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In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: Marantz MA-9S2 Monoblock Amplifiers
Post Subject: Big Amps. Mains Power, and Amp LoadsPosted by Paul S on: 11/1/2023
Amir, I told of my own approach to wall power in other threads. Basically, I tried to make my gear as tolerant of AC variations as I could without simply smoothing everything over. My DAC runs on battery power. I modified the power supply and changed the first gain stage of my phono stage. And I chose fairly efficient, very responsive speakers, despite my amps are very powerful. I will get to the latter in a minute. I think I also got lucky with the grid power, as initial problems with the Smart Grid have settled down, also a nearby school put in a giant bank of solar panels for their electrical needs. Anyway, as I have already shared, the average power I get now is better than ever, and it has seldom gotten really bad for a while, now. I very rarely get spectacular power these days, but I accept and work with the present trade-offs, and I am happy to be able to listen to Music most days I choose to.
Back to efficient, responsive speakers for big amps: I was very hopeful when I finally found the MA-9S2s, after a long (years...) search for powerful amps. I bought one used MA-9S2 to play with, and I used it and tested it for a while before I bought a new pair of MA-9S2s for my main, stereo speakers. One of the main things I tested for was real world performance; could I get the Music I wanted from the CDs and LPs I already own? The MA-9S2s were a good deal "less sesitive to my average wall power problems" than my Lamm ML2s were, meaning, fewer problems driving the same speakers under the same conditions. My BassZills were said to be 97dB. My new Loudspeakers are said to be 95dB. They are a harder load for my amps than the BassZillas were, but I still have few problems I can trace back to wall power problems. Of course, I don't know just how bad your wall power is, but I well understand the problem of powering big amps. And I also undersand the value of efficient, responsive speakers, and that even responsive, efficient speakers need real power to go hard FR. If someone uses a big horn to get down to, say, 400 Hz, he still has to deal with the driver underneath it. If that driver is a 15" direct driver, then he needs real power to do that, IMO, even if that driver is said to be "efficient".
Best regards,
Paul SRerurn to Romy the Cat's Site