Has anyone tried 135's and Quad 988's
Posted by: smiglass on 03 December 2002
Has anyone had experience with the Nap 135's and Quad 988's? I love the sound of these speakers but have seen stuff on the forum that indicate problems with the protectiion circuits. I have heard them with a Nap 500 and love the presence and three dimensional sound they produce. I have a small listening room, 12'by 14' and play music at moderate levels.
Posted on: 03 December 2002 by aht
Well, if the Quad protection circuits weren't a problem with the 500, the 135's should be fine in that regard, right? By the way, where did you hear the 500/988 setup? At Gene Rubin's? He recommends that combination, although one wonders if the 500 isn't overkill in terms of power, if not resolution.
Posted on: 03 December 2002 by smiglass
I hope so! I heard the combination in Chicago with the CDS2 and 52. It was and outstanding presentation. I had hoped that the Nap 300 would suffice but, if I could use them with my 135's, that would be the best.
Posted on: 03 December 2002 by JeremyB
My local dealer kindly allowed me to try a 180 with the 989s - sounded fantastic. So I imagine it would work very well with the 988. With the price of sh 180s so low these days (I have one for sale!) that's what I would do - and get a better pre-amp.
Jeremy
Jeremy
Posted on: 03 December 2002 by JeremyB
Sorry smiglass, just saw you had a 52 also. My point is, try with the 135s, the worst that can happen is that you may need a 180 until the inevitable upgrade to 552/500!
Jeremy
Jeremy
Posted on: 03 December 2002 by Emil Petagna
Your nap 135's should work fine with the Quad 988's. I have been running mine with a nap 250 for 6 months and have not had any problems with the protection circuit.
The 988's will sound wonderful in your small room provided that you can have them out a minimum of 2 ft. from the back wall. I prefer listening to them in the nearfield where they become a transparent wall of music. The accuracy and high resolution of these speakers comes through at all volume levels.
Emil
t
The 988's will sound wonderful in your small room provided that you can have them out a minimum of 2 ft. from the back wall. I prefer listening to them in the nearfield where they become a transparent wall of music. The accuracy and high resolution of these speakers comes through at all volume levels.
Emil
t
Posted on: 04 December 2002 by David C
I have been running Quad's for 18 months now, I initially used 135's. The biggest problem is that the Quads have nasty impedence dips which can cause the 135's to shut down at medium to high volumes. Jeff Beck always seemed to do that trick very well, as did large classical works at decent volumes.
I have also run them with two different 250's an old style one and new green case one (not the very latest style) and much preferred the bolt together, it was also far more stable and has had fewer shutdowns.
I would like to hear them driven by a 500 but that was out of teh budget so I have moved to other places for amplification.
I believe that the 180 has slightly different protection circuitry due to the different power supply. I have never had any shutdown problems with the 180
AHT,
I am intrigued by your comment about the 500 and it being overkill in terms of power and resolution. The Quads drink current, their impedence curve makes them a painful load for many amplifiers. The voltage issue is more significant with the older models. As to resolution, I would be extremely keen to hear your suggestions of speakers with a greater resolving power than the quads.
Regards
David
I have also run them with two different 250's an old style one and new green case one (not the very latest style) and much preferred the bolt together, it was also far more stable and has had fewer shutdowns.
I would like to hear them driven by a 500 but that was out of teh budget so I have moved to other places for amplification.
I believe that the 180 has slightly different protection circuitry due to the different power supply. I have never had any shutdown problems with the 180
AHT,
I am intrigued by your comment about the 500 and it being overkill in terms of power and resolution. The Quads drink current, their impedence curve makes them a painful load for many amplifiers. The voltage issue is more significant with the older models. As to resolution, I would be extremely keen to hear your suggestions of speakers with a greater resolving power than the quads.
Regards
David
Posted on: 04 December 2002 by aht
Please understand that I have never heard Quad 988's. According to my dealer, however, they can be driven by much smaller amplifers than the 500, and many people use modest tube amps with them; thus I naively assumed that the power of the 500 might go underutilized. If there indeed is a brutal mpedeance dip, then perhaps this is not the case.
As for resolution, my comment was intended to mean, "Perhaps the 500 is overkill in terms of power, but surely not in terms of resolution>"
As for resolution, my comment was intended to mean, "Perhaps the 500 is overkill in terms of power, but surely not in terms of resolution>"