NAD 1000 / 902 bridged pair or...? with Martin Logan reQuests
Hey everyone! First time posting here. Bare with me.
I just recently purchased my "dream speakers", a pair of Martin Logan reQuests I have literally wanted for 20 years, since I was 12.
They’re in excellent condition cnsidering their age, only a few superficial scratches around the bases and some tiny pulls in the cloth covering the subs, nothing noticable from more than a couple feet away.
So far as I can tell with current equipment no issues with the cones or panels, either. They were auditioned on a stack worth two or three hundred thousand before I purchased them, where they sounded amazing.
Don’t get me wrong, they still sound great, but I know they can be much more.
Currently I’m running them bi-amped with standard 16 gage wire off a Sony STRZA1000ES receiver.
Before the reQuests I had a pair of Athena Audition series towers and a matching center along with an Infinity Entra Sub Two. While I’d like to use then for 5.1 on the rare occasion that I watch movies and such, I haven’t seen any real reason given the quality of reproduction and imaging from the Martin Logans. Also, my "listening room" (living room) is fairly small and I know that the reQuests are extremely sensitive to positioning, so I would rather have more space to work with them than compromise them with inferior speakers. They’re currently set up about two and a half feet from the rear wall, about 8 feet apart, slight toe in, about six to six and a half feet from my listening position.
This has given the best stereo separation and uniformity of sound so far, and I’ve played with them quite a bit in the last month or so since purchase.
Right now however I’m most concerned about the quality of my amp. And my budget - about 75% of which was blown on the speakers.
There’s a guy locally selling awesome stuff I can’t hope to afford like flawless Mark Levinson 23.5s, ML1/ML2 combos and Krell stuff on Craigslist. I can get a NAD 1000 preamp and a pair of 902s for ~$350 locally as well. A few asking way to much for 80s Kenwood separates. A couple Parasound and Adcom options that are more than I want to spend and lackluster based on my research.
On eBay I see older Crown and Phase Linear amps in reach, maybe a JBL 6290 or BGW model 600 pro amp. I could stretch for something like the Sumo Andromeda II.
In the end, I’m always worried about spending the money and being disappointed. Or even damaging something; I know the reQuests are much more forgiving than their predecessors, but I still read stories about low impedence electrostats killing amps.
A few years ago I inherited a Pioneer SX-1250 receiver from my grandfather. It’s in fair to poor condition, with scratchy unreliable pots, channels that work when they feel like it, and other little quirks. That said, I love the beast. I love how it dims all the lights in the house when you turn it on. I love that it produces more watts to 1 channel than current mid range receivers do in total. I love the weight, the build quality, and over-all look of the thing... I’m just afraid it’s not up to task with these super revealing high-end speakers. Am I wrong? Should I spend my amp budget on refurbishing the Pioneer?
What would you recommend to drive these? Ideally that can be had for $500 or less. I’d be willing to go higher if absolutely necessary, but not above $1000 or so, and I’d have to save up.
