If you are into class d
Please recommend some Monoblock Amps
- Thread starter JasperJ
- Start date
I have the PAP trio 10 Voxativ and the PAP Trio 15 with either a horn or Coax.
The trio 15 is a much more resolving speaker than people realize. Its can produce fine detail if given the right amp.
I have driven a lot of amps through these speakers. This is a general take on them.
First, they are 96 db efficient, but, those 15" paper drivers take power to stop and start. Especially in free air.
Second, the Coax crossover has a lot of stuff in the way of the current. The other drivers have less, but there is still a fairly power hungry crossover there.
What am I saying.
These speakers like a SS amp for the way they handle the woofers and.produce bass.
These speakers like a tube for the way they drive the mid/high drivers.
If you want body and bass, consider a SS amp. Class D Atmasphere played as well as my Dartzeep 108 model 1.
If you want more inner detail and harmonic content that makes a more natural and real sound, consider say a 300B in push pull. A friend has a Deja Vu remake of the WE on Ebay that is around $5k with good WE tubes. A ART series CJ will give all sorts of power and thrust but might loose a lttle natural. A VAC phi200 will have less balls, but have a little more sense of linear and clean. I have a very highly resolving KT88 PP that blew the Dartzeel/Atmasphere away in detail and natural tone. But I miss the power and grip of the SS.
There is no perfect answer. But there are excellent combinations that make wonderful music. You just need to pick a direction.
The trio 15 is a much more resolving speaker than people realize. Its can produce fine detail if given the right amp.
I have driven a lot of amps through these speakers. This is a general take on them.
First, they are 96 db efficient, but, those 15" paper drivers take power to stop and start. Especially in free air.
Second, the Coax crossover has a lot of stuff in the way of the current. The other drivers have less, but there is still a fairly power hungry crossover there.
What am I saying.
These speakers like a SS amp for the way they handle the woofers and.produce bass.
These speakers like a tube for the way they drive the mid/high drivers.
If you want body and bass, consider a SS amp. Class D Atmasphere played as well as my Dartzeep 108 model 1.
If you want more inner detail and harmonic content that makes a more natural and real sound, consider say a 300B in push pull. A friend has a Deja Vu remake of the WE on Ebay that is around $5k with good WE tubes. A ART series CJ will give all sorts of power and thrust but might loose a lttle natural. A VAC phi200 will have less balls, but have a little more sense of linear and clean. I have a very highly resolving KT88 PP that blew the Dartzeel/Atmasphere away in detail and natural tone. But I miss the power and grip of the SS.
There is no perfect answer. But there are excellent combinations that make wonderful music. You just need to pick a direction.
Bryston 28B Cubed, CH Precision A 1.5 Stereo Amplifiers, Brinkmann MONO Amplifiers but its advisible to use the Brinkmann Pre-amplifier
I vote for Pass also, and the X260.8s are really good.
If you can go to $18K I would try and pick up a pair of XA160.8s, which would be a really significant upgrade for you. Might be your last stop for amps.
I think you can find them for $15K to $17K a pair.
I've had them a couple years and they are really excellent.
I agree with your assessment. SS gives really good control on the bass, my recommendation would be the Passlabs XA60.8s. Smooth, natural and much less sterile than many other SS choices. Big bottle tube amps would also work very well I reckon, not so sure on lower output tube amps? Having said that, the 8 15 inch drivers have very light cones and don't move that much. If that is less 'work' than shifting a typical 12 inch cone woofer in a ported cabinet? Not sure. The impedance on mine is 5 ohms. On performance v similar speakers at this price point, IMO no contest! In fact double the price and I would struggle to get this level of performance from another brands speakers IMO.
Better to stick with mono amps if you are there already. A stereo amp would require re arranging the system and most likely new speaker cables. All for virtually nothing.
Monoblocks allow you to place the amps right by the speakers, minimizing the length of the speaker cable. With tube amps in particular, this is helpful as they tend to be more sensitive to speaker cables. It also helps to reduce cost since good speaker cables tend to be expensive.
The other, probably more obvious advantage is the power supplies of the two amps are not shared. This means the power supply has less noise (so less intermodulation distortion) and also eliminates crosstalk.
