What type of amps do you use? Tube? Solid State? Both? Hybrid?

What type of amp do you use?


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Very cool. I have not heard the Linlai KT88s but not surprised you found them quite good. Linlai was founded by a bunch of folks that left PSVANE.
 
This Black Ice Audio F35 amp with Linlai KT88 output tubes does something magical with music, just outstanding!

You are going to make me regret not buying one. I went with a Levinson integrated instead as I needed a bit more power for the Arendal Speakers. I even talked with the guys at Black Ice
 
You are going to make me regret not buying one. I went with a Levinson integrated instead as I needed a bit more power for the Arendal Speakers. I even talked with the guys at Black Ice

When I heard the 5805 I thought it was something special. I thought it may just be the synergy with the Audio Physics speakers it was with. I'm not sure what ML did with that amp but I like it better than the 585 or the new 5k series separates. I've read the description and reviews and can't figure it out. I'm not saying it's as good the character of the 5805 is more similar to my 500 separates than those other models I mentioned. Without going to the higher end separates the 5805 will always be my pick of the litter.
 
I Use Bi-Amped XTZ A2-300 for tweeters and midrange and XTZ A2-400 for woofers.... I love the sound, needed some burnin when brand new, a day or two....

They use Class D ICE edge amplification.

Speakers is Canton Ergo SC-L with original Canton Control Unit and XTZ 10.17 Edge subwoofer.... I use alot of Watts and Biamping because thats what Canton suggested in the Speakers manual.
 
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Primaluna EVO 300 integrated. (Tubes)
It puts out about 35 watts and it works well with my Fynes.
Happy camper,
J
 
I currently use 6 amps. All direct coupled to the drivers. They're really 3 sets of monologues. A SET 45 on the horn tweeter. A SET 845 on the 10 inch midrange. A KT88 PP on the 15 inch woofers.
I currently am dialing in the system with a crap Dayton DSP 408. It needs a Merchand when I find the crossover points and slopes I want.

That, or I get a Zu speaker and ditch it all. Get a integrated
 
I currently use 6 amps. All direct coupled to the drivers. They're really 3 sets of monologues. A SET 45 on the horn tweeter. A SET 845 on the 10 inch midrange. A KT88 PP on the 15 inch woofers.
I currently am dialing in the system with a crap Dayton DSP 408. It needs a Merchand when I find the crossover points and slopes I want.

That, or I get a Zu speaker and ditch it all. Get a integrated
That looks like a nice rig, so I have to ask - why Zu? The only experience I’ve had with their products are the Mission MK I speaker cables ( which I thought okay) and an Event power cord that I ripped out as fast as I could. It completely eviscerated the bass response of any component I tried it on. I don’t know why.
 
I want some sort of single driver with as little crossover as possible. Some sort of folded horn maybe. Just something simple. And affordable. I am not of the mind to get a speaker that cost $10K or more. I would rather spend $5K on a used speaker.
 
I want some sort of single driver with as little crossover as possible. Some sort of folded horn maybe. Just something simple. And affordable. I am not of the mind to get a speaker that cost $10K or more. I would rather spend $5K on a used speaker.
The problems with a single driver are they don't play deep bass, high frequencies are beamy (tiny sweet spot) and at higher volume levels they become congested due to Doppler Effect distortion. At low levels they can work quite well, especially if a subwoofer is used and something is done to prevent the driver from being subjected to low frequencies.
 
The problems with a single driver are they don't play deep bass, high frequencies are beamy (tiny sweet spot) and at higher volume levels they become congested due to Doppler Effect distortion. At low levels they can work quite well, especially if a subwoofer is used and something is done to prevent the driver from being subjected to low frequencies.
Why is there always something.

Multi drivers suffer from the crossover distorting phase and eating power. You can hear them when you get rid of them. That is my experience.

What about horns designed to go from 125 hertz up using a 8 inch and a tweeter? Those are not that large. I am thinking of having a horn designed to go into a console for the living room. I would add some sort of sub. Or subs. I could maybe sneak the subs in as coffee tables if I DIY the enclosures.
 
Why is there always something.

Multi drivers suffer from the crossover distorting phase and eating power. You can hear them when you get rid of them. That is my experience.

What about horns designed to go from 125 hertz up using a 8 inch and a tweeter? Those are not that large. I am thinking of having a horn designed to go into a console for the living room. I would add some sort of sub. Or subs. I could maybe sneak the subs in as coffee tables if I DIY the enclosures.

I had a set of Soul Superfly, they absolutely took all the power I could give them and remained pristine. They use a down firing port of sorts that's to resemble a muffler of a motorcycle. I still would have preferred a sub. Zu also uses a "super tweeter". I eventually tired of the sound of that tweeter. They used Pro drivers from M&M I believe and they didn't distort at high volume that was actually a strong point. They are designed for use with SET and other tube gear though. This has been some years back I haven't heard any of their newer models.
 
The problems with a single driver are they don't play deep bass, high frequencies are beamy (tiny sweet spot) and at higher volume levels they become congested due to Doppler Effect distortion. At low levels they can work quite well, especially if a subwoofer is used and something is done to prevent the driver from being subjected to low frequencies.


I was reading something last night about regulating audio specifications. How there came about a standard, then it was weakened, now they wanted to eliminate the standard all together. Your name was mentioned as one who wrote a letter in support of keeping the standard. Good for you. I was like, hey, I know who that is,LOL
 
Why is there always something.

Multi drivers suffer from the crossover distorting phase and eating power. You can hear them when you get rid of them. That is my experience.

What about horns designed to go from 125 hertz up using a 8 inch and a tweeter? Those are not that large. I am thinking of having a horn designed to go into a console for the living room. I would add some sort of sub. Or subs. I could maybe sneak the subs in as coffee tables if I DIY the enclosures.
You can run multiple drivers if the amps are dedicated to their service. By that I mean that the amp is set up in such a way that it does not play out of band for the driver its meant for.

This can be done doing things like changing out a coupling cap for one that is much smaller, so the amp cuts off at a much higher frequency, such as 5KHz. That way you could eliminate a passive crossover and an active one too.
I was reading something last night about regulating audio specifications. How there came about a standard, then it was weakened, now they wanted to eliminate the standard all together. Your name was mentioned as one who wrote a letter in support of keeping the standard. Good for you. I was like, hey, I know who that is,LOL
Yeah, that was pretty silly that hardly anyone in the industry wrote in. Now we're seeing inflated amplifier powers advertised again the way we did back before the FTC stepped in to sort things out back in the 70s.
 
Yeah, that was pretty silly that hardly anyone in the industry wrote in. Now we're seeing inflated amplifier powers advertised again the way we did back before the FTC stepped in to sort things out back in the 70s.
Inflated by reputable companies? Expensive companies? Bargain companies? Is tnere a pattern?
 
I thought there was in the old days. The cheaper stuff seemed to have the more exaggerated claims.


After checking I stand corrected, the FTC did review the standards in 6/2024 and they are still in place. However, companies still find ways to state specs in questionable ways. Seems to be a lot of double talk in the home theater category.
 
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