Amp Selection for Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grand


Preface:

I’ve got a situation where at almost any normal listening level, I get headaches. I’m somewhat prone to headaches from sound anyway, but this is unusual for me - the perceived loudness is around 80dB, but SPL meter at my listening position measures consistently 5-8dB higher than what I would "guess" (and my guesses are usually pretty good). I’ve never experienced an issue where the SPL was much higher than perceived volume.

Current Setup:

I have a pair of the VA-BCG speakers in a 2 channel setup. At present, they’re driven by two wyred4sound mAMPs, and sound great. They’re 4ohm speakers with 91dB sensitivity and these amps are rated 430w RMS for 4ohm. The room is 14x13, 9’ ceilings, and one wall completely open into the foyer. The speakers face that open wall.

The Actual Question:

So, my thought was, perhaps, that the speakers are receiving too much power. I could be completely wrong on this, but just in case I’m not, I was curious if there were any stereo amps along the lines of the Krell Duo 125XD that don’t push such high wattage at 4ohm.

I should note I have no issues with class D amps, I am open to anything that's a good fit for the speakers.


davidfells

Showing 1 response by amg56

Hello David

I do not know how long you have had your VA-BCG speakers but I feel I can give my opinion. I had the speakers on trial for three weeks and had the same amplification and analogue/digital equipment.
I played our usual multi genre music and, frankly, I had a headache not long into each listening session. My experience was that I lost the bass unless the volume was up, the mid range was like a sonic laser to the ears and the tweeter, reasonable whether driven low or high.
The midrange has to be at the worst roll off-on between bass and tweeter. It is at a very complex musical area and as such s
seems to over compensate by boring sound into your brain.
I changed to Focal Sonos Olympica 3 speakers and these speakers were like a gentle massage.
I do not think an amp change will solve the headaches. Best luck.