Amp for NS10M's

  • Thread starter Thread starter TexRoadkill
  • Start date Start date
TexRoadkill

TexRoadkill

Audio Bum
My old mini Stewart amp seems to be dieing on me after 12years and it looks like I need a new power amp for my NS10M's.

I was thinking either the Hafler 1100 $200 or the 1600 $250. I imagine the 1100 is plenty of power but for a few bucks more I can get the 1600. Any other good amps in that price range?

Any comments or suggestions? Are there powered monitors that would be better to move into for the same price range?

I have a bunch of other stuff I need so this is an unexpected expense and I want to keep it as low as possible.

and BTW my Stewart is making intermitent fuzzy, farting sounds and cutting out on one channel. Anybody know what that means?
 
Tex...

I would get the cheaper Hafler.... Personally.. I would rather see you get a pack of cdr's or maybe have your guitar set up with that $50..

I don't think the extra wattage is worth it for the application... You'll be fine with the cheaper one...

Joe
 
The ns10s require only 70watts to power them so you dont need much.

Personally I would be at the pawn shops looking for Carvers. They go for about the same price used. And are a huge improvement over other amps in the under 1000.00 price range.
 
I have the TA1100 on a pair of Tannoy Proto J's and its plenty enuff power, and very clean for the price......

Id use the extra $50 to get a crack ho' to suck me off......
 
darrin_h2000 said:
Personally I would be at the pawn shops looking for Carvers. They go for about the same price used. And are a huge improvement over other amps in the under 1000.00 price range.
Click to expand...

Dude - Carver is the ultimate in hi-fi amplifier - totally not designed for PA applications - to the best of my knowledge, they're all RCA in-out. Are you sure you're not talking about Carvin?
 
Carver is what Alot of touring acts use including pink floyd, the Jacksons,etc...

But we are talking reference amps here. A while back alot of these were sold on seperate systems that were used by high end enthusiests. Home theatre boom made these less popular,because they were 2 channel and 5 channels became the norm. So you will see alot of these used. Perfect flat amps with plenty of power. Low noise High Dependability.

So before you settle for the Popular Hafler, Explore the possibilities of a really heavy amp, Made with the right stuff.:cool:
 
Thanks for the input guys. My Stewart seems to have a short in the dumbass little tiny level controls. I've got it to stop farting for now so I'm going to hold out as long as I can.

I hate buying used power amps unless you can try em for awhile. I've traded in enough broken equipement not to trust used amps and mixers very much.

I'll probably go for the 1600. 50% more power for $50 more seems like a no brainer. I'll just lay off on the strip bars for that week ;)
 
NS10's ?

I have a vintage "portable picnic player". It has an 8-track and dual microphone jacks that work just fine. Plus it's all "transistor".

Sell it to ya cheap. This should compliment your NS10's real nice. ;)

barefoot

... just f*ckin with ya Tex.:D
 
Carver

Griffinator,

Carver does/did indeed have a whole line of touring/studio type of power amps.... they do wayyyyy more than the home audio stuff.

XLR/balance 1/4 ins... terminal strip outs etc. and they sound great.

I used to tour in a band that used three carvers and a crown powerbase for our quad amped system... sounded killer.

Just my $0.02

Velvet Elvis
 
Barefoot, I would rather get some newer powered monitors but dammit I just dont feel like I know what I'm really doing on other speakers. I've had theses suckers for about 10yrs and I'm too used to them to give them up now. I'll probably try to integrate some newer speakers down the line. Too many other toys on the list first.
 
Tex,

Yeah, there have been endless debates on this board about the merits of NS10's. I'm a firm believer that the only real merit is that, like you, many people are just very familiar with them.

Of course, there have been great recordings done with NS10's. Nobody can argue that point. But to me that's like pointing out a great handicapped athlete. You know, like that skier who only has one leg. Well, she's probably a far better skier than most every two legged person on the slopes, because she has immense talent. But she can't compare to the best two legged skiers. And imagine how good she would be if she had two legs. But, I bet if she had a perfect leg transplanted, she would struggle at first learn her new and improved way of skiing.

To me NS10's are like an old handicap. They don't give a very accurate representation of your music, but they were what people had at the time and they learned very well to compensate for them. Technology has progressed and loudspeakers still lag far behind. Personally think one should try and get the best monitors possible, otherwise all this new 24bit 96kz etc, etc, is just a crap shoot.


barefoot
 
I would agree that most stuff played thru NS10M's doesnt sound great in a hi-fi sorta way. My friends are very fond of pointing out how crappy they sound but they are just into loud stereos.

I love the way the Yamaha's represent the highs, very smooth and consistent. They seem to do great on acoustic music and stuff with a lot of space. They really sound boring on heavy rock or dance music, though.

I havent really seriously listened to a lot of monitors and every time I hear others I wouldn't hesitate to say they sound 'better'. But to me the Yamaha's seem to be the epitome of flat sound. Can you get flatter than flat?

Am I wrong in this assesment? I'm not a die hard NS10M fan I just would like to know what I may be missing out on.
 
I've never measured them, but as I recall from the manufacturer response curves, and from how they sound, there seems to be a fairly broad midrange peak in the NS10's. They're not particularly flat.

Even still, flat response is far from the whole story. Yes, there is more "flat than flat". Frequency response tells you almost nothing about performance aspects critical to the actual linearity of the speaker, such as the levels of distortion, compression, and damping.

Would you buy a soundcard if it had over 1% THD? Most monitors produce this amount of distortion at normal levels - even more in the bass. But 1% distortion causes hardly a blip in their oh so "flat" frequency responses. And of course they never tell you all the measurement tricks they use make those curves look flatter than they really are. It often has nothing to do with the real world.

Anyhow, I can rant on this stuff forever.

Peace,
barefoot
 
NS10M ???

Yet still, when I see pictures of "professional" recording studios, there they are, those ubiquitos white speakers. Are you saying this is a function of habit. I would imagine that some of these studios could afford a better set of monitors. considering the amount of money they spend on the rest of their gear, you would think they would want the best monitors they can get to compliment their new and improved digital gear. Hmmmmm.

Anyway, maybe you should get the cheaper amp and use the $50.00 you save for a crack ho for Gidge.
 
Yes I agree but the NS10s are the hardest monitor to work with in getting a great sound. the harder you work on your mixes the better they sound on other systems.

The hump in the midrange makes you compensate by eqing and you end up with just the right dip in the midrange to sound great on those other systems.

So basically they are a tool and the most widely used tools by the recording industry. If they wanted great speakers the ones they use to let the artists listen on would be the ones that they mixed with. But that wont cut it in the real world.

Im interested in what your favorite set of speakers are Barefoot because you seem to be an audiophile, I kindof fancy myself one too, The Martin Logan Plant is only a few miles away from me and Apart from the Crossover being a bit to low on them I think those are the best sounding speakers for the listening room.
 
On the subject of "listening" speakers the new Klipsch multimedia systems are amazing for the price. They have 5.1 THX for $400 and worth every penny. If your looking for a cheap system for the computer or living room they rock.

My only complaint would be that they seem to add too much space to the music and the vocals tend to fall back in the mix too much. Great for movies and games though.
 
darrin_h2000 said:
Im interested in what your favorite set of speakers are Barefoot because you seem to be an audiophile, I kindof fancy myself one too, The Martin Logan Plant is only a few miles away from me and Apart from the Crossover being a bit to low on them I think those are the best sounding speakers for the listening room.
Click to expand...
Me an audiophile?

Well yes, in the literal sense, since I do love audio. But no, wouldn't call myself an audiophile, because I tend to disagree with most everything the majority of audiophiles and audiophile magazines say. Maybe this has changed in the past few years? I've been out of that loop for a while.

Electrostatics like Martin Logans have some nice properties at low input power levels, like excellent linearity and damping. But they have severe problems with dynamic compression at normal levels and non-uniform power response which gives them relatively poor performance compared to good dynamic designs IMO.

Speakers I like? There are lots of small companies that come and go that do great work. Some of the bigger names are JM Lab, B&W, Quested.

I completely disagree with the idea that one should use an inferior speaker to create superior recordings. Maybe if you're only interested in how it sounds over the radio, this might be the right way. But would anyone argue that a great orchestrator like Stravinsky should have stuck cotton in his ears while arranging his music, or maybe Rembrandt should have worn dark sunglasses????

barefoot
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top