A "best amp for Ohm Walsh Tall 1000's" question with a twist...


Hey all -

I'm a long time reader, mostly lurker.  I've dipped my toe in the audio hobby over the last couple of years, and Audiogon has been my education.  Many thanks to all for contributing your thoughts here!

I am considering a power amp upgrade.  My current rig is digital source -> microRendu -> Metrum Musette -> Quicksilver line stage -> Rotel RB-980BX -> Ohm Walsh Tall 1000's.  At some point I plan to upgrade the Musette to an Amethyst - the Musette seems thin, to me.

My wife and I listen to all kinds of stuff, mostly acoustic and choral.  We (er, I) listen to some stuff loud-ish, but we don't really "rawk out".  What we value in sound are naturalness, realism, presence, and musicality.  I like to hear everything that's going on - I don't need acid-etched definition, but I also don't want a big warm cloud of sound.  And I like sound with a bit of weight - not loud, but present.

I'm pretty happy with most of my gear.  The Rotel is getting it done as far as getting a baseline of power to the OW's, but I suspect I could do better.

The twist in all of is that it would be really, really, really good if the amp could fit in our existing stereo cabinet.  Like, "v7b9b13 isn't banished to the couch" good.  Which means it has to fit into a space about 18" wide, 13.5" deep, and about 7 or 8 inches high.  I have some flexibility in the vertical dimension, but not in width or depth.  The 13.5" depth has to account for connectors and wires, so we're really talking about more like 12".

For reference, the Rotel fits, just.

I've been considering vintage Mac for this - MC 754 or MC 2100 - because my understanding is that the Macs have the beef - the current - to drive the Ohms nicely, and because both of those amps will fit in my little shoebox of a space.  I'm looking for all y'alls input on a couple of things:

* any other contenders worth looking at?
* any reason to run away from either (or both) of the Macs as fast as I can?

I generally understand the whole autoformer / no autoformer thing - generally - but any thoughts about the appropriateness of that aspect of the two amps in the context of my rig will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

All the best 
v7b9b13

Showing 1 response by mapman

I’ve not heard any of your gear, but on paper, that amp appears to be a good match.

The OHMs like power and current, but if you are not looking to go louder and clearer, that may not matter.

Class D amps (most efficient) will likely produce a noticeable change in the sound in the direction you are looking, and keep product size minimal, so if you must try something else, I would look at well received Class D amps with good current delivery capability regardless of actual power rating. PS Audio is a popular brand here that has some interesting new offerings in this area though I have not heard. Read some of the recent Class D threads here for more ideas perhaps.

Also hard to go wrong with Bel Canto. I use BC c5i integrated with my similar size OHM Walsh speakers in a second system , and Bel Canto ref1000m monoblocks with my big OHM F5s (12" drivers) in my main setup.

You often will not realize how loud the music actually is with these amps, much like with good quality tube amps. It’s a good thing in that the music sounds fuller and more completely flushed out without sounding loud or fatiguing as is the case with many lesser amps.

But with Class D , unlike most tube amps, you can drive most any speaker including the OHMs to their maximum without ever breaking a sweat.....very effortless sound from the smallest box possible   due to the efficiency of Class D.

At least that is the case with the Bel Cantos. Also Class D amps tend to soft clip as well if/when they are being maxed out, another way that they work and sound more like a tube amp than most Class A/B SS amps.