Hi, I ordered a new amp to power my tannoy bookshelf speakers and active sub.
The new amp is 2x50w @4 ohms + sub line out, I thought this would be ample, but it's just dawned on me that my tannoy speakers are 8ohms, so I'll only get about 2x25w?
Is this going to sound weak and underpowered, as my old amp was 50w per channel @8ohms?
The amp gets good reviews I'm just not sure it's going to have enough grunt in this configuration?
This is the amp: https://tangent-audio.com/products/9-electronics/162-tangent-ampster-bt-ii/
this is my old amp, which is plenty loud/powerfull enough, it's just to big and ugly: https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/kenwood/krf-v5010.shtml
The fact that it doubles it’s output for half the impedance suggests a nice low output impedance. The fact that it’s ‘only’ 25w suggests there will be a limit on peak volume levels / dynamics.
How loud do you listen and what’s the sensitivity of the speakers?
Also, just looked at the kenwood specs and it’s achieving 50w at 8 ohms but with 0.7% THD!! That’s clipping pretty hard in my books.
Unless you’re looking for a particularly loud experience, or have particularly low sensitivity speakers, I think you’ll find the tangent a vast upgrade over the kenwood.
The question is how sensitive and demanding are your speakers? Many Tannoys are quite easy to drive in a normal setting.
Cheers, puts my mind at rest a bit
the speakers are Tannoy M1
Enclosure Type: 2 way bass reflex
Recommended Amplifier: 10 - 70 Watts
Frequency Response: 48Hz - 20kHz
Crossover Frequency: 2.5kHz
Sensitivity: 87dB
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms
if there is a x-over on the amp before the power amp stage it might be fine, most of the power is required for 120hz and below. but unlikely that is the case TBH
the best way to fry speakers is drive them with an amp that is sending out a clipped signal BTW (if you like it loud.)
best to get a beefy amp
Thanks there is a sub-pre out, so I guess that suggests a low pass crossover on the amp, whether that affects anything in 2.0 stero with no sub plugged in, I dunno.
The sub I have is this, which has its own adjustable crossover onboard but I won't have it turned on all the time for the sake of the neighbours...
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/paradigm-pdr-10-review/
The sub has it's own amp amd crossover. I suspect the tangent amp will simply send a full pre-amp signal out to it and it does the rest (filters the high, booms out tbe bass!).
The tangent will be perfect for your little tannoys.
OK thanks all, I don't ever drive speakers to distortion anyway, as even a small amount ruins the sound, I'd rather lower volume than a noisy out of control distorted sound. Quality over quantity!
Sounds like it should be fine, I just hope it can go 'loud' enough... not that I often pump up the volume.
Got my son one of these, or at least a very similar looking tangent amp, a few years back to drive some Mission M72s. It was OK. Went fairly loud, but not concert-level. I found it OK at modest volume but ran out of oomph compared with other amps and speakers in the house. Since moving out he has said that the setup does not go as loud as a housemate’s Bluetooth speaker.
Eesh... That doesn't bode well.. But what's your sons model, and the friends bluetooth speaker? My friends got something simmilar and it goes really loud but it sounds like arse.
These 'mini' amps arn't all equal, I'd hope a 2 channel stereo amp for £200 should be reasonably decent unless all the cost is on the bluetooth conectivity etc.
mine arrived today but ive not had chance to unpack it and wire it up yet, it's not very heavy though which is a bit concerning.
The Kenwood being an AV receiver will likely have been pretty gash at music to be honest, so you might see (hear) an nice improvement
That's pretty much what I'm banking on, I think Tangent are a pretty good make, at least by reputation (never had any of thier kit).
I think the Kenwood was about £300 way back in the mists of time, bought it from Argos if I recall, hahah! and it's a 5.1 AV amp, so I'm hoping a modern 2.1 channel amp will be decent in comparison, lol!
That's what I'm hoping for!
But what’s your sons model
Tangent ampster BT bought 2018 50W/channel. Looks like the previous version to the current Bt II. Tangent’s range is not huge.
BT speaker it was compared with? 🤷🏻♂️ not bothered to ask. It seemed a throwaway comment when I heard it.
I got it because it was a fair price, compact, had a remote, and unlike the Yamaha RX-V-whatever entry-level AV amp that ended up in another room it had Bluetooth. Not that different from your premise for considering buying it.
it’s not very heavy though which is a bit concerning.
From what I can find on this amplifier, it's a class D amplifier which means it's very efficient compared to class A/B amplifiers which is what was commonly found a few years back.
This means a class D amplifier can get away with a much smaller transformer and heatsink which are usually the biggest contributors of weight.
So I probably wouldn't read too much into its lack of weight.
Ok so Ive done an initial test:
Source - 320kbs mp3 from PC (phil collins and greatest movie songs) with a flat/source direct EQ
First thoughts -
Not tested with the subwoofer on yet
overall volume is plenty
A bit thin on the bass/low mids which was improved by EQ'ing it a bit on the PC (I was used to a more coloured sound on the Kenwood using the 'bass boost' button and upping the bass level and lowering the treble level.
Sound stage seems more open with better stereo seperation
Overall it seems a more quality sound in terms of nuance and detail, but lacking a bit of 'oomph' for want of a better word so I think I will end up running it with the sub too, gently blended in to 'bring up the rear' a bit so to speak.
Next -
Get a known good source, flac file of an album that I know is well produced
Fine tune EQ
Dial the Sub vol & crossover in
Overall I'd say it is good with further potential to be very good, but its gonna need some tweeking to get the best out of it, as theres no tone control, its just a straight up stereo amp, so source with a flat EQ sounds too thin on the bass/low mids and its too easy to make it sound muddy and boomy without fine tuning the EQ a bit more.
Ok so I'm actually really impressed with this amp..
In 2.0 It looses it's grip if I push it from moderatley loud to annoying the neighbours loud, but that's not why I bought it.
The sound quality is really a step up from the old amp, I hate to sound like an audio geek but the sound stage and detail, dynamics and stereo seperation absolutley blows the old kenwood into the dust.
A few flac files really opened it up:
Hard techno: Tillmann Uhrmacher - On The Run (Marc & Ace Rmx)
Pop - Phill Collins - in the air tonight live (serious hits)
So I shall spend te rest of the evening revisiting old songs haha!
mattyfez, have you ever been seen in the same room as weeksy?
Amp getting sold on Tuesday? 🤣
😉
I told you it would be good.
