New K2 S9900

[rusty jefferson]

When I had the K2-S9900s in my home, I used an 80 wpc amp and thought they sounded great. I like realistic levels, but not ear bleeding levels... the K2s are pretty sensitive and would put out peaks of 110dB in my room with that "tiny" amp... I think the quality of the amp is critical, huge reserves of power? I guess... if that is your thing. For me, I can be quite happy with a whole lot less horsepower.

Widget

I have to agree widget here. A (relatively) small but high quality power amp will give much better detail and nuance, particularly in the midrange and higher frequencies, and still be able to control the woofers in 'normal' listening than any high power pro amp. Most amps like this run in class 'A' for the first few watts, and can sound amazing with vocalist at say 85-90 db.

What you're paying for with those big 'audiophile' monoblock amps nobody can afford is the quality of the sound (components) plus the horse power. Start with a small quality amp and use the sub till you can afford some behemoths.

[richluvsound]

Folks,

This was the best sounding ( least fuss 25 watt per ch Class A push pull ) amp I had running my 4345's and they could give me 110 db, All night long at the party I had to christen them . For the party I had my 4435's - Bryston 3bst and these going . I remember doing a check and standing in the middle of my studio giggling as a watched my jeans move with the air that was moving in there ... What bloody distortion ?

[christo]

OK, that makes sense to me, the 1500AL likes some good current to get it going!

Generally speaking, todays premium woofers fair well with an ampifier that can deliever lots of current and voltage, and you say you heard the K2 sing at the dealers showroom when you first heard them, particularly the 1500AL!

WHAT were they powering the K2 with at the showroom? Didn't the dealer at least try to recommend an amp that was very well suited to driving the K2 for you? In my opinion, I have never met a speaker that wasn't amp sensitive, and usually, there is ONE or two particular amplifiers that make a certain set of speakers perform optimally!

When I actually made the decision to purchase a pair of K2s I had a long chat with the dealer describing what I had and why I was looking at the K2s. In 1980 I picked up a pair of 2215a/LE85/H91/L91 with LX-13s and built my own cabinets. The first cabinets I built were, let's just say nothing to write home about. At the time had an HK Citation 17 with a pair of HK Citation 19s amps. Around the mid-eighties I got into a conversation with a colleague at work discussing our passion for stereos and after I described the type of speakers I had built he said he had something for me. The next day he turns up with the 1974 Altec Lansing Enclosure Manual, which I spent my lunch hour photocopying. The next set of cabinets I made actually had tuned ports, very pleased with the results they lasted right up until the K2s arrived.

I auditioned the K2s with a BRYSTON BP26 PreAmp, BCD-1 CD player, and a pair of 7B SST2 amps. Spent 3 hour listening to them (love at first hearing) the K2s were everything I was looking for. I had been thinking of upgrading my system for quite some time as I always wanted a speaker manufactured by JBL (yup I was hooked on 15" drivers with horns) not just components with the final cabinet making and assemble done in my basement.

Due to the cost of the K2s I was not in the market for a preamp or amplifier upgrades, I really though the Carver gear would hold up. The dealer made a few suggestions obviously the Brystons and Krell, possible upgrade paths by mixing and matching various other components. To be honest I really wasn't listening I just wanted the K2s I had waited 30 years to buy myself a pair of JBLs! (only the second set of speakers I have owned)

I have the highest regard for the dealer the Bryston setup used for the K2 audition was rather modest based upon other gear in the shop that could have been used.

I wrote the check that night and have no regrets.

[richluvsound]

You are indeed a lucky man ,

Some pictures for us to droool over would be brilliant if you have time !

Rich

[scott fitlin]

Bryston is good stuff. It happens that Bryston many times, outperforms gear costing more. You get no argument on Bryston from me!

[4313B]

Anyone have any experience with the Bryston B100 SST?

What happened with all the guys building their own amps? I thought people were doing Pass Labs projects and such?

At the time had an HK Citation 17 with a pair of HK Citation 19s amps.

Same. I eventually upgraded to the newer Citation 21 and 22 and have had them ever since. I also had a Citation XX for awhile. I'm not sure if there is anything even today that could complete with that thing.

[Mr. Widget]

Anyone have any experience with the Bryston B100 SST?

A very nice unit. No BS, just a straight up well made (20 year warranty) integrated that has the power to do what most of us need. The remote is a nice billet of aluminum but a fairly expensive option.

Sonically it is not quite at the level of Bryston's TOTL separates, but it is damned close.


Widget

[4313B]

Sonically it is not quite at the level of Bryston's TOTL separates, but it is damned close.

Probably perfectly adequate for 95% of the media available.

[Titanium Dome]

Grumpy brought his Audio Reseach pre to the meet at my house today--a nice, clean analog unit. The K2s sounded exceptional, and eventually everyone was around them by the end of the meet. It's a great complement to the K2s, though he'd have to tell you the model number.

[grumpy]

Hybrid LS-2B. Rather minimalist, and old-ish, but a notch above the Proceed PRE.
Altogether, the system sounded pretty damn good.

That the K2's allowed one to hear the difference is
testament enough... I'm sure there is more to be had
from these speakers (fortunately or unfortunately for Dome)...
Ok, fortunately... Definitely

Dome's open house was really a nice time, and with good company.

[christo]

You are indeed a lucky man ,

Some pictures for us to droool over would be brilliant if you have time !

Rich

Thanks all for your suggestions on power! But when you have K2s sitting in your basement - inferior sound was just not on nor was I gong to wait as long as I previously had to upgrade my system.

Krell Evolution 525a source, 202 pre, and 600 mono blocks interconnected with Krell CAST.

[scott fitlin]

WOW, I must say, your system looks incredible. The amps look dynamite, and the JBL's look OUTSTANDING.

[caladois]

only lucky ?

[richluvsound]

Christo,

Incredible ..... and a house reno by the looks of the background . Will this be the listening room ?

Rich

[Titanium Dome]

It's been a while since I posted in this thread, not for lack of interest but because I've been busy listening. Er, ah, yep, listening as in auditioning various electronics, rather than spending my time listening to you guys. (It's a pun; cool down!)

Am I going to tell you the results? Nope. Too early. Still gear to come.

There's also some used gear I might want to bring in, like the ARC pre that Grumpy tipped me on, then I missed it. I was using his Proceed pre as a point of comparison, but it needed to be taken out of the chain, so I'm settling on a new point of comparison, which will slow the process down a bit.

Am I going to tell you what I've tried so far? Nope. Not enough hours accumulated yet.

I have made one decision, though. I'm definitely/probably/maybe following Widget's suggestion to use the Oppo BDP-83SE (eventually) with its upgraded DAC on the stereo outs. That lets me focus on amps and pres, and possibly a couple of integrated amps. This is made possible by the impending release of the Oppo BDP-93 which can take the 83SE's place in the Synthesis® system.

This is by far a more difficult process than any other stereo rig I've owned. The good news is that there's plenty of high-performing gear at very reasonable prices (under $2k) that competes well with under $5k gear. For the miniscule improvements I'm hearing so far, I'm unconvinced that paying twice as much for a 5-10% improvement is a reasonable expenditure.

Put another way, I hear no electronics that make the same kind of difference the K2s themselves make. When I heard the K2s, it was "YES." When I hear the various amps and pres, it's more like "maybe, maybe not" in terms of any difference, and that's not too compelling.

The biggest difference so far seems to be the ability or inability of an amp to grab hold of the 15" woofer.