What amp do I need to power my Acoustat 1100


I have had my 1100's for quite a few years. I stopped when the fried my (don't laugh, I was young!) carver tfm 35 amp. do you guys recommend a brand or price range I should be looking in. I have been looking into the krell amps I've seen for sale as well as the Parasound A21 but don't know whether that's bringin a Knife to a gunfight. Please give a novice some help.
stlrfn

Showing 4 responses by rodman99999

If you want to use SS; find an amp with MOSFET outputs. They will maintain stability at low impedance levels. One can practically arc weld with some MOSFET amps. I used modded Hafler DH-500s with Acoustat Model IIIs(in the early '80's) with great success(was a dealer, back then). I much prefer tubes, but synergism with electrostatics is harder to reach. Here's a suggestion: (http://www.avahifi.com/root/equipment/amplifier/fetvalve_amps.htm) You don't mention your pre, but tubes would be nice there, and would give you the ability to tweak the system's presentation to suit your tastes.
Ns said, "I think this has become a popular misconception. If you want to roll tubes to tailor the sound of your system, you need a tube amplifier. In a preamp (with the exception of a PHONO preamp), the tubes aren't used for amplification, and therefore have little effect on sonics other than adding a certain amount of tube hiss to the signal (even in the more expensive units.)" In my experience, I've found tube rolling worked wonders in quite a few pre-amps over the years(especially my own ARCs), and particularly in units with tubed power supplies. Voltage gain is the purpose of most tubes in a pre-amp(just as in a phono stage), and they are in the signal path. Any tubes used in a pre-amp(or phono stage) need to be screened and certified very low-noise, regardless of the unit's cost.
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By, "wonders" I meant what I said in my initial post. Obviously eliminating noise is not a, "wonder". Here are some others that have found what I have with regards to the benefits of tube rolling in pre-amps:(http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/tuberolling/tuberolling.html) (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=35170.0) Be certain to read the third page of the Six Moons article, where changing out rectifiers is discussed(though most of his rolling in in the gain stage). I've rolled tubes for customers and friends in pre-amps from ARC, Cary, Dynaco, Joule, etc. Whether an input buffer, gain stage, output buffer or rectifier; I've found all to affect the presentation of the unit, and provide a means to tailor the sound to the individual's taste. In my ARC SP-9's line stage gain block; The input signal was applied to the gate of an n-channel FET, the drain of which was connected in a cascade manner to the grid of half of the Siemens E188CC dual triode I was using(very much in the signal path). In the SP-11, each signal "stage" consisted of a FET and a Siemens in a cascode configuration. I liked the transparency the German tubes(Siemens/Teles) provided. My apologies to the OP for having taken so much of your thread to explain my experiences with tube rolling in pre-amps. Hopefully, some of this info will benefit you in your quest for a more musical system.
I agree on all points. It seemed the OP was leaning more toward SS, and thus my first response(regarding MOSFETs, high output, no thermal runaway). Knife fight? Bring an M-16(why waltz when you can rock 'n roll)! The AVA amps I suggested would still give him the ability to tweak their presentation, via their driver tubes(and perfectly fit his price range). Personally, I left tube pres behind years ago, first for a Placette Passive, then my TacT RCS 2.2X(a radical departure from my minimum-signal-manipulation/eschew-anything-digital days). I plan to keep running my modded Cary SLM-100 monoblocks 'til the wheels fall off(ya gotta love those TungSol CTL roundplates and Sylvania 6SN7Ws). Plenty of power, bi-amping Maggies with a SS/transmission line bottom.