Can SE amps play Rage Against The Machine

[jahsavage]

My tastes in music leans towards the noisy and bass heavy which is rarely the type of music you hear at Hi-Fi shows. As much as I tried I can't get into Tibetan Monks chiming bells.

My current system plays highly dynamic rock very well, I have TW Raven GT Turntable, Groove SRX+, Zanden Preamp, Icon Audio mb90mkII, Living Voice OBX-RW and DB1 sub woofer.

Just recently a pair of Aspara HL1 horns came my way and have established themselves like an attention seeking brat of a cuckoo in the nest.

Initially they sounded dreadful and they do most of the time until everything is perfect then they sing like a canary and play reggae like its suppose to be.

The HL1 are 100db+ sensitive so I was thinking are there are any SE amps that can really rock?

Aspara Horns

[Jazid]

They can all rock into the right speakers!

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[Gazjam]

Mines can!

Speaker matching, ironmongery and power supply quality is everything.

[Marco]

Yup, Gaz is right. Particularly with the first one [that can't be stressed enough, so think easy load and high-efficiency], in terms of SET amps. Get that right, along with the rest of what he's mentioned, and they'll rock with the best of them!

Marco.

[jahsavage]

Yes, I see the gaping beak waiting for giant worms to be dropped in

In my experience SE valve amps can do Tibetan monks chiming bells but can't do Metallica at full tilt.
Maybe I'm showing my age by even mentioning Metallica but I have no idea who the latest noisy metal merchants are.

Very witty - what about an Almarro A318B, they look mean!

I was at the last Windsor show and one very expensive system tried playing Killing Jokes first album - it was like Radio 2 with about as much threat as a cup of tea.

[Gazjam]

Very witty - what about an Almarro A318B, they look mean!

I was at the last Windsor show and one very expensive system tried playing Killing Jokes first album - it was like Radio 2 with about as much threat as a cup of tea.

Bad example...and you’ve been tainted.
Single ended amps can do everything you’ve read about..absolutely.

In honour of your question I fired on Rage’s debut album (big fan here) and the bassline at the start of “Bullet In The Head” you could feel going through your bones.
Snap of snare drum and anger and spit of vocals is all there...better than any solid state amp I’ve heard or owned has done it.. all from 8 watts per channel.

Biggest takeaway (as Marco says) is get the speaker right.


As with all hifi related questions, the answer is “It depends...” ?

Single ended amps live in a Universe of their own and demand a bit more care on what you pair em with.
Get that equation right (and its not mythical Voodoo, pay attention to the speakers) and you’ll not hear a better sounding system.

Really.

[Jazid]

I'd drop Jake, Lord Mortlock a PM. He loved his Almarro and I'd be surprised if he didn't own Asparas at one stage, he seems to have owned most things!

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[jahsavage]

Bad example...and you’ve been tainted.
Single ended amps can do everything you’ve read about..absolutely.

In honour of your question I fired on Rage’s debut album (big fan here) and the bassline at the start of “Bullet In The Head” you could feel going through your bones.
Snap of snare drum and anger and spit of vocals is all there...better than any solid state amp I’ve heard or owned has done it.. all from 8 watts per channel.

Really.

There is nothing like a spiked question to start some debate but to my mind good HiFi should be able to express all the emotions from passion to anger but many systems seem to focus solely upon passion and forget the other emotions. I'm pleased to learn there are SE amps out there that are not all sugar but can you please name them so I can have a listen myself - thanks.

Loudness The physical strength and amplitude of a sound - Intensity, power, or anger
Melody The linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity - Complementing harmonies: happiness, relaxation, serenity. Clashing harmonies: excitement, anger, unpleasantness.
Tempo The speed or pace of a musical piece - Fast tempo:happiness, excitement, anger. Slow tempo: sadness, serenity.
Mode The type of scale - Major tonality: happiness, joy, Minor tonality: sadness.

[chris@panteg]

Paul, like I mentioned in your welcome thread, put the puresound 845 on a short list.
Another possibility is the Art Audio Diavolo, I had a great listening session last Sunday at John's, who is now a member on here.


They certainly rocked through his Snell type E which have been effectively converted to Audionote E's, I'll pop back round and try it with Rage Against the Machine and see what happens.

[anthonyTD]

I play what I call real world music, which is; a bit of everything, and My Soul Single ended amps cope quite well, ask anyone who's heard them
But I agree, you have to partner things well, and that goes for all types of amplification!
A...