Solution to my Confusion

[jasbirnandra]

Hi Everybody,
Please help me choose between Dartzeel Pre/Power and Dan d Agostino the speaker I use are the Ascendo M5SE EW external crossover though I love the Dart sound (presently using the CTH 8550) the Power of the dart108 is just 100w compared to Dans 250w.Any one who have heard both please tell me your views and help me choose thanks.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Have you yourself auditioned the D'Agostino contender in a system with which you are familiar?

 

[witchdoctor]

Hi Everybody,
Please help me choose between Dartzeel Pre/Power and Dan d Agostino the speaker I use are the Ascendo M5SE EW external crossover though I love the Dart sound (presently using the CTH 8550) the Power of the dart108 is just 100w compared to Dans 250w.Any one who have heard both please tell me your views and help me choose thanks.

This is a difficult request since it is unlikely anyone has the same speakers as you who has heard both. I am afraid your best solution is a home audition.

 

[JackD201]

It's hard to say how well 100wpc will do with the Stem 5s without knowing which way they designed the band pass woofer, towards efficiency or towards extension. 100wpc could very well work....or not

 

[Leif S]

I would definitely see if you can demo the Dart amp. I looked at the website for the speaker but it was quite confusing. Hard to beat a demo in your own home

 

[asiufy]

jasbirnandra,

I've looked briefly at the specs of your speakers, and they seem to be a fairly efficient 91dB at 8 ohms. So, unless the load varies wildly across the frequency range, the darTZeel 108 should handle these just fine, in a moderately sized room. You can see on Ascendo's website that they've even used a tube amp for one of those photos...

I'm familiar with both brands, and your choice will likely depend on personal taste, as both amps will likely drive the speakers properly. If you like how your CTH sounds, let me tell you that nothing will prepare you for the shock that the 108+18NS preamp combo will be Those 100W can be pretty deceiving!


cheers,
alex

 

[jasbirnandra]

asiufy,
Thank you for your reply,I do love the sound of the Dart integrated but the difference in price offered by my dealer here for both the Dart and Dan is very marginal which puts me in a fix cause Dan is 250w and dart is just 100w,but then I know the dart performance but the Dan will be a complete new product for me and the best part is I cant have the Dan to know its sonic signature with my speakers.FYI the speaker does not go below 3 ohms at least thats what the people at Ascendo informed me.

 

[asiufy]

jasbirnandra,

As I said, don't be put off by the 100W. I think now it's a question whether you're ready for a (slight) change in presentation, which is what going with the D'Agostino entails, or if you just want MORE of what you currently have.

The 108 is braver than its 100W indicate, as I've put it through some fairly punishing loads (YG Sonja 1.3, Magico Q7), and it played through beautifully, and pretty loud volumes too. This is from a Stereophile review of an early prototype of the 108:

"Clipping occurs quite abruptly, but the amplifier easily exceeds its specified 100Wpc/20dBW output power. I measured 160W into 8 ohms (22dBW), 230W into 4 ohms (20.6dBW), but 162W into 2 ohms (16.1dBW).
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/dartzeel-nhb-108-model-one-power-amplifier-measurements#3zyIiCT0zefo1QYR.99"

Current models should achieve that easily, and more reliably!

Anyway, I don't want to give the impression that the D'Agostino wouldn't be a good option, as I believe it absolutely will. It's a fantastic all-around amp, that will play through any speaker out there. Knowing well the old Krells, I was pleasantly surprised to find the new D'Agostinos to be more similar to the darTZeel than to the Krell of old!

Either way you go, you'll be in good hands, amp-wise

cheers,
alex