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Thoughts on Amps for 3's


DavidDru

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I understand the need for high power now.

The wife and kids were out, and I said "what the heck" and tried turning up the volume of my receiver with the AR-3as with the early woofer.

I went from -44 to almost 0 on the read-out and it really didnt get a whole lot louder. If I had some Cerwin Vegas hooked up I would have shook the foundation blocks loose.

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The other thing that I've discovered about using clean power with the 3's is that where an amp like the Crown XLS1000 might sound harsh, etc., with other speakers, because of that "New England" thing that the AR's bring to the table, they mate beautifully with amps that have a more neutral, or even bright, presentation. The combination of the 2 different attributes really plays well in my system. I'm guessing that solid state amps that exhibit more of a tube-like presentation may not be the best match for the older AR models. Or at least the 3's.

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Sorry , but I disagree. An accurate speaker like AR 3 is more enjoyable with the most accurate amplifier possible. A friend of mine in Rome drives his AR 3 with Marantz 7c and two Marantz 9 mono power amps , and probably it' s one of the best sounding systems I 've ever heard in my life. I can' t afford those expensive tubes vintage Marantz , but I love the sound of my EICO ST 40 with AR 3 , obviously at moderate level , while I like so much the QSC for its neutrality and smoothness, a very tube-like sounding amp. If You need a bright amp for Your AR, probably You need a brighter speaker.

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Let me clarify, because I agree with you. The description of the Crown as bright meant only in a comparison to vintage tubes, which has been my preferred amp of choice prior to using the 3's. Accurate is typically not a description for a vintage Heathkit or Fisher tube amp, but that's ok because I wasn't looking(and am not still when I choose to listen to them) for those amps to be accurate, but rather warm, and, well, tubey. As for your example of the Marantz and Eico tube amps, if they sound great with the 3 that's great. They are fabulous amps, but I would not define them as "neutral" or "accurate". We will probably have to agree to disagree on that point.

What I was getting at about pairing amps with the 3's is that because the 3's tend to be, when compared to more efficient speakers(like Klipsch, for example) more laid back sounding, and darker, it stands to reason that they will sound better with certain amps then others. They embody the "New England" sound. Is that accurate? I don't know, and it's irrelevant to my point. But I do know that when I pair it with an amp like the Crown XLS1000, which is completely neutral, that amp/speaker pairing works beautifully. Would a darker sounding amp, ss or tube, work as well. For me, probably not.

The 3's are very much the right speaker for my listening habits, but so are my Wharfedale W60's and KLH Model Six's. And they all sound great with some amps, and not so good with others. That is what I was trying to get across.

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Ok, I understand what You mean. I agree with You about the word " accurate " , surely a modern SS amp is more accurate than a vintage tube amp. But I don 't think AR 3 is darker compared to Klipsch or EV or Altec or JBL speakers, simply AR 3 is a real hi-fi speaker while high efficiency, old horn speakers are low-fi and very obsolete . And I have a pair of these big efficient and bright speakers, I love 'em but they aren't accurate, it' s hi-fi from late '40s. And, about efficiency: at 50 Hz an AR 3 is more efficient than a LaScala, at 40 Hz in more efficient than my Altec 846b, at 30 Hz is more efficient than a Klipschorn .

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Well I think most would say Klipsch are brighter, even harsher, then an AR 3. Whether that's inaccuracy or the nature of the speaker I suppose is up to the listener to decide.

Your comments about efficiency are interesting. I would never guess that the 3 is more efficient at any point to a LaScala or a Khorn. I would enjoy getting more information about that.

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Well, at 30 Hz a horn must be HUGE , GIANT , as the lenght of the wave of the frequency . A very short horn like LaScala support low frequencies until 70/80 Hz, then there is a drastic cut off. The big Klipschorn has a bigger horn and use the corner walls to extend horn dimensions but its cut off is at 50 Hz. The big ( 16" ) woofer ( Altec 416 8b ) housed in my Valencias has an extension until 60 Hz in a 6 cu. Ft. cabinet, to extend its response it needs a 9 cu. In. cabinet and a different bass reflex tuning. In a bass reflex , beyond the resonance the response has a drastic cut off. So the real efficiency of these big speakers at 30 Hz with 1 watt input is only 50/60 db at four feet, while a simple and cheap Advent loudspeaker shows an efficiency of 84 db at 35 Hz with 1 watt input and 81 db at 30 Hz . Of course , at 1Khz the Klipschorn is more efficient. My JBL 075 tweeters ( the old '57 " bullet " ) shows a sensitivity of 110 db , 1W/4 ft. but it' s not exactly the smoothest tweeter on earth. I prefer efficiency on low frequencies .

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