NS-10m Monitors

[gearboy]

Ok, so after a few weeks with the NS-10Ms, I'm still very happy with my decision. However, I have decided that I am not 100% happy with driving them from my 1976 Pioneer receiver or my 1969 Sansui 2000 Receiver. The Panasonic has a slight difference between both sides, and the Sansui is a bit noisy for accurate monitoring. Both have outputs for two speakers, and I am hooked on having that option.

I have decided that the Adcom GFA-545 II is the amp that I am going to pick up. I've read nothing but positive reviews for them online, and a lot of those reviews (even in this thread) say that the 545 is the perfect companion for NS-10Ms. However, I want to have the option of powering more than one set of monitors from the 545. So I am also looking at some of the speaker switchers that Adcom makes. I am assuming that this goes AFTER the poweramp, yes? I'm also curious about options for controlling the volume to the power amp. Am I looking at simply using the volume on the front of my 828mk2 to drive the 545, or is this a job for the something like the ATTY? Can I run unbalanced into or out of the ATTY to the GFA 545?

Or, once again, can someone recommend a decent power amp for NS-10Ms in the under $300 price range?

thanks!

Jeff

[spirit]

HiFI/ home Stereo amps usually don't seem to have the oomph to deal with all the transients weird bass balances etc. that a mix has before it's been 2 buss compressed, and mastering compressed. A dedicated power amp probably is better for recording monitoring than a receiver or intergrated amp- but unless you are satisfied controling monitor volume from your 828 or other interface you may need a monitor controller like a presonus or? Most decent ones shouldn't have more than a very subtle deleterous affect on the sound (though it may be different at different volumes), but a cheap radio shack volume control might.

Having a quickblow fuse wired in a holder inline on the speaker cable hasn't made a blatant difference in sound, but the tweaters still blew out once with some severe ultrasonics (maybe the amount of energy above 20k didn't seem like much to the fuse but was a lot to the tweaters?)

[gearboy]

Follow up...

I bought a Hafler P-3000 for the NS-10Ms. I was torn between the Adcom GFS-545 and the Hafler P-3000 in the end, and went with balanced connectors and more volume control. I may also pick up an Adcom down the line.

Who here thinks that this is a good idea or an extremely BAD idea for getting two pairs of speakers (NS-10M and NS-6490) hooked up to that Hafler?

Now with Adcom's GFS-3 and GFS-6 speaker selectors you can fill your home with sound at the push of a button Both selectors offer the security of Adcom's unique Minimum Impedance Protection-a design that fully protects your amplifier from almost any problem it might encounter when asked to simultaneously drive multiple speakers. And Minimum Impedance Protection does so without compromising the basic performance of your sound system! How very like Adcom. And how very unlike the competition. Of course, the inspiration for this innovation comes from Adcom's long experienced substantial success in producing high performance, high fidelity power amplifiers. Part of the knowledge gained over the years is an intimate familiarity with the demands loudspeakers place on any amplifier and the magnified demands created by a multiplicity of speakers. Our design goal quickly became not to just deliver sound to multiple speakers but to maintain the signal's sound quality as more speakers are added. Adcom's user-selectable Minimum Impedance Protection circuit on both GFS-3 and GFS-6 Speaker Selectors insures accurate and musically pleasing sound regardless of how many pairs of speakers you may want to drive simultaneously. This "security system" inserts massive protective resistors between your amplifier and speakers to insure that the load impedance is always within your amplifier's safe operating range. This low-impedance protection enables your amplifier to drive several speaker systems simultaneously without activating the amplifier's protection circuits or causing amplifier shutdown.

In addition to Minimum Impedance Protection, both the GFS-3 and GFS-6 feature wide-contact, heavy-duty switches capable of handling the full output of even a 200-watt per channel amplifier. High-quality circuit boards with wide signal traces contribute to minimal power loss. Each speaker selector is easy to connect with twist-lock input and output terminals that insure positive contact with both speaker and amplifier cables and prevent accidental disconnection. Both the GFS-3 and GFS-6 Speaker Selectors should be wired between your amplifier's outputs and your loudspeakers. (See the illustration.) The GFS-3 accommodates up to three pairs of speakers while the GFS-6 will permit you to use up to six pairs. Expand the versatility of your audio system with Adcom Speaker Selectors and you'll hear a difference. It's in the details.

It'll handle 200 watts at input, so I am assuming that as long as it isn't too colored, it'll be fine.

Also, will it be possible to hook up an Apogee Duet to the Hafler? The Duet has unbalanced outputs.

Thanks!

Jeff

[James Steele]

Follow up...

I bought a Hafler P-3000 for the NS-10Ms.

I can't comment on the rest of your post, but I have found the Hafler seems to make a good companion to the NS10Ms.

[gearboy]

Follow up...

I bought a Hafler P-3000 for the NS-10Ms.

I can't comment on the rest of your post, but I have found the Hafler seems to make a good companion to the NS10Ms.

Yeah, you offered some advice previously in this thread, and the Adcom stuff and the P-3000 seemed like good buys. I paid $225 for the Hafler. Your buddy Jim Williams over at Audio Upgrades swears by the older Adcom GFA-545. I plan on picking one of those up at some point as well at some point. I like the balanced connections for now. I'm sure that it will sound great.

Jeff

[James Steele]

Follow up...

I bought a Hafler P-3000 for the NS-10Ms.

I can't comment on the rest of your post, but I have found the Hafler seems to make a good companion to the NS10Ms.

Yeah, you offered some advice previously in this thread, and the Adcom stuff and the P-3000 seemed like good buys. I paid $225 for the Hafler. Your buddy Jim Williams over at Audio Upgrades swears by the older Adcom GFA-545. I plan on picking one of those up at some point as well at some point. I like the balanced connections for now. I'm sure that it will sound great.

Jeff

My buddy, Jim? LOL I've only met him twice. Once when I dropped off my 414 mic to get modded and the other time when I picked it up. Oddly enough, the 414 didn't bowl me over when I heard it. I like my Red Type B better.

[gearboy]

Sarcasm, my friend, sarcasm.

I first heard of Jim through your praise of your modded 414.

[James Steele]

Well, the modded 414 is probably better than the 414-ULS it originally was. I think Jim's mod makes it a 414-TL (transformerless) from what I understand. Oddly though, for my voice, the Red Type B just blew my 414 out of the water.