton suggested I go with the slightly larger Lores 2.0 for the XPA 200. Of course, I changed my mind later and decided to go with the mono-blocks, first with the 1Ls and now with the 1s, so when I called Tekton to mention about the change, Eric said I should give the Pendragons a try. I do not know why the Pendragons have an array of tweeters and frankly I do not care much to find out as this is not my business - I'm sure Eric Alexander knows and it seems to work well for him as these speakers have gotten some great reviews. What is important to me is how they sound and to my ears they sound phenomenal. I do not know if there is a large selection of speakers in this price range, but if you are looking for speakers and have enough room to accommodate them (they are not small) I suggest you try them and do not concern yourself with the idea behind their design. At this point, I'm ecstatic about the gear I have, everything sounds amazing to me. I'm sure, as in any gear, there is a weak link in my setup - I do not know what it could be or what is better the Emotiva stuff I have or the speakers, but what is important to me is that it all works together and it sounds amazing. I do not know how much more one would have to spend to get anything better - a friend of mine has some very, very expensive components with supposedly very good B&W speakers connected by a pair of $1500 cables (each) and although I did not do any side by side comparisons, nor do I care to do it, I do not think his equipment sounds any better and even if it did, I think I would have to be insane to justify the cost. Thank you again for all your replies and suggestions, I'm sure I will have more questions down the road (as I mentioned earlier, I have room for the XSP-1, but I want to get better acquainted with what I have first).
|
|
|
Post by pop on May 11, 2015 9:03:42 GMT -5
Congrats! If you can house the Pendragon and don't mind their appearance, they are seriously wonderful speakers. I'm sure you will love the sound. XPA-1L could almost be considered overkill for them in a necessity point of view. going with xpa1 is a good choice as now you know you have excellent power for any speakers in the future.
|
|
|
Post by mm on May 11, 2015 20:21:47 GMT -5
Thanks, Pop! I had almost forgotten how much joy there is to listen to music on something good, feeling like I'm sitting in the front row at a concert. I hope this gear lasts for a very long time!
|
|
|
Post by gzubeck on May 12, 2015 1:31:33 GMT -5
After, reading parts of this thread my head wants to explode. For the most part the 35 watts in class a are very clean and powerful. Unless you have a huge room 20 x 40 feet I can't see any reason why the smaller monoblocks would not work just fine. What I would be looking for is really low distortion into lower ohms like 2-4 ohm range like the sa- 250 amp. Here's the thing with amps...the reason why we want more powa is to keep the amp from being over taxed and allowing the distortion to remain really low. Once the distortion gets higher you really hear it in the higher frequencies which make your speakers sound bright and fatiguing. The higher power rated amps are not going to break any decent speaker unless your pushing dB's way beyond its intended use to begin with. All the highly rated speakers and tweeters from seas, scan speak, morel etc. Will not be damaged unless your doing something weird. The other thing is what's with having multiple tweeters in the speaker to begin with? Why not just purchase one highly sensitive tweeter to begin with. Somebody get a bulk purchase on tweeters? Lol! My listening room is much smaller, it is roughly 27 x 15 feet, but it has a cathedral ceiling and its acoustics (to my surprise) are great. Now, when I was much younger I was into music and stereo equipment and I actually new something about it, but then I took a long, almost 20 year break from better gear and a lot has changed since then… A little over a month ago I decided to dive back into music and finally buy something better to listen to. I called a well known electronic store and they suggested a Yamaha receiver with Klipsch RF series loudspeakers. My gut was telling me the receiver would not be sufficient to drive the speakers, so I called Klipsch and they confirmed my suspicion. They actually suggested an XPA 200 from Emotiva, a company that I had never heard of and I'm so lucky and thankful they did. I know that the XPA-1L's power would have been sufficient and they sounded outstanding, but I was a bit concerned about how hot they got even in A/B, not to mention when they operated in class A. The XPA-1s due to their size and much bigger heat-sinks do not seem to get as hot. Although this is very subjective and unscientific (I did not have 2 sets of the same speakers and 2 DACs to compare the two amps side by side), but it seemed that the XPA-1s had a little nicer and tighter base and sounded slightly better to me - or maybe it was just wishful thinking trying to justify the added cost. In addition, I may also be moving back to Europe in the future and if so my listening room will be quite a bit larger there with 12 foot ceilings, so I thought it might be nice to have the extra power. Anyway, the XPA-1s are in my possession and I do not intend to let them go anywhere without me. When I originally called Emotiva to inquire about the XPA 200, I mentioned Klipsch speakers and I was told to also look at Tekton's M Lores - again, I was very lucky they did. The owner of Tekton suggested I go with the slightly larger Lores 2.0 for the XPA 200. Of course, I changed my mind later and decided to go with the mono-blocks, first with the 1Ls and now with the 1s, so when I called Tekton to mention about the change, Eric said I should give the Pendragons a try. I do not know why the Pendragons have an array of tweeters and frankly I do not care much to find out as this is not my business - I'm sure Eric Alexander knows and it seems to work well for him as these speakers have gotten some great reviews. What is important to me is how they sound and to my ears they sound phenomenal. I do not know if there is a large selection of speakers in this price range, but if you are looking for speakers and have enough room to accommodate them (they are not small) I suggest you try them and do not concern yourself with the idea behind their design. At this point, I'm ecstatic about the gear I have, everything sounds amazing to me. I'm sure, as in any gear, there is a weak link in my setup - I do not know what it could be or what is better the Emotiva stuff I have or the speakers, but what is important to me is that it all works together and it sounds amazing. I do not know how much more one would have to spend to get anything better - a friend of mine has some very, very expensive components with supposedly very good B&W speakers connected by a pair of $1500 cables (each) and although I did not do any side by side comparisons, nor do I care to do it, I do not think his equipment sounds any better and even if it did, I think I would have to be insane to justify the cost. Thank you again for all your replies and suggestions, I'm sure I will have more questions down the road (as I mentioned earlier, I have room for the XSP-1, but I want to get better acquainted with what I have first). $3,000 for a pair of speaker cables...not unless their solid silver with multiple strands in a braided configuration to fight electromagnetic interference...and rolled on a the thigh of a cute Cuban girl....sorry that's for premium cigars...I get confused sometimes...;-)
|
|
|
Post by mm on May 12, 2015 2:44:53 GMT -5
Well, I did not see the receipt, but as far as I know, he does not exaggerate. However I'm certain that no girl came with the cables - after they were installed, he probably invited one for an audition, coffee or something and she might have had some strands of silver or most likely gold, but I do not think the gold was meant to fight magnetic interference or maybe it was. Now, you have me all confused.
|
|
|
Post by gzubeck on May 14, 2015 0:47:41 GMT -5
Well, I did not see the receipt, but as far as I know, he does not exaggerate. However I'm certain that no girl came with the cables - after they were installed, he probably invited one for an audition, coffee or something and she might have had some strands of silver or most likely gold, but I do not think the gold was meant to fight magnetic interference or maybe it was. Now, you have me all confused. Silver is the purest conductor after copper When you braid individually jacketed speaker wires like 8 or more it help with any kind of emi's. It was supposed to be a joke about your friend being ripped off!;-)
|
|
|
Post by mm on May 15, 2015 21:07:27 GMT -5
Well, I do not think he was ripped off, maybe by my or your standards, but not by his. Check out this link: ( you may have to copy & paste as I do not know how to create a link using Tapatalk ) " www.thecableco.com/Catalog/Speaker-Cables " If you go down on the list you will see how ignorant we both are - I believe the most expensive pair of 8 ft cables there is just over $53000 (no mistake here 53k) and it seems that the $3000 he paid is probably in the lower 15%. I'm shocked by these prices, but I'm not surprised - when my barber told me once what he paid for a couple of his scissors I almost flipped. You live and learn. ;-)
|
|
|
Post by gzubeck on Jun 5, 2015 21:58:55 GMT -5
Anybody willing to pay $53000 for a pair of speaker cables deserves to be ripped off. Most of the stuff we listen to is mastered on quality mogami studio cables that doesn't cost any where near that. I would love to hear the salesmen try to sell the magic pixie dust for even $3000 cables. All you need is pure 10-12 gauge copper cables with quality terminations that won't oxidize. I've heard oxidized cables before and it does affect the sound quality.
|
|