I made my life very simple, got rid of all my dacs and streamers, took the Pass Labs preamp out went back and forth with the Pass Labs XA-25 and First Watt Sit-4 …so in the end and so much happier, Meitner MA3i dac, streamer,volume control all in one glorious box, hooked directly to the Sit-4 amplifier,to the Lucera….so much better in every way…less cables, simple and sweet sounding…
Amplifier for Volti Lucerna Speakers
Hi All,
My speakers are a new pair of Volti Lucernas that I purchased about a year ago and I am loving them. These may be my last pair of speakers.
My system is a PS Audio PWT, Mojo Mystique DAC, no vinyl yet due to placement logistics, Don Sachs DS2 pre, and a variety of amps:
FW F7 - Better with Fritz Carbons in 2nd system,
Quicksilver Horn Monos - like the separation and exactness but need more power,
FW F6 - sounds similar to QHM and also needs more power,
Don Sachs Kootenay - great amp, nuanced but lacks bit of powerful immediacy,
Van Alstine SET 120 - very powerful but misses some of the nuance.
I think nuance means inner detail and texture to me....
I have tried hard to like tube amps with the Lucernas but think I like may be more of a solid state guy due to the tighter, more powerful bass.
I could be happy, I think, with the FW F6 and Quicksilvers if they had more watts.
Seems like 60 WPC is a minimum. I could really like the 60 watts per channel of the SET 120 if it was more nuanced without sacrificing the clean sound and tight and powerful bass.
What would you suggest based on your listening experience with hybrid horn speakers?
Pass XA25?
Belles Aria monos?
Van Alstine monos?
Any class D? I tried LSA Warp 1 - pretty good bass and clean sounding but lacked nuance in my setup. Definitely want better.
What else?
Looking forward to your feedback!
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I've only heard my Rivals with 1 amp + Voltis at the Tampa show for the past 3 years. My amp is a lowly Primaluna Evo 300 integrated with the following tubes: Power: 2 KT-150 & 2 GE 6L6's - amp switch on high bias. Pre: Up front: 1950s CBS Hytrons flanked by a set of Radiotechnique on one side and a pair of Mullards on the other. The 2 150s give the low end some wallop and the 6L6s have a very well defined midrange. The CBS Hytron's gave more midrange definition and a bit more 3D. I've had some "hifi friends" over with more listening experience and all of them are impressed with one stating it is the closest he has heard to live music. I do have my Rivals on Townshend Podiums as well as some other good components (not super high end) in the chain which of course help. On paper, the Primaluna is the weak spot of my system but it sounds so damn good I just don't see a reason to upgrade. I also just move my speakers from about a third into the room to stuffed back in the corners (wider) which made a significant improvement to the bass and enlarged the soundstage - which is now huge, but not fake sounding. Pinpoint imaging suffered from that change but the improved bass and SS are worth the tradoff IMO. |
@laynes Hello, I had the PrimaLuna EVO 400 pre and amp, there is no comparison to the Sit-4 to the Lucera speakers. Tried about all the different tubes possible and went down that endless rabbit hole lol..I even tried the PrimaLuna Dac so all PrimaLuna …don’t miss it…just a little food for thought… |
Hi Charles, I don't doubt that for one second but I do wonder if you were using the stock tubes or not? The difference between the stock tubes and what I have rolled is enormous and I think why my amp sounds so good - knowing that there is still a lot better out there. And you may have rolled them - but I'll say that my system sounds as good as Greg's did at the show with the $25k Border Patrol amp - also knowing that he was in a hotel room and my room is treated - plus the front end and other differences. At some point, the next thing for me to upgrade will be my amp but I'm pretty sure it will be something tubed and I have no idea what yet because I don't have a price range yet. So the Evo 300i serves me well for now... |
@laynes I had problems with the stock tubes, keep getting the red light off and on after a year and blowing fuses with the amp. I tried a lot of different tubes from all the old stock dealers, a matched set of EL34 Mullards from the 60s for the power amp very expensive…on and on with tubes…life really improved when I got off the tube deal…I have a friend who is exploring LTA gear with great results..he has Crowe speakers..where and what are the Rivals sitting on in your system? |
- 32 posts total