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 mikey8811

Actually I think VA speakers appreciate high current amps - not as much as Dynaudio’s do but they do sing better with high current. They are more sensitive though and can work well with lower powered amps.

If anything my experience with VA BCG speakers are that they are a bit rolled off in the highs.

The mids are nice - not as magical as older Sonus Faber designs or Harbeths but nice in their own way - definitely not laser like as the other reply says. I guess it is system/ room/ break in dependent.

Ayre, Primare and Pass Labs all work well with them from what I have heard in my system.