Hello all,

I am thinking of my upgrade path, really taking an interest in the attenuation and control of the signal… and considering bi amping my Pure Audio Project Duet Horns.

My component chain will soon be:
Phono / DAC —> ZBit —> ZRock —> Decware 300b —> Pure Audio Project Duet Horns.

I am reading about wonderful transformative sound from the active crossover by Pass Labs specifically designed for the Pure Audio Project speakers: The C1. I am interested now into a chain that adds the C1 Active Crossover between the ZRock and the Amps, and including my Prima Luna Dialogue Premium HP amp to power my woofers.

If this: I have a few questions…

-AMP: How would the Prima Luna be as a woofer amp? I would be concerned about power usage and heat, would a solid state amp such as my Musical Fidelity A5 work nearly as well with my 15” woofers in the Pure Audio Project Duet Horns?

-Would the magic of the Decware 300B be somewhat lost if it were only operating the horns?

-I would probably have to run the setup with different speaker wires and interconnects for a little while, would this be noticeable? Would there be timing issues? The woofers would be on duelund 12 gauge cables and the horns would be on anticable flex 4.2.


I am also curious what you all think of the upgrade path in future years:

Option 1: Decware 2A3 on Horns and 300B on Woofer:
In the future I would be interested in replacing the Prima Luna for another amp better designed to compliment the Decware 300b. Not sure if I would have the Decware 300b on the woofers or keep it on the Horn. The benefit of moving it to the woofers would be to reduce the hum. In that case I would consider getting perhaps a Decware 2A3 Amp setup for the horns… and I’m sure that would sound magical.

Option 2: Deware 300b on Horns and Decware Tori / First Watt like amp on Woofers:
The other option would be to keep the Decware 300B on the horns, and to have something such as a First Watt or Pass Labs amp on the woofers… Or perhaps a Tori… This setup I am sure would be grand, but I would again be concerned about heat and power usage. Is there an amp with Passlabs / First Watt qualities that runs cooler and has less power usage? Would a Tori introduce too much tube complexity?

The combination of the ZBit - ZRock and - C1 Crossover is utterly compelling….

Love the sound, and thank you all for sharing our obsessions!

r.

(am I getting carried away?)

No, it sounds like you're having a blast. Go for it!

I would echo CAJames here, RV. Depending on your goals you may consider a quality subwoofer to fill in the bottom.

I’ve had great luck augmenting my Lii F-15’s with W-15’s, the F-15’s powered by the 300b and the W-15’s powered by a Crown amp with built in crossover, set to 50hz. Despite being a Class D amp, the crown has some synergy with the W-15, and the w-15 blends well with the F-15.

When trying to reduce the efficiency of my speakers to create a heavier load on the 300b I ran the speakers in series for a short time, and then with a crossover for a short time. I used the highest quality parts I could find for the crossover. Yet, in both cases (series wiring and crossover implementation) I lost the magic of the 300b straight into the F-15 open baffle. It’s just such a transparent system you will hear everything you put in the signal path.

If it's any help, another solution to consider would be a crossover from Sublime Acoustic. I would recommend the K235 because it has standard RCA and XLR inputs and outputs. If you don't need the XLR connections, the K231 can save you $600.00. Either unit will allow you to bi amp or tri-amp your system. You can start off bi-amping your Pure Audio Project Duet Horns. You can later try tri-amping with a subwoofer, or you can just run a subwoofer with a 2-way crossover with the Sarah powering your speakers. If you ever decide to change your speakers you can also simply change the modules in the crossover to match.

I'm using a k235 crossed over at 80htz into a Tori Jr. and SVS  3000 Micro. I use them with a set of Decware Tube Tots and Omega Super Alnico speakers. Maybe someone else on the forum can share their experience, but I've found it best to keep it simple. Watch Steve's videos on impute sensitivity. Trying to bi-amp  or tri-amp with different types of amplifiers with different input sensitivities can be very difficult from experience. A 2-way crossover into a sub and the Sarah 300B into the Pure Audio Project Duet Horns can give you the control and attenuation your looking for, but you can experiment with your Prima Luna to see which you prefer.

I hope this info helps.  [smiley=tunes57.gif]

RY,

The PAP-C1 has definitely been a transformative piece in my system.  I've landed exactly where Harry Weisfeld of VPI Industries landed in regard to the C1 crossover, and that landing spot is that no one should be allowed to hear PAP Quintets without a C1 crossover in the mix.  I love what it has done in my system.  It will, without doubt, stay right where it is until the day I die.

I've never heard the Duets, but I have read and/or listened to every review out there, and all the reviewers rave about them with their standard passive crossovers.  My suggestion is to try them as they are with your new Sarah  300B.  That combo may be exactly what you're looking for.

Your Prima Luna and Fidelity amps would likely be great on woofer-only duty, but with a required crossover point on your horns up near 600 hz, your 300B amp is not going to be allowed to do it's thing in the frequency range where 300B amps are magical.  I'm thinking that with your speakers, along with a 300B amp, the C1, or any other active crossover, may not be the best route to travel.