Ads L1290 and marantz 1200b

hey, new to me are a pair of ADS L1290's and Marantz 1200b (100 watts) integrated, they are in a fairly large space, in the living room which is open to the rest of my 1900 sq ft home.

my question- if I want the volume level that really fills the room fully and pushes the speakers a bit (im not talking blow the walls down level), I really have to turn it up to 12 oclock or 2 oclock, depending on the record.

I know there is very little difference even between 80 and 100 watts and my speakers aren't the most effeicent speakers in the world, but I guess I expected the amp to be more powerful without having to crank it so high, does that sound right?

I know the gear is fully restored by a well respected tech in the area. my only other receiver experience was a 2252b, and I just thought a 100 watt amp would be a damn monster compared to the 52 watts I was used to.

thoughts? BTW, I do enjoy the sound, just interested in you thoughts.

 

Position of the volume knob means nothing.
Do you have all the unstrained volume you need or are you lacking?

 

No. Hearing is logarithmic, so a 2X the power is just 3 decibels (3 dB). That is just a small bump in volume. Now, there is more to it than that, some amps are stronger than others even with the same power rating:
(a) some companies are very conservative, others are exaggerators.
(b) For practical reasons amplifiers are tested with resistors. But speakers are not resistors at all, so those ratings are of limited use. At best compare FOUR OHM ratings regardless if the speakers are or not.
(c) To really hear "more power" you probably 4X as much.

 

Gibsonian posted the position of the volume knob means nothing, go with that, it means absolutely nothing!!

One thing that does mean something is that you have some "very nice" speakers, oh yes! I wish I could get my hands on some like new ADS L1290 speakers, DO NOT get rid of those, fantastic midrange and tweeter drivers, you were lucky to get your hands on those. If you wish to move up in power, simply sell your existing Marantz amp and jump into a nice Parasound amp and pre-amp, from their classic series to their HALO series, and KEEP THOSE ADS SPEAKERS!

 

Im not concerned or bothered by the fact that I have to turn volume to 2oclock to get the volume I want sometimes, I guess im just more surprised that a 100watt amp would need to get turned that far to get the volume I want.

 

thanks for your reply, SO, clearly im not noticing a massive difference from my old 2252b vs my 100 watt Marantz, what kind of a jump in wattage would you think I need to REALLY noticed a difference in power? by 4x as much power do you mean 400 watts?

 

thanks for the reply, I was a Klipsch guy, then randomly got a pair of L880/2's and was blow away, they were the sound I was always looking for, and immediately wanted more. luckily the guy that sold them to me also had a pair of Richard refurbished L1290 and had to get them. ADS is "my sound".

 

@Romero, you want a good analogy for an amp's volume control? It's how far do you have to push down on the gas pedal to go fast? I had a car that was touchy. If I pushed down just a bit on the pedal, it accelerated and went fast. Most of my cars have been the other way. I could floor it and they only went so fast, especially if I was going up a hill. In other words, it was the weight of the car and the engine under the hood that made the difference in my speed, not the throw of the gas pedal.

With you being a Klipsch guy, the difference in the efficiency of the two speakers definitely comes into play, too. 100 watts into most Klipsch speakers plays very loud. It won't play nearly as loud with your a/d/s/. The quality of the amplification also makes a difference. Another company's 100 watt amp might play louder, but not a whole bunch. What you are more likely to get is better bass with a better amp. That said, your Marantz looks pretty sweet. I'd forgotten about that amp.

For some folks, that difference between the a/d/s/ and the Klipsch regarding being able to annoy the neighbors is a deal breaker. I hope it isn't for you. I'm with @Litejazz53. You got a freakin' great pair of speakers in the a/d/s/ L1290. Sounds like you know that.

Your Marantz has pre-amp output jacks on it. Sometime try a 200 wpc power amp on the a/d/s/. You might enjoy that a lot.

 

I ran the same speakers with a Yamaha M-4 and C -4 in a very large room. The power was comparable. It was plenty of power to fill the room. No recollection how far I had to turn the knob. Congrats on great speakers!

 

Differences in the voltage of your input can make one turn up a 500 watt/ch amp to 12 o clock, that's what I'm getting at.

Have you tried other inputs on your receiver? Bet you 10 bucks a CD player will be louder than your TT at same volume knob position.

 

I actually don't have that other receiver to experiment with. I would LOVE to hear my 1200b Marantz with a pair of Klipsch and my L1290's with a 200-300 watt amp.

 

I wish I could try my Marantz with a pair of Klipsch and also my ads speakers with a 200 watt amp. that would give me a good taste of how powerful my Marantz is and how extra power could impact my ADS's

 

Why don't you? These are just big boy toys. You play with your toys.

 

if I could snap my fingers I would. don't have friends that are audio guys to let me borrow gear, and damn sure don't have money to buy multiple components. I guess that when I turn to forums to hear peoples thoughts on questions I have.

 

I think those are a sealed box design like my old ADS speakers. Mine also required more juice to drive them. They were 4 ohms as well.

 

I can't speak to the idea of hooking up the Marantz to your Klipsch. You know what's going on with those two components.

Otherwise, maybe I'm more of a wheeler-dealer than you, but I'm confident in a music town like Austin that in an afternoon I could score a 200 wpc power amp to audition with the 1290s for a night. I'd have to leave a credit card number with the store in case I didn't return the next morning, amp in hand, but it wouldn't cost me a cent.

One thing that really bugs me about the hifi business nowadays is that people don't listen to prospective gear at home. It was a common option in the old days. Not that much any more. I've learned a lot that way, much more than either hearing it in a store or reading a review.

Just my two cents.

 

Romero, if you like the ADS sound and you decide to up your game, KEEP the ADS and purchase Michael Kelly's Aerial Model 7T speakers. He is very proud of them, but they are beautiful loudspeakers and have the sound you love, they are just newer and better. That is not to diminish what you have now, they are wonderful, but you see, Michael Kelly was with ADS for a long time, he simply designs GREAT loudspeakers

 

auditioning new prospective gear at home would be amazing. that's kind of why I do so much research and discuss on forums, because even if someone auditions gear for me, I really don't analyze it too much, just see if it works, because I know when I get it home it more than likely will sound completely different.

 

any thoughts on me using my Marantz 1200b as a pre and a dynaco 416 power amp (200 wpc)?

 

You really want an amp who’s volume knob goes to 11

 

I imagine it would sound very good. I had a Dynaco 400 amp in 1976 and I liked it a lot. The 416 has more filter caps than my 400 so it should have greater punch and slam. Those capacitors store more electricity in the amp's power supply to reproduce dynamic peaks and loud bass notes.

In the long run you'd probably want to get a dedicated preamp instead of using the integrated as a preamp but it would certainly be worth a listen. My bet is you'd be quite impressed.

 

hey, one last point I forgot to add concerning the volume position, I really don't hear any sound even until I get to 8 or 9 oclock. that seems odd to me or could that be a totally reasonable thing? or could that be a volume pot issue? thanks again for your feedback