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Apogee Diva Ribbon Speakers - I need an amp

I recently moved to a new home and the former owner left his audio and video equipment. As a result, I now have a pair of Apogee Diva Ribbon speakers which are (were) powered by a pair of Krell Audio Standard 2 (KAS2) amps. This was great until one of the Krell amps died. Now I need to replace the amp.

This may be a bizarre question but does anyone have suggestions for a reasonably priced amp that can power these speakers 'well'. I understand that the word 'well' is subjective but I need a stereo amp with balanced inputs that won't break the bank - but can handle these beasts.

Thanks!
Scott
scottmerkel

Showing 4 responses by scottmerkel

scottmerkel OP
4 posts
 
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
scottmerkel OP
4 posts
 
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.
scottmerkel OP
4 posts
 
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.
scottmerkel OP
4 posts
 
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.
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