The Tower Discussion Thread!

[choirbass]

Ted,

You’re welcome

[jeenam]

Any recommendations for amplifiers to pair with the RAAL towers? I've been running a Job 225 which is rated at 125w x2 and think it may be the cause of the unsatisfactory bass. The Job is a very fast (high bandwidth) amplifier so I'm thinking something like a Simaudio W5 may be a good replacement, but my experience with their I5 integrated back in the day was that it was not natural enough for my liking.

Recommendations are appreciated. DAC is NAD M51 which I do plan on replacing at some point but it is fairly musical though lacking in resolution compared to newer DAC's. Sub is Rythmik F12.

[racrawford65]

Budget?
Integrated amp or power amp only?

[Mag_Neato]

Are you crossing to the Rythmik? What crossover frequency?

I run 2EX's crossed to dual F12's at 80hz and am using a 60w x2 Van Alstine SET-120 and have plenty of deep, clean, articulate bass. I do have the subs connected to a MiniDSP 2x4HD which has them EQ'd.

As for the DAC, I'm running a Schiit Bifrost 2.

Not sure an amp change will get you the bass you are looking for.

[jeenam]

Budget would be up to $2500 used, but I paid around $1000 for the Job 225 and am not trying to break the bank.

I am willing to consider integrateds but really don't have need for analog or phono input.

The Rythmik is crossed over at 50Hz and the Job outputs full range to the Towers. The F12 uses speaker level inputs as the Job 225 is a high gain amp and the RCA inputs weren't a good match. REL subs also use speaker level input and with the Job being such a fast amplifier I felt it was best to use the amp output to pick up the tone of the amp. IMHO the sound using the speaker level inputs does in fact match the Job 225 better than when using the RCA's.


Not sure an amp change will get you the bass you are looking for.

I disagree. The Job has good bass considering its price, but I've heard many instances where additional power gets speakers to really open up in the low end. I may also go the MiniDSP route as well so I can cross the subs over at a higher frequency.

[racrawford65]

Outlaw Audio monoblocks
Emotiva 2 channel
Monoprice Monolith (made by ATI, or an ATI branded amp)
Rogue Audio Atlas Magnum II (tubes) - really nice - ran one with my Towers and recently moved to Robue ST100
PSAudio

[jeenam]

Can't say I'm interested in any of the above. They're mid-grade amps at best IMHO. Looking for something a bit more musical and refined. Don't even get me started on the overpriced PS Audio gear. The BHK stuff is good but isn't a good value. Rogue makes good gear but I'm not looking for tubes.

[racrawford65]

What about class D? If so, D-Sonic make really good amps.

[jeenam]

I'm not averse to Class D as it has continually improved. At one point I had an NAD M22 which used Hypex chips. Will check out D-Sonic again as I'd heard them mentioned before. Thanks for the tip.

[Jack1949]

Since you're open to Class D amps, you could also check out the Cherry amps from Digital Amplifier Co. I use a 5-CHerry amp to drive my RAAL Sierra towers and Horizon and I'm very pleased with the sound.