AR90 paired with Yamaha P2200. Think they will make beautiful music?

[blanddawg625]

Got both ends, suggestions on in between.

Edited July 18, 2023 by blanddawg625
Left out zero.

[Aadams]

 

 

On 7/18/2023 at 4:34 AM, blanddawg625 said:

suggestions on in between.

The P2200 shows up as a  product of the 1970s to 1980s.  Not many members here will encourage you to use an amp that old unless it has been professionally rebuilt.  There are many modern 4ohm capable amps with speaker protection circuitry but there will be zero additional AR90 woofers and LMRs.

[JKent]

Agree. AND the P2200 seems to be rated for 8 or 16 ohms. 8 ohm speakers could be trouble.

[frankmarsi]

Not familiar with this model but, read here,  seems to make me think this amp would be O.K. 4 ohm operation doesn't seem to be a problem.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/need-opinion-on-choice-of-power-amp.889829/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

82

[JKent]

42 minutes ago, frankmarsi said:

Not familiar with this model but, read here,  seems to make me think this amp would be O.K. 4 ohm operation doesn't seem to be problem.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/need-opinion-on-choice-of-power-amp.889829/

I dunno. I'm not familiar with it either so the OP can take both our comments with a grain of salt but I believe the writer on AK who said the amp has a switch for 4-16 ohms was mistaken. The back of the amp has speaker binding posts marked 8-16 ohms. I looked at the manual and could only find references to 8 or 16 ohm loads.

The amp is a beast and very cool looking. It's a professional PA amp and apparently robust. It does have protection circuitry that will kick in if the load drops below 2.5 ohms but given the age of the amp and the 8 ohm rating I'd go with Aadams's advice. Why take risks with AR-90s?

[frankmarsi]

This is an old topic and is oddly wrapped in more mystique than many other aspects of electronic possibilities. One must walk on shaky ground as it is with old AR speakers. If you're innocent of electrical possibilities, you're better off. However, with decades of doing this 'hi-fi' thing, I still know the ship can sink.

I myself since 1971 have used 4 ohm speakers with amps that were built without any indication as to what's forbidden or recommended as optimum for best results. As far back as those early years, I've blown out amps and likely due to 4 ohm speaker use yet, I forged on doing whatever was necessary to play my music.

Overall, we all take chances with old speaker use. Of all the owner/users of AR-3a's etc at 4 ohms, how many here skirt that same issue?

I've lived with 4 ohm LST's and not only does stress an amp just to drive them but, that 4 ohms can dip even lower. I'm not saying anyone must take chances like I do but, there are ways to alleviate the fear when in doubt. Diligent use of the correct fuse values is one, another is cooling fans. This is not a fail proof remedy but will assist is lessening some fear while helping an amp along.

Nothing is fool-proof or promised, case in point for almost six years I drove my AR-3a's with a Phase Linear PL-400 amp. at 4 ohms, with 400 WPC. I used it from the beginning of the day to the end of the day, even extended periods of time. I installed two 4 inch cooling fans, fuses and not always respectful of power levels in a 35 X 22 X 12 foot room. All operated as I wished until one day for no apparent reason the amp blew at low background music levels. It's known fact that driving any speaker at 4 ohms or lower can present a difficult situation for almost any amp, yet there's all those AR-3 and AR-3a users out there for decades with no reported problems regardless of amplifier make or volumes used.

No matter what,  using old low ohm speakers/amps is dicey and we all still do it. What's the risk of driving on the highway? We all still do it while  knowing almost anything could happen. Maybe, it's just one of the vagaries of life, like crossing the street, a car could come out of nowhere and mow you down. We look both ways, check and double check but, there's always that chance some maniac will turn the corner that you didn't see or expect. That almost tight-rope  risk we take with speakers and older amplifiers is sort of built in. Even fail-safe procedures can fail. Of course, I'd rather not live that way but, it's part of life. By the same token, I bet many folks would run out of here when I'm with friends and having a good time. I have a a few close friends that are products of the '80s and almost twenty years younger. They'll listen at any high volume level that I subject them to and even thank me for turning them on to my world and the experiences that brought me here. Through out my adult life, since I was 21 I've endorsed AR and high power to many individuals. And half century later I'll still say it; if you haven't experienced my last sentence, you don't know what you're missing.

Since 2009 I've been using four, four ohm AR-LST's with two Phase Linear PL-700 Series Two amplifiers that have been rebuilt to factory specifications by a well known 'Guru'  of PL rebuilds. I use fuses, fans, and I do push the entire system like few here probably never have realized AR's are capable of. That's 14 years going on 15 already with my present system and every system I put together since the late '60s and I'm still going strong. And like life, when and if an issue or problem arises, we deal with it the best we can. The goal is to have fun and pleasure.

Here's another opinion about using 4 ohm or 8 ohms driving amplifiers.  https://youtu.be/j8liG1nLfcY

Also: You want to talk about taking chances, in a 1949 plane today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh-0rz-fvBY

 

FM

 

 

 

 

 

 

99

 

 

[blanddawg625]

On 7/19/2023 at 12:17 PM, Aadams said:

 

 

The P2200 shows up as a  product of the 1970s to 1980s.  Not many members here will encourage you to use an amp that old unless it has been professionally rebuilt.  There are many modern 4ohm capable amps with speaker protection circuitry but there will be zero additional AR90 woofers and LMRs.

That is why the amp has been totally upgraded and the speakers are fused.