@dave_b , You and I were cast in the same mold. Rock On! The right amplifier is the biggest bruiser you can afford.
Speakers and amplifiers show audiophiles are confused.
An audiophile buys a pair of speakers for $50K or $100K then asks what amps make them sound best. That’s about as smart as marrying a girl without knowing her personality. What are the specs that will insure your expensive new speakers and amps will work optimality with each other? There’s got to be an app for that, well no there isn’t because there are too many variables and companies don’t present their specs in a standard ways. Why is it that speaker and amplifier manufactures don’t recommend specific amps for their speakers? Beyond power, impedance, and making your own crossovers how do you choose amplifiers to get all the potential out of your speakers?
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@mijostyn I have favored mostly Krell but have tried many, including tubes! My Krell Class A integrated is overkill for my Cornwall IV’s but it gets’er done ✅ |
So, putting a great system together is a lot of work. It used to be a lot of work, in 2023 it is only work if you want it to be. You can have virtually any product shipped to your door with a 30-60 day return policy if you like to mix and match. You can get a "designer system" with matched components from end to end from many manufacturers such as Bryston, Harman, Sony, Anthem, etc. You can get an active speaker that has everything (speaker, amp, preamp,streamer, app control, DSP, etc) together from manufacturers like KEF, Dynaudio, JBL, etc. The old days you used to "shlep" from dealer to dealer. These days you just "surf" from online dealers, to forums like this, to youtube, and to reviews. So, I suppose it could get even easier but it is actually ridiculous how easy it is already.
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Buying the biggest amp you can afford is like saying you should buy the biggest engine you can afford for driving. Some engines are huge and do a great job with low end power like tractors and earth movers, other engines do well at going fast, like dragsters. Just because the engine is big doesn't mean its power band is suited for your needs. This is a close analogy to amps speakers and crossovers. The amp (engine) needs to match the crossover (transmission) to ultimately reach acceleration (driver output). Big amps are not the most efficient best sounding solutions. Look at live sound amps they are getting smaller and more efficient, if bigger was better concerts would use huge amps, they were heading in that direction but not anymore. |
If I had a tight budget, did not want to to do much research, and wanted a matched system of various brands I would buy THX certified gear. That company’s sole purpose is to test gear so the THX standard plays together as a team. I have a THX receiver by Onkyo and a THX amp by Carver, absolute war horses punching way above their cost. Perlisten is winning awards for their speakers and they are touting the "THX Dominus" creds. So if the OP is really concerned about a mix and match recipe that one seems to work. When you look at these THX certified products all of them seem to hit high marks for quality. If you really want a mix and match app here is the THX one: |
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