Which amp for Tyler Acoustics Linbrook?

Ern Dog

Well my current gain-clone chip amp isn't compatible with my new Linbrook Signature system speakers, 2-piece. So, I'm now in the market for a new 2 channel solid-state amp. I have $1000 to spend on a used amp. Not sure what would be a good match. I'm looking for a nuetral sounding amp. Here are some amps I'm thinking about:

Parasound Halo A21
Belles 150A
Rotel 1080
Emotiva XPA-2

Ricardo

The Belles will do a good job if you're talking aboit the Reference.

A couple more options:
-Marsh A400s
-Any decent tube amp 60 WPC or more.

The linbrooks are relatively efficient (92db and 8 ohm IIRC), so you do not need a lot of power to drive them.

treitz3

If you can squeeze out a little more...........

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79103

Then be ready to whack pud for sound.

hoosier21

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78134&highlight=aragon

I know the seller, he is a great guy

phipiper10

I think the Parasound and Tylers will make a VERY revealing combo. I had this combo previously with the Anthem pre 2L in the middle. Some recordings were TOO revealing. Not all but some enjoyment on some discs was lost as I started to over analyze mixes and everything the engineers had done. It probably depends on what you listen too and your room acoustics. It may be what you want. I also had a Rotel though it was RB990 BX. Similar thought to the Parasound however I think the Parasound was cleaner/more refined.

I since went the opposite direction with the BlueCircle amp but it was too rich. I Took a small step closer to neutral with the B&K.

No Belles experience. Not even gonna say the "E" word. Good luck.

I-SIG

Don't know the seller but the amp is killer.

Wes

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79733

jm1

It will also be interesting to hear what you think of the Dynaudio's once you get a good SS amp. I'm using Simaudio for my Danes. You might be quite surprised.

Ern Dog

Thanks for the suggestions. Lots of good ideas. So far I'm leaning toward the Cary CAD-200, Parasound Halo A23 (instead of A21) or Vincent SP-331 Hybrid. Not much info about the Vincent, but it did win TAS Best tube amp award under $1k. The Parasound also is highly regarded. And I know Cary is rock solid, just a bit more than I have to spend. I'm gonna do more research and pull the trigger on one of these very soon. And what ever I get I'll definetly hear how my Dynaudios sound with the new amp. I can't do the shoot out until I get an amp for the Linbrooks.

phipiper10

Almost as good as waiting for the next phish show!! That's it ... Have a live feed of the shoot out playing phish tunes!

I'll pay for audio admission

george daniel

I'm running my 7u's with quicksilver M-80 mono's and the taylos with VTL compact 100's monoblocs. Good luck:)

Ern Dog

Here I am 4 years later from when I started this post and I still have the same speakers and still love'em. Amps I've tried on these speakers are Rogue Audio Stereo 90, Pass x150, pass x150.5 and now currently with pass xa30.5. I've also switched to an all digital source with my Macbook pro and overdrive dac. My rig sounds very resolving and neutral, but it's missing something. I was at a friends house and was blown away with how good his tube mono blocks sounded. And so I'm thinking of trading out my Pass amp for some tube mono blocks.

I've taken out my Placette preamp and I'm going direct to my amp from the dac using XLR's. So the tube amp needs to have xlr inputs and needs to have at least 100+ wpc. My speakers are 90db 4 ohm. I also don't like overly romantic sounding tubes, not syrupy, and no bloat. It has to be fairly neutral and not emphasize any particular frequencies- flat, with a dash of warmth. I'm hoping for a full sound, texture and 3 dimensional.

So far on the top of my list is a used Atma-Sphere MA-1 mono blocks, which are 135 wpc into 4 ohms. I wish I could get away with the M-60 model but it's only 45 wpc and I don't think I would get the bass impact I need to power the four 8" bass drivers. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Ernie

Face

Why not a tube pre instead?

cstmar01

Bat tube monos come to mind. Or vtl. My vtl are not overly fat, and have an almost ss sound yet still some good tube sound.

Ern Dog

I don't need a pre amp. I prefer to go direct because it simplifies the path and sounds more transparent.

I used to have a Modwright 9.0 SE tube preamp and replaced it with the Placette active preamp because it was more transparent.

organ

Hi Ernie,
Long time no see. What's the min imp dip of your Tyler's? As long as they are efficient/sensitive enough, there is no need to worry about what size woofer you're powering. Using Klipsch La Scala for example. They have 15" woofers but can get away with incredible impact and power with less than one watt due to their sensitive nature.
You said your speaks are 90db and 4 Ohms. The 4 Ohms is going to be a challenge already but 90db is quite efficient. So you'd want to focus on a tube amp with a good beefy power supply. Just like SS, not all tube watts are created equal. If they dip below 4 ohms and/or have wild impedance swings, you're much better off with SS, IMO. Also, the 4 ohm output taps on most tube amps don't sound as good as the 8 ohms. Most output transformers in tube amps are optimized for the 8 ohm taps. If 4 is your speaks min, you should be able to get away using the 8 ohm taps.
Why don't you bring your speakers over to your friend's house and listen to them with his amp to see how work out with tubes. Or if he doesn't mind, maybe he could bring his amps over to your place. If possible, it's a better option because it's in your listening environment.

Face

I agree with cstmar01 and would lean towards BAT also. Manley should be another consideration also as I didn't find their amps overly lush or "fat" either.

Ern Dog

I had the same idea of having my friend bring over his monos. They are Audion Black Shadow 845 monos which deliver 25 wpc class A. He's coming over next weekend. It will be a fun comparison seeing how it sounds vs. Pass 30 wpc of class A. I'll post my thoughts about it.

In the mean time I'll do some research on BAT & VTL.

Face

I would also check out Ayon.

organ

Sounds good. Let us know how it goes.

gaspipe

Blowing the dust off this thread....

I've had my Linbrook Signatures for a year or so now. At first, I was planning to flip them because I got them fairly inexpensively because they had a crossover issue. I fixed that, and fell in love with the damned things. I'm powering them with a pair of modded driver board Hafler XL280's in mono, with a Musical Concepts Chameleon preamp with a Telefunken 6922 tube.

I guess they are keepers. Hope you like yours as much as I love mine!

treitz3

I damn sure do know I love mine. Didn't at first and actually thought I had made a mistake but once I got the synergy thing going? In a word. Whoa. Planning on an external x-over upgrade within days. My profile will spill the beans on what gear is associated.

Congrat's gaspipe on one fine purchase. I'm listening to them right now and even after all of these years, the goose bumps still visit often.

Tom

Ern Dog

Treitz3- I'd also like to do the crossover upgrade for mine too. It's on my list. I hope you post your impressions because I'd be interested in hearing about your impressions. Although, everyone that get's this done seems to really like the results.

Lately I've been lusting after the Audio Research Reference 150 tube amp. It is more than I can afford, so I might have get the VS115 instead. We'll see what I end up with.

Obsession18

I've had my 1-piece Linbrook Signatures for about two years now, I bought them as trade-ins from Ty for what I now realize was a friggin killer price. I've been really happy with them - then I went analog and added a turntable, it brought tears to my eyes.

tonyb

Ern Dog wrote: »

So far on the top of my list is a used Atma-Sphere MA-1 mono blocks, which are 135 wpc into 4 ohms. I wish I could get away with the M-60 model but it's only 45 wpc and I don't think I would get the bass impact I need to power the four 8" bass drivers. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Ernie

Good choice Ern, maybe talk to Ted, I think he still cries like a baby with those Wolcotts. Audio Note is another to look into as well as VAC. Incidently, given your dac, have you tried the offramp with it ? Those who use one simply love what it does.

Not so sure I'd worry about 45 watts and 4 8 inch drivers. Bigger drivers, maybe, 8 inchers...nah.

Ern Dog

I've heard that the bass is kinda thin with the Atmas and that's not a good thing for me. The arc supposedly has way better bass.

george daniel

Big A$$ VTL mono's will do the trick.

gaspipe

treitz3 wrote: »

I'm listening to them right now and even after all of these years, the goose bumps still visit often.

When I was working through my XO issues, I changed some pm's with Trey. I still want to upgrade the XO's in mine too. It's hard to imagine better sound until you have it.

treitz3

Hello, Ern Dog. You betcha' I'll be posting my impressions! My final observations won't be made public for a "guestimated" two months, though. The speakers will be leaving the rig today and we are estimating a month at worst to have the external x-overs done, wired up and installed into the boxes they will be going into. The speakers will be recorded in the studio before the upgrades, after the upgrades and then once again, after break in so you can "sample" the differences yourself. I'll start my observations [good or bad] when the upgrades are done but will reserve my final observations after about a month of listening and break in.

Hey, gaspipe. I have heard the changes the same x-over upgrades I am planning for the Signatures on Trey's Tyler Acoustics Super Towers. Believe it or not, the difference was flat out amazing. It took a really good performer and catapulted them into a superb performer. After his were broken in, it was somewhat hard to come home and listen to mine after listening to his. If the sonic end result is as good with mine as it was with his, I'm fairly confident that I will take these speakers to the grave with me. That's a far cry from my initial observations with these speakers.....thinking that I had made a "mistake".

Tom

Ern Dog

treitz3 wrote: »

Hello, Ern Dog. You betcha' I'll be posting my impressions! My final observations won't be made public for a "guestimated" two months, though. The speakers will be leaving the rig today and we are estimating a month at worst to have the external x-overs done, wired up and installed into the boxes they will be going into. The speakers will be recorded in the studio before the upgrades, after the upgrades and then once again, after break in so you can "sample" the differences yourself. I'll start my observations [good or bad] when the upgrades are done but will reserve my final observations after about a month of listening and break in.

Cool. A worthy investment for sure.

Ern Dog

So I had an opportunity to listen to Audion Black Shadow mono blocks which use the 845 tube. They are SET amps with 25 wpc. They totally outclassed my XA30.5 and I would hope so at $14,000!

I've never heard the Tylers sound this good before. The black shadows basically did everything better except in one area. First off, instruments sounded more realistic. There was more resolution, depth, more separation between the different instruments, and so on....

The only place they started to run out of gas was when I listened to the Gladiator soundtrack, "The Might of Rome," which is a very powerful classical music piece.

They look friggin gorgeous to boot.

Ern Dog

Well I decided to pull the trigger on tube mono blocks, Coincident Dragons MK I. They are 75 wpc. I found a used pair on audiogon that should arrive next week. More to come...