G'day maties, trust you all are enjoying those fine tunes! Apart from tunes, the NRL (Rugby league) qualifying sessions are on, and there are some pretty big hits! Heavy shoulder tackles that you can virtually feel even though watching on TV! My former game but way too old now, lots of aches & pains...
Speaking of big hits; recently I helped a chap to set up his ESL 11A's. A very similar brightness and thinness to the sound was quite apparent. These were not brand new, and have over 1000hrs on them, so that initial break-in period is well completed, which is crucial if the stats are new.
So we checked the room, a few adjustments were made to the rear and far right, such that we moved the 11A's further out towards the listening space and created a slightly larger space behind the panels for them to breathe. The far right of his room has a drop to a lower floor, so the right side wall ends bit short... like a fin. Therefore, I made sure the right ESL at least had some reinforced side wall just before the stairs dropped.
The source was fine, PS Audio DAC plus streamer going into a NAD integrated. Also had a simple TT rig using a Rega Aria-2 phonostage, which was quite good. The Aria was my previous phono-preamp, before I started getting into ARC & CJ phonostages. So no issues there... but that brightness and thinness was quite apparent.
Just for trials, I changed out the NAD, and we placed an old Forte power amp using the NAD as a preamp. Oh! There it is! What a difference that power amp makes.
Basically, narrowing down to the NAD integrated, it just didn't have adequate current to drive the 11A's stats properly. Current alone is also not enough, at the same time the main amplfier must have highly stable voltage in order to grip the stats optimally. That combination of high current and stable voltage is what drives and controls stats properly.
Most integrateds and receivers will not be up to par, regardless of specs, they're just not designed to handle stats, it's a totally different twist compared to conventional speakers. Most integrated amps will have specs rated at either 8 Ohms or 6 Ohms, they can't handle impedence loads below that, and definitely not less than 4 Ohms. Stats are "reactive loads" they change impedence swing according to sound frequency and this can vary anywhere between 22 Ohms to suddenly 0.7 Ohms in a blink of an eye! That drop/ swing is less than 1 Ohm and this maties is what causes many amplfiers to crap themselves. Many people fail to realise this.
Anyway, brightness gone, thinness gone, no harshness or grainy sound... just good clean solid music, with full dynamics and blistering transients, just like how ML ESL's should sound. He ended up getting a Plinius integrated, and boy did that big fella drive it!
The Plinius 9200 integrated, it's not just an ordinary integrated amplifier and it's definitely not a receiver! It's a power house with finesse! I very highly recommend it for anyone considering integrateds with their ML hybrids.
Of course, others like the Pass Labs INT60 or INT120 are available and the ones from Luxman are really capable, and quite a few others that can really handle impedence swings of stats. The Plinius amplfiers are just extraordinary performance and their ability to fully grip stats is something else!
Cheers, RJ
Speaking of big hits; recently I helped a chap to set up his ESL 11A's. A very similar brightness and thinness to the sound was quite apparent. These were not brand new, and have over 1000hrs on them, so that initial break-in period is well completed, which is crucial if the stats are new.
So we checked the room, a few adjustments were made to the rear and far right, such that we moved the 11A's further out towards the listening space and created a slightly larger space behind the panels for them to breathe. The far right of his room has a drop to a lower floor, so the right side wall ends bit short... like a fin. Therefore, I made sure the right ESL at least had some reinforced side wall just before the stairs dropped.
The source was fine, PS Audio DAC plus streamer going into a NAD integrated. Also had a simple TT rig using a Rega Aria-2 phonostage, which was quite good. The Aria was my previous phono-preamp, before I started getting into ARC & CJ phonostages. So no issues there... but that brightness and thinness was quite apparent.
Just for trials, I changed out the NAD, and we placed an old Forte power amp using the NAD as a preamp. Oh! There it is! What a difference that power amp makes.
Basically, narrowing down to the NAD integrated, it just didn't have adequate current to drive the 11A's stats properly. Current alone is also not enough, at the same time the main amplfier must have highly stable voltage in order to grip the stats optimally. That combination of high current and stable voltage is what drives and controls stats properly.
Most integrateds and receivers will not be up to par, regardless of specs, they're just not designed to handle stats, it's a totally different twist compared to conventional speakers. Most integrated amps will have specs rated at either 8 Ohms or 6 Ohms, they can't handle impedence loads below that, and definitely not less than 4 Ohms. Stats are "reactive loads" they change impedence swing according to sound frequency and this can vary anywhere between 22 Ohms to suddenly 0.7 Ohms in a blink of an eye! That drop/ swing is less than 1 Ohm and this maties is what causes many amplfiers to crap themselves. Many people fail to realise this.
Anyway, brightness gone, thinness gone, no harshness or grainy sound... just good clean solid music, with full dynamics and blistering transients, just like how ML ESL's should sound. He ended up getting a Plinius integrated, and boy did that big fella drive it!
The Plinius 9200 integrated, it's not just an ordinary integrated amplifier and it's definitely not a receiver! It's a power house with finesse! I very highly recommend it for anyone considering integrateds with their ML hybrids.
Of course, others like the Pass Labs INT60 or INT120 are available and the ones from Luxman are really capable, and quite a few others that can really handle impedence swings of stats. The Plinius amplfiers are just extraordinary performance and their ability to fully grip stats is something else!
Cheers, RJ
