Amplifier required

[Les Paul '67]

Hi Everyone,

I am currently using an LP12 via a Project box into a Marantz SR4200 which is used in Bi-Amp mode to drive Musical Technology Kestrel speakers....

My question is this:-

I have been looking for a new amp and cannot decide which will give me the better sound, I know that is somewhat subjective and one mans meat is another mans poison hence I have narrowed my choices. I am interested in the following:-
Temple Bantam Gold
A LM3886 based gainclone
a home build based on a decent Tripath chip
Trends TA10.2

I don't need to listen to my music loud, I just want it to sound realistic, with a solid soundstage and room for the music to breath... I have heard a T-amp, one which is unfortunately now bereft of life but whilst alive it had a great sound albeit slightly light on the delivery, I have never heard a gainclone so can't compare and the Trends has the added eyecandy of a cute valve pre-amp....... My trouble is when ever I mail somebody to buy a couple of amps they then dissappear of the radar, I won't name the companies/people involved but it is frustrating and leads me to believe there must be a shortage of chips or some other factor driving this. I can't even get a reply from the people that supply the PCB/component kits

What would you guys do ? Which one would you buy and where would you source it?

[John]

The Gainclone are nice amps when done right and can offer very good value for money
The Mini T pretty nice but lacked a bit of resolution for me. Not heard a Trends, some of the members like Bantams Golds and the Hilly and from what you just written either two would work
Ps Nice guitars!

[dave2010]

The Bantam Gold is available from Temple Audio. I'm getting used to mine.

If you need to run it really loud then there is an option - obtained by holding in the power button for a while, but I'd really recommend against it, as it sounds as though music becomes "mp3-ised". I did have some bad experiences with it once, but on reflection I either fed the wrong input into it, or perhaps more likely, used the wrong power supply.

At its price point it could very well be the best available. Of course it only has a volume control, so if you need input source switching or any other features you may have to look to more conventional amps.

Re quality, it depends what you compare it with, and/or what you're used to. I'd say it is very good. You can of course save money and buy the regular Bantam version, or one of the other T-amps. Ali has recommended the HLLY90 in the past, which might still be the best if you need to really belt things out. I've still not heard one of those though. I find that the BG does get my feet tapping ..... which some other amps don't do.

[DSJR]

I knew the Kestrels well (one of the founder members of MT is a very old friend of mine and I knew the other from his TDL days). they are incredibly good if properly amped and, IMO, a baby Mini-T gutless wonder will sound just that into these, and fairly hard and harsh with it, as the Kestrels really need some sweet quality watts to make them work properly in my experience, as the Vifa metal dome tweeter is worked very hard into a low frequency crossover (2K or less from memory).

The better the amp you can get, the better the Kestreals will sound. if you never bought the bases for them, something made from MDF (similar shape but larger footprint) or possibly bonding them to some stone/granite/paving slab style chopping boards will improve bass and overall focus.

I cannot speak of kits other than the WAD models, which would sound lovely with the Kestrels. if you don't mind some DIY, then a good condition Quad 33/303 can be got for under a couple of hundred and both respond exceptionally well to fettling, the 33 especially with the dada mods. the 77 integrated was a delight into Kestrels too, the UK made Audiolabs a bit too "bleached" sounding.

The above isn't really what you want to hear, but the Kestrels were more a labour of love than a profitable speaker and should rreally be treated like a £1K speaker (AE1's?) to get them to sing properly. I think HiFi Dave will back me up on this as he sold them too...

[Les Paul '67]

Thanks for your replies guys,

I heard the mini T bi-wired through the kestrels and it was very clear and had plenty of attack but as you say it may be a little harsh when pushed which is why I then thought a gainclone would fit the bill. I don't listen at too high a volume nowadays but do want to get the best out of the Kestrels as they do appear to be good speakers and I have the flash little bases that were sold with them.
I'm not opposed to some DIY, however I would like to get something reasonably new and, unfortunately, from the budget end of the market. What level of wattage should I be looking at to drive these babies properly?

[John]

If you can afford the WAD gear then I think this would give you the most bang for your bucks

[Les Paul '67]

I have had a look at the WAD gear ( now www.world-designs.co.uk ) and to be honest they are certainly way above what I can afford as the EL84 kit is about £750 a nice thought though :-)

[howlindawg]

Check out the LM3875 Gainclone kits from Audiosector.com (www.audiosector.com)
Top quality PCB and components.
Instructions are thorough and include the full build and testing.
The owner also provides fantastic support via email if required during the build.

In addition to the kit you'll need an enclosure, transformer(s), Speaker terminals and RCAs. You can do it on the cheap or go mad (like I did) and use top quality components.

Basically it's the kit version of the Audiozone Amp-2 as reviewed >Here< (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/audiozone/amp2.html)

[Les Paul '67]

Hi Howlindawg,

Unfortunately I tried both Chipamp.com & Audiosector and have failed to get replies to my e-mails....... ???

[howlindawg]

Hi Howlindawg,

Unfortunately I tried both Chipamp.com & Audiosector and have failed to get replies to my e-mails....... ???

That's strange. Peter (audiosector) normally responds to emails within 24hours.
Possibly he's on holiday but I'd try dropping him another email if you haven't had a reply within a couple of days just in case he missed your post.

[DSJR]

For cheapness and some DIY, I repeat that the Quad 33/303 can be restored to lovely sweet and spacious sonics - yep, even the maligned 33 can be fully modernised to great effect IMO!

The Quad 77 integrated has few inputs - two line plus a tape loop, but its sound was gorgeous with the Kestrels and Harriers we sold. Depending on the age of the speakers, they should have polyprop caps in the hard-wired crossover. They're a pain to get into though but it can be done if ever you need to check. The poly's are the not expensive yellow ones and really did make a difference to this particular speaker. Wiring inside is solid core annealed copper as used in the coil winding (I believe said wires are long "tails" off the coils themselves and not soldered on and should be left alone, as it is dressed in the cabinet damping.

Other good used amps which could be fettled - NAD 3020A and B, Sugden A21, A&R A60 and Myryad MI-120 (a wonderful integrated which also suited the Kestrels like a glove - if you're very lucky, you may be able to find the power amp and bi-amp with these - far more "balls" to the sonics). The Arcam Alpha 9 and 10 could be also used with matching power amp and these are ten a penny...

[MartinT]

I agree with going through the listings as there are some fantastic used bargains out there. I use a Mini-T and it's great for PC use but it doesn't have grunt and the distortion increases greatly above a certain volume.