M/L 13a owners ?

[FruitloopSR]

Looking for some insight from owners of these spks. Like to know what amp you guys are running.
Staring to rebuild system. Have the 13A,B212, will probably get tube font end. Looking for monos
How do you like the amps your running. Have all Jps labs pc and interconnects Just looking at ss, Tubes maybe. would take all recomendations,
Thanks Mike

 

[ttocs]

Was running Krell. Now running Bob Latino M-125 Mono tube amps with KT88 tubes and solid state rectifier (bought tube rectifiers also but prefer the solid state). I'm so happy with the 13A/M-125 setup that I have no interest in looking at any amps or speakers for my main setup. It's a weird feeling to be so totally satisfied with the sound. I just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Last night I listened to hours of Black Napkins by Zappa, just Black Napkins, all the different versions on Tidal, and it was amazing!

 

[FruitloopSR]

Is that enough power to drive them to their potential.Do you have a small room

 

[ttocs]

Yes, it's enough power. And I use the "lower power" Triode Mode at 65 watts. I have yet to turn up the volume to reference level. Highest volume I've used while playing music is -6dB on my preamp, and that's really loud! I only play that loud for a song or two when things really get rockin'! I also don't want the cops to pay a visit. Frankly I don't know why it works so well, but it just does.

My room is about 5500 cubic feet plus two open hallways: roughly 23' by 26'. It's a multi-purpose great room with vaulted ceiling increasing in height just like in a auditorium. The ceiling runs from 8' to 10-1/2'.

 

[FruitloopSR]

Was considering Pass labs either the x260.8 or x600.8 My question is, Will i need or ever use the 600 watt or even the 260 for the M/l.
They probably wont see 8 ohms, What will the difference be, soundwise with the higher power.

 

[ttocs]

Lots of Pass fans. If my tube experience didn't pan out, Pass was at the top of my list of amps to try out along with Sanders.

Extra headroom is a good thing in my opinion, so more watts is good when done right. In 1979 I was shocked when I heard how much better my Advent speakers sounded when 100 watts was available as opposed to the 35 watts I had been happy with. Would 200 watts have been even better? Probably, but the difference wouldn’t be as obvious. 35 watts sounded good, 100 watts sounded great, both at medium volume where only a few watts are actually being used.

 

[Hear Here]

Was running Krell. Now running Bob Latino M-125 Mono tube amps with KT88 tubes and solid state rectifier (bought tube rectifiers also but prefer the solid state). I'm so happy with the 13A/M-125 setup that I have no interest in looking at any amps or speakers for my main setup. It's a weird feeling to be so totally satisfied with the sound. I just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Last night I listened to hours of Black Napkins by Zappa, just Black Napkins, all the different versions on Tidal, and it was amazing!

Very interested to hear your experience with ML 13As and the amps you've found ideal. I have 13As (bought new a year ago) and have used them with the Sanders Magtech and GamuT D200 Mk III amongst others. The only tube amp I have is a pair of Consonance Cyber 845 monos with a meagre 28 watts of SET output.

I was desperately trying to get the 13As to sing as I was sure they should for a couple of months, trying them with a variety of amps. Probably the Sanders was best, although the GamuT a close second. However, I gave up as the MLs just didn't equal, let alone better the 14 year old speakers I bought the MLs to replace.

Perhaps I should have tried other amps, but there was a big gap to bridge and the Sanders (bought specially for the MLs) was so highly recommended by other ESL owners, I looked no further than my existing amp selection. So sadly (and seriously out-of-pocket) I have a pair of virtually unused 13As for sale. My listening room may well be the biggest factor here and the MLs will no doubt sound fantastic in another, more conventional space.

 

[FruitloopSR]

Thanks for all the posts, I pulled the trigger on a pair of Coda Tm monos V2, Very under the radar, Now the search for Pre/Phono,
Dont know maybe Coda for them to, They have very good posts online, Maybe tubes, Any thoughts will help. Will let you know how them amps work/sound
Thanks all,
Mike

 

[ttocs]

Very nice!

Looking at the specs (low output impedance, power doubling) and reviews I expect nothing but happiness. And the history of the owners is very interesting as well (former Pass folks).

 

[JonFo]

Thanks for all the posts, I pulled the trigger on a pair of Coda Tm monos V2, Very under the radar, Now the search for Pre/Phono,
Dont know maybe Coda for them to, They have very good posts online, Maybe tubes, Any thoughts will help. Will let you know how them amps work/sound
Thanks all,
Mike

Nice, and since Coda is the OEM manufacturer for the Sanders, they have a lot of the same great capabilities.

For preamp, you should seriously consider the NAD C658, as it also can do room correction and handle bass management. It can support optional HDMI inputs modules to future-proof.

 

[FruitloopSR]

Thanks Jonfo, will research it Your system is amazing, so are your posts. Wish i was more tech savy.
Regards, Mike

 

[FruitloopSR]

This might be directed at Jonfo but dont know if i should start another thread
What is the best way to hook up my M/L B212 sub
Btw I am going to clean out closet Anybody looking for a set of Jps Labs Aluminata jumpers? Used them om my M/L Oddessy

 

[JonFo]

This might be directed at Jonfo but dont know if i should start another thread
What is the best way to hook up my M/L B212 sub
...

Have you settled on a pre-amp?

Ideally, it's one that can do subwoofer crossovers as well, which is why I recommended the NAD C658. But that one is indeed pretty technical.

If going for a 2ch only setup, then please start a new thread on the topic of "Integrating BF212 with Masterpiece ESL"
and hopefully, existing owners of that type of setup will join in with their feedback.

I'm the kind that insists on having a pre do the crossovers and time-alignment. Mostly because time-alignment is a critical thing when integrating subs. And a high-level software like Dirac on the NAD or ARC on and Anthem will do that as part of the automatic process.

 

[sleepysurf]

Re preamps, you should also consider the Anthem STR Pre, which (theoretically) offers easier sub integration with your 13A's, vs. running ARC separately for the main speakers, then sub.

I am running (dual mono) BF 210's with my 13A's, and having a heck of a time getting them to play well together, since I can't "ARC" the Mains and Subs simultaneously to optimize their interaction with one another, and the room, not to mention getting their phase/timing in sync.

My C-J Pre is phase inverting, and I've found that feeding my BF 210's using speaker level inputs (from my amp) makes it easier to manually "dial in" the phase. I'm (currently) trying my 13A's with the woofer adjustment (~) -10 dB, with the corresponding downloaded BF210 filter, which creates more of a "true crossover" between the mains and sub(s). I'm now "tweaking" the 13A woofer settings and sub volume control, step by step, both listening and using XTZ Room Analyzer measurements, to optimize overall bass cohesiveness.

I agree with your prior post about discussing "sub integration" in another thread, perhaps here... http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...e-Level-vs-Speaker-Level-connection-to-sub(s)

 

[FruitloopSR]

No preamp yet Researching! No rush,Want to find the right one if there could be, The Anthem Str looks interesting Trying to not spend more than 5,000. Thanks ttul
Any comments on the Anthem STR? Streaming not high priority but would be nice. Will look for dealers for that, Know any dealers.
Mike Will have to look into the Suncast Society it sounds interesting, Im down by WPB

 

[Hear Here]

Ideally, it's one that can do subwoofer crossovers as well, which is why I recommended the NAD C658. But that one is indeed pretty technical.

The NAD M12 preamp offers an active crossover too. The Main output (balanced or SE) can be set to send higher frequencies only and Sub-Out for the lower frequencies. Select between 40 - 200 in 10 Hz steps and levels for each output can be adjusted + or - 10dB.

Same goes for M32 integrated and the new M33 integrated out soon. All include DACs and the M33 includes a streamer facility (modules available for M12 and M32) and Dirac room correction. Peter

 

[JonFo]

^^ Thanks Peter, yes, the NAD line up is pretty slick

And just for completeness, I'll mention the new Parasound Halo P6 2.1 preamp, as it might be more suited to the less geeky folks who also want more analog purity (personally, that does not matter these days, but like religion, if you believe, it's an option). It still allows for proper active crossover between mains and subs (again all-analog), so it's an improvement. The big miss is no time-alignment (due to analog constraints).

https://parasound.com/p6.php

 

[JonFo]

No preamp yet Researching! No rush,Want to find the right one if there could be, The Anthem Str looks interesting Trying to not spend more than 5,000. Thanks ttul
Any comments on the Anthem STR? Streaming not high priority but would be nice. Will look for dealers for that, Know any dealers.
Mike Will have to look into the Suncast Society it sounds interesting, Im down by WPB

The STR is a nice piece of kit, but they are sure proud of it.

For $3K, the AVM60 is a more rounded option https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/type=av-processor/model=avm-60/page=overview

Don't let the fact that it's a full-blown surround preamp fool you, this thing has very high-quality audio, even in 2ch mode, but the wins are:

• Fully integrated bass-management and crossovers (including time alignment done by ARC).
• ARC Room correction
• HDMI Inputs, so you can play the high-resolution DTS-MA or Dolby TrueHD tracks from audio BluRays.
• Balanced analog preamp outs
• Ready to handle a full surround setup, including Atmos, when you want.

The only downside is no built-in phono pre, but then, you probably would prefer to select your own external phono preamp anyway, maybe one with tubes. The AVM has a total of 5 analog ins, so no problem there.

 

[FruitloopSR]

This is probably going to be a 2 channel setup with tube for phono, so the question is if i decide to go tubes for pre? Another thread.I owned AR pre/phono before.
I should of mentioned i have PS Audio Directstream Dac/Transport for my digital.

 

[FruitloopSR]

Update, I just pulled the trigger on the Cod 07x Pre. only thinking of the synergy from the two. Was really looking at Anthem or tubes . Maybe tubes one day.
Just to start quest for phono stage. Do not know if there is anything that i could look into to integrate the 13a/b212 some kind of bass management/crossover. Guess i could try the line level or speaker.
Any insight would be very helpful.
Mike