What would be a good amp to drive a pair of Martin Logan Impression ESL 11A?


I am using a Linn Majik DSM that has a 90 watt amp and I am looking for a little more from my speakers. The Linn will remain my source and pre amp for now. I have been looking at Anthem's mca 225 and the Parasound Halo A21 as they are within my price range. Any ideas. For a pre Amp I am looking at the Decware ZTPRE
pvmike

Showing 1 response by mtmug

Since I own a set of the 11A's, I am motivated to break my oath of silence (at least as far as forums) and add my own "sage wisdom" to the mix here and strongly encourage you to audition any amp candidates with your own components if at all possible. I have three main reasons:
First, the 11A's have only a single set of binding posts so the speakers are receiving the full range signal and will respond to the characteristics of the external amp even in the bass range, despite the fact that the onboard woofer amps should be providing the grunt from 300Hz on down.  The 11A's are capable of extended and very articulate bass and you will likely hear significant  differences depending on the amp they are connected to.

Secondly, while adding more power and current capability is a logical step and the Logan's should respond positively to more juice, you may run into the old issue of  preamp/ amp matching going forward. I could not find the output impedance of your Linn listed online but the Decware preamp appears to have a high(ish) 600 ohm output impedance and may not mate well with the Anthem MCA225, as it has an input impedance of only 10K ohms.  Of the two amps you list, the Parasound looks a bit better on paper.

Finally, while any good speaker should allow you to easily hear changes in your components, the stats are very revealing and only you can decide if you like what you're hearing with a given combination. Looking at specs or getting advice may point you in a given direction, but your ears should be the final arbiter. The hunt can be either frustrating or fun, depending on your mindset,  but the rewards will be worth some effort.