@kofibaffour As I mentioned above, while playing fast drum/bass track with moderate loudness, the Kinki turned red and shut off. I made some measurements, and the current Kinki B7 can not withstand the CE1s if it reaches down 35Hz too often. And it never happened with Scala, that’s why I also want to upgrade the power amp also.
Driving TAD CE1s (Upgrade from Kinki to Gryphon?)
Hey guys,
I recently made the switch from Focal Scala Evos to the TAD CE1. I’m currently looking for the right power amplification to drive the CE1 to their full potential.
My Current System:
• Streamer: HiFi Rose RS130
• DAC: Gustard R30
• Preamp: VTL TL-7.5 Series II
• Power Amp: Kinki Studio EX-B7 (Monoblocks)
• Cabling: Full Neotech UP-OCC
The Issue:
While I am loving the upgrade, I feel the Kinki EX-B7s are the bottleneck. They lack the grip and headroom required to control the TADs properly. On highly dynamic tracks (like Ein Straussfest), the amps clip and go into protection mode.
Sonically, this combination yields a thin tonal balance, particularly in the lower mids, with a somewhat forward treble presentation.
Comparing the TAD vs. Focal:
The good news is that the TAD CE1 offers significantly better imaging and soundstage than my previous Scalas. The holographic presentation and micro-detail are lifelike and deeply insightful. However, I am missing the bass response and excitement of the Focals.
So, I am considering upgrading to the Gryphon Antileon Signature to solve the power shortage and add body to the sound.
Has anyone paired Gryphon with TAD? Will the Antileon bring back that bass weight and "excitement" I’m missing from the Focal, without sacrificing the holographic detail of the TADs?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
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- 39 posts total
@darkknight8586 well can I peruse these measurements you made.
So yes, there is the aspect of the amp, but also the amp is suffering because you are lettinf the CE1 play fullrange and the EPDR dip is in the sub 50Hz region
So basically you can solve this by getting a sub and crossing over, or getting an amp with current delivery that is akin to a constant voltage source if you do not want to use subs. McIntosh MC611s come to mind
Still send the RTA lemme assess |
your scale is off. change the vertical so it is 50dB vertical scale with an increase of 10dB each step. Basically it should be like 70dB to 120dB vertically and horizontally should be 10Hz to 22kHz not 100kHz and then use the 1/24th smoothing or VAR smoothening @darkknight8586 |
@kofibaffour is this the correct measurement? |
- 39 posts total