Amp for ER18s?

[jinjuku]

Swerd nailed it. When I first finished these I test ran them w/ the 85w/ch receiver in my garage. I now run them w/ that 120w/ch Pioneer solid state receiver. The bass is where they suffer (however minor the 'suffering' is) with less power. They're a lot tighter and a bit more defined w/ more power. That's not to say they sounded bad at all while running them off 85w/ch, they just sound better on 120w/ch. IMO, find a decent solid state amp. Just a guess, but I would think the highs might be a little harsh w/ these on a tube amp as well; but then again, that's subjective.

Matt you should do yourself a favor. Go to Guitar Center and pick up the Crown XLS 1500. If you don't like it they have a 30 day no-hassle policy.

You let one of these off the leash and I believe you will be a convert.

 

[Swerd]

When I first finished these I test ran them w/ the 85w/ch receiver in my garage. I now run them w/ that 120w/ch Pioneer solid state receiver. The bass is where they suffer (however minor the 'suffering' is) with less power. They're a lot tighter and a bit more defined w/ more power. That's not to say they sounded bad at all while running them off 85w/ch, they just sound better on 120w/ch.

Matt, what you said above is what I was thinking (but didn't say ) when I said "sloppier sounding".

Just a guess, but I would think the highs might be a little harsh w/ these on a tube amp as well; but then again, that's subjective.

Actually, if I remember, the tube amp sounded a bit warmer than the more powerful solid state amp. People do say many tube amps roll off the high end gradually, and this might be what I thought was warmer sounding. I can't be sure from just listening.

But that tube amp definitely did not sound harsh to me. At $2000, it had better not!

 

[mattsk8]

Matt you should do yourself a favor. Go to Guitar Center and pick up the Crown XLS 1500. If you don't like it they have a 30 day no-hassle policy.

You let one of these off the leash and I believe you will be a convert.

I think I might do that, mainly for the comparison since I can return it anyhow! I'm not sure if you've ever heard any of the vintage Pioneer equipment, but it sounds really good!

I've come up w/ a bar design for my pool table room (where my ER18s are); it'll look just like the bar on Cheers (kind of, just waaaaay smaller). Trying to figure out how to make it so when I hit a switch or a button, the receiver will rise up out of the counter top. This is going to take place after I finish the Statements, which I'm currently working on (I glued the mottled copper veneer on the front baffle last night, looks bad a$$!! I'll post pics when they're done). The bar will get built after I finish the statements, and I remodel our bathroom and our dilapidated kitchen, unfortunately . Guess I can sleep when I'm dead !

 

[mattsk8]

Actually, if I remember, the tube amp sounded a bit warmer than the more powerful solid state amp. People do say many tube amps roll off the high end gradually, and this might be what I thought was warmer sounding. I can't be sure from just listening.

But that tube amp definitely did not sound harsh to me. At $2000, it had better not!

I've only had the opportunity to hear one tube amp. I think it was 35w/ch and it was driving some Canton Audio tower speakers. When he switched from the tube to whatever other amp he drove them w/, it just seemed to me at the time that the highs mellowed out a bit. Maybe it was because the Canton Audios had adequate power on the other amp and didn't on the tube.

 

[ahblaza]

Matt you should do yourself a favor. Go to Guitar Center and pick up the Crown XLS 1500. If you don't like it they have a 30 day no-hassle policy.

You let one of these off the leash and I believe you will be a convert.

I strongly agree, you will be doing yourself a favor, I know it unleashed the sleepers in my rig. I'm a convert, very reluctant at first but that quickly changed, and the XLS series can be had with a nice discount.

 

[mattsk8]

Matt you should do yourself a favor. Go to Guitar Center and pick up the Crown XLS 1500. If you don't like it they have a 30 day no-hassle policy.

You let one of these off the leash and I believe you will be a convert.

Thinking about grabbing one of these, maybe tomorrow. Just curious, why the 1500 and not the 1000? Just seems like a LOT of power for the ER18s; maybe a bit too much, but I've never used a seperate amp before.

Also, I'll need a preamp to use this as well, right? All I ever use is my Marantz sacd player and my ipod on this system.

 

[fuzz092888]

Thinking about grabbing one of these, maybe tomorrow. Just curious, why the 1500 and not the 1000? Just seems like a LOT of power for the ER18s; maybe a bit too much, but I've never used a seperate amp before.

Also, I'll need a preamp to use this as well, right? All I ever use is my Marantz sacd player and my ipod on this system.

I remember reading somewhere that the 1000 has a different PS or something of that nature from the 1500 on up which makes it inferior to the other models, which is why most people who recommend the crown XLS don't recommend below the 1500.