I Demo'd the Peachtree grand amp with my old Kef XQ3 speakers which are about $2k MSRP vs the 9k Dalis and I believe the issue is with the speakers and not the amp. The Dalis are too sophisticated, polite and rounded (at least for that amp) The kefs while smaller, brought back the roar in Billy Squier's "My kind of Lover" Def Leopard's "Photograph " and really brought out Sammy Haggar's, "I'll fall in love again". The Dali's sound much better with Robert Plant solo stuff and a whole slew of "grown up" rock and assorted genres however.
I'm going to need some different speakers to cover more of the bases. Per my budget -Something that would have msrp'd for about 6-7k that is now less $ used. Something that compromises some finesse for an edge on heavier guitar bands and screamers. |
Yes, and that strategy goes for anything in life (job , girlfriend etc...) :) |
"Any others suggestions are certainly welcome."
You're making the right decision to go out and demo some new gear. There's no better way to go about this. The only thing that I would add, is that it seems like you may be tempted to keep some of your current equipment, like the Peachtree, maybe because of the reviews, or that you just bought it. Its understandable. No one wants to buy something and have to sell it right away. But if your not objective, and let your emotions play into all of this, it can cost you a lot of money. I know that I can speak for myself on making this mistake, but I'm pretty sure many of the other posters here can as well. |
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have to schedule a field trip to listen to the Aerial collection and check out some other amps for comparison. Have a great weekend. Any others suggestions are certainly welcome. |
you might also be quite happy with the Aerial 10T - the last version is way under your budget... |
Puff, there's wisdom in some of Ricred1's words..."in my system, to my ears". Therein lies the rub - your system isn't likely to be the exact same as his (cables, source, media) nor is your room the same as his. And I'd offer that those elements are as important, if not moreso, than the question of the amp & speakers alone. You can take one amp & speaker combo, have it sound like absolute bat guano, then put it in a truck and drive it around the block to someone else's living room with different dimensions, furnishings, and source and have that same amp & speaker combo sound like heaven. So to some degree, choosing an amp speaker combo based on someone else's experience is like buying your pants based on how they fit other people.
Some details that I'm surprised nobody else has bothered asking...
- What size room are you working with, and how is it shaped?
- How is it furnished i.e. carpeted, tiled, curtains, glass doors, etc.
- What's your source? CD, turntable, lossy/lossless files on a server?
- Is a subwoofer part of the plan?
- How much flexibility do you have with speaker placement, and how much did you experiment with wall proximity, toe-in, etc. with the Dalis?
- What speakers in the past have made you happy? We all have tastes in equipment, a way that we want music to sound - for some people the gentle contact of drum brush sticks is most rewarding, for others it's the kick in the gut from a bass drum. You need to choose speakers based on your own taste and how you want the sound to move you personally.
There are some seriously smart and experienced audiophiles on this forum - many of them already participating in this thread. So getting some good equipment recommendations will be easy. The hard part is filtering through those based on YOUR room, YOUR source, and YOUR personal situation. |
Puffbojie,
I have Aerial 7Ts and had a Peachtree 220, 220SE, and Grand integrated amp connected to them. I'm sorry, but the Grand was the worst combination and the 220SE was the best out of the Peachtree amps. The Grand can play "louder", but in my system, to my ears, isn't a musical amplifier. Eventually I sold the 220se, because I thought something was missing, but for the money the 220SE is very good. Just my 2 cents! |
Just saw the last two posts from begator and Jl35. Yes those points make sense. The enclosure is a bit small and when Peahctree showed off the Grand they did use the bigger speakers. I'm sure the Dalis can get more from some of the signature Amps as well but perhaps the best move would be a different speaker. I do enjoy the Current combination for the mellow side of music such as Fleetwood Mac , the Grateful Dead, or anything mellow -Sounds fantastic. Ridiculously flat and lack luster with anything heavier though. If anyone can think of a set of speakers which should go for $2500-$4000 used let me know your suggestions. What about Kef? |
Thanks everyone- This forum thing is awesome and very helpful. Too bad I made my purchases already! What about adding a preamp to the Peaechtree's amp? Or use the peachtree's preamp/ Dac and then getting a different amplifier to plug into?
In regards to the Aerial 9ts. The technician at Peachtree actually recommended the Aerial 7ts as a great fit for that price range. I saw the Dalis used locally at a good price and couldn't hold off. I just bought the Peachtree new a month ago. |
When Peachtree introduced the Grand, they paired it with B&W N802 at shows. Those may be slightly more sensitive than the Dalis, but they also dip to 3 ohms. And Peachtree didn't pair the Grand + 802 to play harp music - they showed them off playing classic rock. I think you're on the right track in looking at new speakers. |
I agree they deserve a better amp, but you still can only push so much air with two 6 1/2 woofers in a small/medium enclosure. But they are great sounding speakers, and the MS5 even better. |
I have a couple of power amps that are like yin and yang. Both are from the early '80s. One is a Perreaux PMF1150B and the other is a Heath AA-1600. The Heath has a very sharp initial transient and brings some snap and liveliness to dynamic speakers. The Perrreaux has very wide bandwidth and therefore a fast risetime, but is devoid of overshoot or ringing, so it can sound a bit soft on some dynamic speakers.
But the Perreaux is a perfect match for my Magneplanar 1.7s, and the Heath made them sound a bit rough. But previously when I had dynamic speakers, the Perreaux sounded soft and the Heath made them come very much alive.
I agree that a different amp might give you what you want. Of course, we won't make any progress until you weigh in again. The good news is that an amp for headbanging rock doesn't have to be refined. It mostly has to be powerful and fast. A Carver Professional or an old Adcom should do just fine. |
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The Dali Euphonia MS5 does everything the MS4 does well, plus much better bass and dynamics, as it has twice the internal volume and a dedicated midrange. I have had both. I did run the MS4 with a Talon sub with excellent results. |
agree amps issue...try some more umph amplifier Krell or Esoteric comes to mind.... |
I would see if you can try a different amp in your system first. You may be asking a bit much of the Peachtree. If you have to get new speakers, the Aerials that Czarivey recommends are a good choice. They play very loud and clean. But you may need to get another amp for them to work their best. |
I'm not familiar with your speakers, but I had the Peachtree Grand in my system for a home audition...you can read my comments in an old thread. Have you tried other amps with your speakers? |
When I see figure close to $10k, type of music I'm very familiar with and presence of powerful amplification, I don't know better speaker vs. Aerial 9t |
You might take a look at OHM Walsh or Dynaudio. |
