Forums - RL 3.0

Andy831

Seasoned Member

Posts: 108

RL 3.0
03/13/07 at 07:56:54

Hi Guys

A friend has just bought a pair of these and has been advised by the seller that his
SE84B will not drive radials without clipping.

Ok I can see that being a problem in some of your American homes with 20ft x 20ft rooms,
but most British homes have rooms of much smaller dimensions generally 10-12ft x 10-12ft
with an 8ft ceiling.

I would have thought the Radials would be ok with a Zen in that sort of space, anyone have
any thought on it, or which of Steve`s amps should my friend replace the Zen with?

Regards

Andy

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Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck with Spacearm with Denon DL301mk 2 Cart.
Decware ZP2
Sony CDP X-3000 ES
Decware CSP Pre amp
Two Decware SE84CS strapped in parallel
Tannoy Grf Memory Speakers

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Lon

Seasoned Member

"Love without
guts is
worthless!"
Philip K. Dick

Posts: 23464

Re: RL 3.0
Reply #1 - 03/13/07 at 11:39:08

I drove RL1s and RL2s with a Select for years, and in a room that size or a bit bigger and I DID not experience clippnig at listening levels. It can be done.

I did replace the Select with Decware EL34 Monoblocks (now onlly a custom option amp) at Steve Deckert's urging reallly. I now have the system with RL2s in a larger space, and have plenty of headroom. The Select had a hair better sonics in the smaller room, but nothing to fuss about.

If your friend wants to replace the B amp for sheer deafening levels of sound, I'd recommend the Integrated amplifier.

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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1

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MikeW

Ex Member

Re: RL 3.0
Reply #2 - 03/13/07 at 22:09:27

Lon is spot on I believe. While I was listening to the RL3's at Zygi's he did say that at least 6 watts is the minimum amp he would recommend. If the room is fairly small I'd bet the Zen would make them sound nice at reasonable volumes. There is a tad more power from the Zen with the 4 ohm rating on the RL3's. If that does not suit him, the Taboo will also drive them nicely at a fraction of the cost of the integrated....albeit a preamp may be in order with the Taboo. Again that is a matter of preference as well. Preamp will not be an issue though if the source (CDplayer) puts out 2.5V or greater.

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Andy831 Seasoned Member Posts: 108	Re: RL 3.0 Reply #3 - 03/13/07 at 22:19:27 Thanks Guys thats really useful info, which I have now passed on. Cheers Andy
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Scotty

Verified Member

Posts: 19

Re: RL 3.0
Reply #4 - 03/13/07 at 23:55:11

Hey Andy,

Just thought I'd chime in. I've been listening to my RL-3s for 2 years now with only my SE-84C (same output as the B). Sure, you can make the amp clip with these speakers, or any speakers for that matter, but for me anyways, the volume before clipping is quite sufficient, and the RL-3s sound full and wonderful driven by it. Granted, there are plenty of people who like to listen louder than I do, so who can really say what your friend's experience will be, but I think it'll be fine. FWIW. Keep us posted.

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DEC-685 CDP
Denon DP-30L II TT
DL-160 Cart
Black Cube
DSR ICs
MAC Soundpipes SCs
SE-84C
Vaughn Audio Carina
RL-3s

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ZYGI Seasoned Member HR-ONE Posts: 757	Re: RL 3.0 Reply #5 - 03/14/07 at 00:04:27 Andy, If it doesn't work as well as he'd like, he might be able to find another "B" and strap them, then he'd have all he'd need. I'm not so sure however, is the "B" model able to be strapped, "B's" were before my time. Scotty, did I read somewhere that you might be moving the the left coast as well.....How's the misses? BobZ
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MikeW Ex Member	Re: RL 3.0 Reply #6 - 03/14/07 at 00:04:57 Cool Scotty...that is good to know. Thanks
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Scotty

Verified Member

Posts: 19

Re: RL 3.0
Reply #7 - 03/14/07 at 00:17:54

Hey Bob,

Yeah, the B's can be strapped just like the C's. And, yeah, I'm moving East to Brooklyn to follow the misses to her new job as soon as I can extract myself from here. She's already there. Not sure how the new downstairs neighbor will take to the RL-3s. Even though I don't listen horribly loud, the bass output can be pretty substantial with the right material. I haven't lived in an apartment in awhile. It'll take some getting used to.

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DEC-685 CDP
Denon DP-30L II TT
DL-160 Cart
Black Cube
DSR ICs
MAC Soundpipes SCs
SE-84C
Vaughn Audio Carina
RL-3s

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ZYGI Seasoned Member HR-ONE Posts: 757	Re: RL 3.0 Reply #8 - 03/14/07 at 01:48:43 Scotty, Thanks for the info, I wasn't sure about the amps, this is good to know. Best of luck to you and Margaret, I hope you like the city....Its a love or hate type of thing. The wife and I were just in NY (upstate) last week. BobZ
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ny10522 Ex Member	Re: RL 3.0 Reply #9 - 03/19/07 at 02:41:13 Currently driving the RL-3s with a Taboo amp and Audible Illusion Mod 3 preamp. Dec 685 DVD is the digital source and puts out 3.5 volts. Normally have the preamp only about 1/8 the way up. If your friend wants to keep his amp, I would advise a digital source with a stronger output.
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Scotty

Verified Member

Posts: 19

Re: RL 3.0
Reply #10 - 03/20/07 at 18:39:17

Good point, ny10522. The DEC-685 makes a huge difference in my digital setup, and I run my Black Cube at one of the higher gain settings to the same effect. Another option for beefing up the signal might be the 6N2P Russian High Gain 6N1P that Steve sells. If I ddin't have the high output already, I'd be trying it.

Hey Andy,

Any news from your friend?

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DEC-685 CDP
Denon DP-30L II TT
DL-160 Cart
Black Cube
DSR ICs
MAC Soundpipes SCs
SE-84C
Vaughn Audio Carina
RL-3s

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Andy831 Seasoned Member Posts: 108	Re: RL 3.0 Reply #11 - 03/23/07 at 07:25:50 Hi Scotty Yeah after the encouragement of "our" forum, he picked up the radials last Monday. He is delighted with them and reckons the little Zen drives them just fine. I have yet to hear them, but will report back once I have . Regards Andy
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