Apogee Diva Ribbon Speakers - I need an amp

Sanders Magtech, (stereo or mono).

[ur]http://sanderssoundsystems.com/products/amplifiers/magtech-amp[/url]

Why not get the KAS2 repaired? Alternatively, I hear a Krell KSA-250 works very well with the Diva's.

Lucky you, Scott! I hope my next home comes with a pair of Quads and Cary tube monoblocks. You are living a charmed life.

The cheapest amps that would do a good job would be Icepower amps, such as Wyred 4 Sound or PS Audio GCAs. They will drive very low impedance/inefficient speakers like the Divas w/ ease.

Thanks, for the many suggestions. If it's helpful, perhaps I can share the rest of the equipment which is a bit of old and new.

Preamp: Marantz AV705
Amp: Marantz MM7055 (powers rear & side surrounds plus center)
Amp: two KAS2 (one is now broken, circuit board is fried so it probably can't be repaired)
Speakers:
Fronts, Apogee Diva Ribbons
Center: Apogee
Sides: Niles in ceiling
Rears: Heybrook HB.5
Sub: Velodyne ULD 15
Projector: JVC DLAX93D

plus the usual other stuff, bluray, svhs, turntable, power conditioner, etc...

So it sounds like I should look into Icepower and Sanders or perhaps a new Krell (which seem to be very pricy). My installer is recommending the McIntosh MC302 or a Mark Levinson N532H - but at about $6,000 that's more than I wanted to spend.

In the meantime, I had a Rotel RB-850 lying around that was unused so I hooked that up to the Apogee Divas. After rebalancing with Audyssey, it sounds 'ok' to me but to be honest, I'm not sure if I know what to listen for. I'm also a bit afraid to turn it up very loud but we just watched a movie at a normal volume and nothing melted or went up in flames :) Any thoughts on why just using the RB850 is a bad/good idea? Thanks again.

Best,
Scott

Krell, Magtech or H2O.

Scott,

An amplifier with too little power or too little control at low impedance can clip. Watch your ribbons. Are they "dancing" when you use the Rotel? I am not familiar with Divas but the ribbons on my Apogee Stage speakers would dance with poor quality amplification but be rock steady with a good amp.

I've seen several Krell KAV-250's for sale at pretty good prices. I used to have one myself back when it was current. It has tons of power, sounds good and is made in the US. For your speakers, I can't see you going wrong with it.

I use a McCormack DNA 500 amp with my Duetta Sig's, it's a powerhouse but he has other models that will work just as well. Try one of his models that will give you at least 200W into your speaker load and you should be just fine. If you want some tube bloom then try a nice tube pre feeding it.

Enjoy,
Bob

H2O, was made for Apogee Scintillas. Can drive 2 ohm load with ease.

Thanks. My dealer is offering me a good price on a Classe CA-2300. I may pull the trigger on that. Anyone have experience with this brand/amp?

I'm going to look into the H20 as well. Good idea on the McCormack as well. I'm searching the used listing to see if anything comes up.

Thanks.  My dealer is offering me a good price on a Classe CA-2300.  I may pull the trigger on that.  Anyone have experience with this brand/amp?

 

I'm going to look into the H20 as well.   Good idea on the McCormack as well.   I'm searching the used listing to see if anything comes up.

11-04-13: Rpw
H2O, was made for Apogee Scintillas. Can drive 2 ohm load with ease.

the Apogee Scintilla is a 1-Ohm speaker (or a 1 or 4 Ohm speaker). Can the H20 drive a 1-Ohm load? I was on Henry Ho's site & his amp spec stopped at 2 Ohms.

Henry tested his amps on his Scintillas, I am not sure why he does not list it on the specs.

I have used the H20 S 250 on Wilson WATT/Puppy 5's .

Thanks to everyone for their advice. In the end, it came down to getting a great price on a new Classe CA-2300. I'm going to sell my working KAS2 unit to subsidize the purchase. Steve from krellservice is looking into whether the broken unit can be repaired. If so, I'll repair and sell that as well.