AR9 speakers and Quad 606 amplification ?

[lance G]

I appreciate this is a mainly U.S. biased forum, but I do have a question from the other side of the pond in the U.K.

Anyone have opinions on driving the AR9 with U.K. manufactured Quad 606 amplification ? I perceive that the AR9 thrives on plenty of power ?

I am currently using a single Quad 606 and have another 606 which I have dabbled in, and can dabble again with bi-amplification. Again I perceive that the AR9 can "dip" to around the 2 ohm load area but have found it difficult to confirm the suitability of the Quad/s in this regard.

I use a Carver CT-Seven pre-amplifier as I like the convenience of the remote control volume and switching. I have, and have tried a Carver PM 1200 amplifier, but I found it hard to live with the cooling fan noise and I have tried to avoid any fan modification (silencing) to date.

Any (polite) suggestions or opinions from the more technically minded greatly appreciated !

[DavidR]

My AR9 Owner's manual has the impedance dip to 3.2 ohms.

I have no clue about your Quad 606. Sorry.

I used to have a CT-7. Nice, attractive Pre. Doesn't the CT-7 have 2 Pre Outs? or am I thinking of my C-1 ?

[lance G]

34 minutes ago, DavidR said:

My AR9 Owner's manual has the impedance dip to 3.2 ohms.

I have no clue about your Quad 606. Sorry.

I used to have a CT-7. Nice, attractive Pre. Doesn't the CT-7 have 2 Pre Outs? or am I thinking of my C-1 ?

Hi David, thanks for the quick reply, and don't apologise regarding the 606, it is after all a U.K. amplifier.

Your interesting observation from the AR9 manual regarding an impedance dip to 3.2 ohms is interesting. I did today find an old Quad 606 amplifier review (http://www.meridian-audio.info/public/606[2223].pdf) which states to quote; "it should be able to drive any loudspeaker except those dipping below 3 ohms", so hopefully, if correct, this should be re-assuring.

However I wonder what the seperate minimum impedances might be for each seperate AR9 circuit when bi-amping ? With one 606 amplifier driving the lower midrange, upper midrange and tweeters, and a seperate 606 amplifier for the bass drivers ?

On brief inspection my CT-Seven has only one pre-out, but although not ideal, I do have a cable splitter to enable me to send a signal to each 606 amplifier for bi-amping.

[frankmarsi]

12/12/2022

Experience told me in 1974 that for 3 or so years I felt my AR-3a’s purchased in 1971 felt a little lean in the bass region and also across the rest of the frequency spectrum in general. Hearing and auditioning speakers in stores or hearing friends set-ups just wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more realism. Enter the need for more wattage. So, having struggled with and fooling myself that 60 watts RMS per channel was enough for 3 years had to change and I did that by buying into more wattage-as simple as that. I quickly learned back in 1971 that my AR-3a’s were coming across as anemic whenever I turned up the volume. Sure they could be loud but, so could the TV and my parents stereo. I wanted a more realism of bass slam, sizzle of cymbal, richness in voices and more depth over-all.

Your amps advertised 130WPC would be enough to get loud but, it won’t fully provide the realism of a real concert or performance. And don’t get me wrong, it’ll never be as loud as a full orchestra, but we’re not looking for a commercial hall/auditorium levels but, a reasonable facsimile.

Loud for some means it sounds correct therefore they’re satisfied. Loud can be irritating an d fatiguing very easily.

Many here will not admit to what I just stated but, they can go-on and continue to delude themselves, I chose not to.

In 1974, I bought 400WPC RMS@4ohms* and since have always known that more is better and having reserve power on tap was just allowing all that passed through that amp seem that much more effortless and natural.

I drive my AR-9’s with 700 WPC. I don’t need to hear about guys (and you know who you are), who dumbly say, “well, it’s 50 WPC but benches at 70WPC”. Oh really? Whoopi-do.

Regardless of the over abundance of novice opinions that pervade the web, on the contrary there is no substitute for high power. But, Lance, whether or not your amps will sustain the power demands or even be enough for an AR-9 type of speaker is purely up to you. If your tastes run along quiet-listening then, why own AR-9’s? Or impressive to knock you off your feet is a matter of desire and finances, purely. But even then when I considered that aspect, I figured it was better to have more than not having enough, especially when the mood or program material demands it.

Good luck for you whichever route you take.

FM

* Proceed at your own possible peril as destroying tweeters must be considered also when wattage goes up. Reasonable common sense on the volume control is required. Auxiliary tweeter arrays must be considered when planning on rocking out, every-time!  Luckily, AR midranges and woofers are quite hardy.

** Two sound samples scroll down top and middle of page, using double (4 AR-LST's).  https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/10649-do-ar-speakers-really-sound-that-good-more-new-video/

 

 

 

 

 

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[ar_pro]

FWIW, the bi-amp option on the AR-9 seems to sound a bit better when the amplifiers are in vertical-mode; that is, one stereo amplifier per speaker, with the L&R channels handling the upper & lower sections of a single AR-9. 

 I've heard the QUAD 606 with a number of different systems, but never an AR-9; it seems like it would be worth a try, especially if you already have the amps on hand. Maybe play them at a modest level for awhile, just to sample how they get along together. The 606 is a well-designed & highly-regarded amplifier, and I'm guessing it will be fine with the AR-9.

Just recollecting, but there were some threads on here regarding the AR-9 and recommended amplifiers. Aside from vintage gear, I seem to remember that there were a few who really liked matching the AR-9 with some of the newer super amps from Crown - they can output crazy power at low impedance.

[Aadams]

https://www.dadaelectronics.eu/uploads/downloads/03_Quad-User-Manuals/Quad-606-Instruction-Book.pdf

 

Here is a link to a PDF the 606 manual.  It never explicitly states that it is rated for continuous use below 8 ohms but does contain a statement saying "it has absolute stability at any load and signal".  See the spec page and graph.

 

[mike tarelli]

I have a pair of AR-LST powered by 1 Quad 606 per channel. It sounds superb. If I'm honest it sounded just as good with a single 606. The LSTs are not an easy load but the amps do develop 220 watts into 4ohms. I would have Quad service them though. Hope this helps.

[newandold]

On 12/12/2022 at 11:06 AM, lance G said:

I appreciate this is a mainly U.S. biased forum, but I do have a question from the other side of the pond in the U.K.

Anyone have opinions on driving the AR9 with U.K. manufactured Quad 606 amplification ? I perceive that the AR9 thrives on plenty of power ?

I am currently using a single Quad 606 and have another 606 which I have dabbled in, and can dabble again with bi-amplification. Again I perceive that the AR9 can "dip" to around the 2 ohm load area but have found it difficult to confirm the suitability of the Quad/s in this regard.

I use a Carver CT-Seven pre-amplifier as I like the convenience of the remote control volume and switching. I have, and have tried a Carver PM 1200 amplifier, but I found it hard to live with the cooling fan noise and I have tried to avoid any fan modification (silencing) to date.

Any (polite) suggestions or opinions from the more technically minded greatly appreciated !

Ha Ha no “bias”

sufficient power to drive that loudspeaker…… Matters not what side of the pond it comes from.

[Martin]

Anglo-American cousins to your system: A Quad 405 (along with Quad 33) now powers my AR 3as and sounds better than anything else I have tried, lending credence to your Anglo-American idea.