Yamaha AX-570 (100W): Will this damage ML Vistas?

[remoteportal]

The only amp I have is a Yamaha 100 watt AX-570 for my new Martin Logan Vistas. Will this damage my Vistas?

They seem to sound fine and it's really loud at volume dial "4"... I've never turned it up any louder.

I'm hoping in a few years I can save up some more pennies and buy a "real" amp.

Pete


P.S., here are the specs from Yamaha website:

Minmum RMS Output Power per Channel Pure Direct On, CD: V 100 Watts (8 ohms) from 20 to 20 kHz at no more than 0.015% Total Harmonic Distortion 120 Watts (6 ohms) from 20 to 20 kHz at no more than 0.03% Total Harmonic Distortion

 

[Satch]

remoteportal,

Welcome to the club and to the fast growing Vista owners group.

I started off my Vistas with a Pioneer Elite VSX-91TXH at 110 wpc and listened closely to the break in process. The first 50 hrs was really amazing how you could hear the speakers getting clearer and more detailed as that magic electrostatic sound starts breaking out.

I feel sorry for your poor old Yammy as it struggles to cope with the demands of the panels. You won't hurt the speakers unless you really overdrive the amp to high distortion levels. I think the amp will blow long before the speakers will

After adding a Depth i sub and breaking in the speakers for well over 100 hrs. I replaced the Pioneer with an Ayre V-5xe and a Cary SLP 98p tube preamp and now those Vistas really sing!!!

There is a ton of information about different amps and anything else could imagine for getting the best out of your ML speakers right here on this site. All you have to do is dig around and use the word search.

Happy Listening...
Satch

 

[zaphod]

I feel sorry for your poor old Yammy as it struggles to cope with the demands of the panels. You won't hurt the speakers unless you really overdrive the amp to high distortion levels. I think the amp will blow long before the speakers will

"It's the ravenous bugblatter beast of Trall"
"is it safe?"
"oh yes, it's perfectly safe, it's us that's in danger.."
​

yeah, worry about the amp, not so much about the vistas.

 

[Tj Bassi]

Just to ease your tension....I run Krell 650m's (yes, thats 650 watts per side) on reQuests (an older MartinLogan speaker). Have used this setup for two years with no problems. Its amazing what lotsa current does for an electrostatic speaker.

Tj

 

[SundayNiagara]

The only amp I have is a Yamaha 100 watt AX-570 for my new Martin Logan Vistas. Will this damage my Vistas?

They seem to sound fine and it's really loud at volume dial "4"... I've never turned it up any louder.

I'm hoping in a few years I can save up some more pennies and buy a "real" amp.

Pete


P.S., here are the specs from Yamaha website:

Minmum RMS Output Power per Channel Pure Direct On, CD: V 100 Watts (8 ohms) from 20 to 20 kHz at no more than 0.015% Total Harmonic Distortion 120 Watts (6 ohms) from 20 to 20 kHz at no more than 0.03% Total Harmonic Distortion

Do your ears hurt?

 

[Rich]

Yeah, don't worry about hurting the Vistas with that setup. Worry about hurting the amp and, mostly, your ears.

 

[JohnA]

Agreed.
If the amp manufacturer doesn't even quote power output at 4 Ohms, I'd be questioning their ability to run electrostatics that can easily dip below 4 Ohms.

Not only do you want the amp to be stable down to 4 Ohms (2 Ohms wouldn't hurt actually) but you want it to double the output compared to that of 8 Ohms.
Otherwise there won't be enough current to feed the panels properly.

Your amp is not happy.

 

[Bernard]

The dealer who sold you the MLs should be more than happy to loan you a good amp so you can hear what they are capable of (incentive to save faster). My ML dealer has loaned me all sorts of stuff over the years.

 

[sleepysurf]

The dealer who sold you the MLs should be more than happy to loan you a good amp so you can hear what they are capable of (incentive to save faster). My ML dealer has loaned me all sorts of stuff over the years.

Ditto what Bernard said. As the next step, I suggest auditioning a decent separate amp, and feed the Yamaha pre-outs to it, to see what improvements you get. There's a vast difference between getting Sound out of the Vista's, vs. Music. Ultimately, you might eventually opt for a separate preamp as well.

 

[TomD]

I started with a Y running 125 w @ 4 ohms into Aeon i speakers. It sounded excellent, but nowhere near the potential of the speakers. Be warned; you will seek out better equipment and as each piece is added you will realize the potential of these speakers. You will find yourself on the road to give these speakers what they need.

Happy listening and enjoy the journey. :music:

 

[amey01]

The only thing that will hurt speakers is the absence of common sense. Run the amp within its limits and you'll be fine. It's just that with an amp like that, the "limits" will be easier to reach - hence the prerequisite for COMMON SENSE.