Cheap-ish amplifier for Linn Isobarik speakers
Feb 17, 2008 22:49:46 GMT
Post by Stormy on Feb 17, 2008 22:49:46 GMT
Hi guys,
I'm sorry my return to the forum is with a question...
I have just been given the opportunity to purchase a pair of 1984 Linn Isobarik DMS speakers for a very reasonable price, but I am worried about their reputation for being difficult to drive due to a scarily low nominal impedance between 3 and 4 ohms.
See this old review for more information:
www.mickandviv.com/pfm/DMSHiFiforPleasureReview.pdf
I have been hunting around for an amplifier that will cope with them, but I'm struggling to find anything within my price range at the moment.
The best I have come up with so far is the AX-497 from Yamaha at £220:
www.yamaha-uk.com/hifi_components/index.cfm?product_id=131&specification=1
It's supposed to boast "High Dynamic Power, Low-Impedance Drive Capability", and has specs for "dynamic power" down to 2-ohms (the minimum measured with the Isobariks was 2.3 ohms at about 4 kHz), with a dedicated 4-ohm load switch on the rear of the unit.
I believe the Isobariks were originally sold in conjunction with the Linn LK280 or NAIM NAP 250 power amplifiers (haven't discovered which particular Meridian units were offered yet). The LK280 seems to go for just over £200 second-hand on eBay, but the NAIM is more at £500-600. A new NAP 200 is £1500. For the sake of space, appearance and not having to worry about buying a pre-amp, I'd rather go for a modern integrated for now if I can get away with it.
The more drastic alternative is as follows - the speakers are apparently constructed as two separate 6-8 Ohm 3-ways per box with their passive crossovers wired in parallel to the XLR connector on the back. I was toying with the idea of changing the XLR connector to a 4-pin variant (minimal modification), then biamping them with a cheap power-amp per speaker. That way the amps only see 6-8 Ohms per channel, which is perfectly normal. I could pick up something like a Cambridge Audio C500 pre-amp and two P500 power amps for around the £130 mark second-hand, and I essentially end up with 110W/channel at 6 Ohms (very similar to the Yamaha). The problem is it's 3 old black boxes and some soldering.
An LK280 with an intermittent channel just sold on eBay in Hampshire (near me) for £140. I was very tempted, but didn't want to be stuck with a lemon if I couldn't fix it.
Anyone have any opinions/better ideas? They're wonderfully quirky speakers in more ways than one, and I'd love to make use of them, but they look like a complete pig to drive.
Thanks for the help (if I get any!)
Stormy
I'm sorry my return to the forum is with a question...
I have just been given the opportunity to purchase a pair of 1984 Linn Isobarik DMS speakers for a very reasonable price, but I am worried about their reputation for being difficult to drive due to a scarily low nominal impedance between 3 and 4 ohms.
See this old review for more information:
www.mickandviv.com/pfm/DMSHiFiforPleasureReview.pdf
I have been hunting around for an amplifier that will cope with them, but I'm struggling to find anything within my price range at the moment.
The best I have come up with so far is the AX-497 from Yamaha at £220:
www.yamaha-uk.com/hifi_components/index.cfm?product_id=131&specification=1
It's supposed to boast "High Dynamic Power, Low-Impedance Drive Capability", and has specs for "dynamic power" down to 2-ohms (the minimum measured with the Isobariks was 2.3 ohms at about 4 kHz), with a dedicated 4-ohm load switch on the rear of the unit.
I believe the Isobariks were originally sold in conjunction with the Linn LK280 or NAIM NAP 250 power amplifiers (haven't discovered which particular Meridian units were offered yet). The LK280 seems to go for just over £200 second-hand on eBay, but the NAIM is more at £500-600. A new NAP 200 is £1500. For the sake of space, appearance and not having to worry about buying a pre-amp, I'd rather go for a modern integrated for now if I can get away with it.
The more drastic alternative is as follows - the speakers are apparently constructed as two separate 6-8 Ohm 3-ways per box with their passive crossovers wired in parallel to the XLR connector on the back. I was toying with the idea of changing the XLR connector to a 4-pin variant (minimal modification), then biamping them with a cheap power-amp per speaker. That way the amps only see 6-8 Ohms per channel, which is perfectly normal. I could pick up something like a Cambridge Audio C500 pre-amp and two P500 power amps for around the £130 mark second-hand, and I essentially end up with 110W/channel at 6 Ohms (very similar to the Yamaha). The problem is it's 3 old black boxes and some soldering.
An LK280 with an intermittent channel just sold on eBay in Hampshire (near me) for £140. I was very tempted, but didn't want to be stuck with a lemon if I couldn't fix it.
Anyone have any opinions/better ideas? They're wonderfully quirky speakers in more ways than one, and I'd love to make use of them, but they look like a complete pig to drive.
Thanks for the help (if I get any!)
Stormy