Blk plastic Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Info a bit thin on the net regarding Arthur's amps, specifically the Reference HD. Anyone running one of these into panels? Is their $4K price point justified? Cheers
andyr Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) What panels? And are you thinking of a stereo Elektra amp or a multi-channel HT amp? (Googling Elektra, I could only find 7-channel amps.) EDIT: aah, I subsequently found Bill McLean sells the stereo HD. As he also sells Maggies, he's the 'go to' man if by 'panels' you mean Maggies. Unless you know how much the 300w increases to, at 4ohms, you won;t be able to judge whether it will drive Maggies well - however, what is indisputable is that 50% $$$ more gets you a Magtech - which certainly will drive any panels. Andy Edited February 13, 2015 by andyr
betty boop Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Info a bit thin on the net regarding Arthur's amps, specifically the Reference HD. Anyone running one of these into panels? Is their $4K price point justified? Cheers the $4k price point is justified on the elektra gear, I've found them comparable to imported amps at about twice that price point. think parasound halo and the like which is understandable given the elektra is a local product not needing overseas shipping and importers and doesn't support a huge sales and marketing department…hence no website or anything. there is plenty of owner feed back on elektras on the net. you won't find much on the reference HD as relatively new compared to the theatre HD that has been going longer. Arthur has always made a reference 2ch power amp though along with his 2ch tube pre amp. both of which in recent times got refreshed with the HD. there is a local gtg at melburne audio club show casing the gear, info in the gtg sub forum 1
joz Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Info a bit thin on the net regarding Arthur's amps, specifically the Reference HD. Anyone running one of these into panels? Is their $4K price point justified? Cheers The Reference HD will double power as impedance halves into 4 ohms but not quite into 2. I believe it is also stable at 1ohm. Mr Elektra will be at my GTG in a couple of weeks, I can ask him then. ATM i have an older Elektra Reference which does the same but is only a pissy 250 watts into 8ohms.
Blk plastic Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) What panels? And are you thinking of a stereo Elektra amp or a multi-channel HT amp? (Googling Elektra, I could only find 7-channel amps.) EDIT: aah, I subsequently found Bill McLean sells the stereo HD. As he also sells Maggies, he's the 'go to' man if by 'panels' you mean Maggies. Unless you know how much the 300w increases to, at 4ohms, you won;t be able to judge whether it will drive Maggies well - however, what is indisputable is that 50% $$$ more gets you a Magtech - which certainly will drive any panels. Andy Andy, looking at the 2 channel Ref HD (500w into 4ohm from what I gather), driving 1.7's. There's bugger all info on line. Al's post makes perfect sense and answers that question,cheers Al. Bill is definitely the guy, and I have spoken to him,but I was hoping to hear what others may be experiencing with these amps. The Magtech is unfortunately out of reach at the moment. I guess I could wait and get the nearly $7K together for the Magtech and never have to worry about power again, but Bill regards Arthur's amps highly.I will also need to upgrade my pre.For the cost of the Magtech alone I could snap up Arthur's Ref HD Pre/Pwr combo.Therein lies the dilemma. Edited February 13, 2015 by Blk plastic2
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 13, 2015 Volunteer Posted February 13, 2015 The Magtechs are superb (I have two of them!) but yes, with the dive in the Aussie dollar they are suddenly a lot dearer. But that's an issue with any imported amp and makes the Electra much more attractive. 1
Blk plastic Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 The Reference HD will double power as impedance halves into 4 ohms but not quite into 2. I believe it is also stable at 1ohm. Mr Elektra will be at my GTG in a couple of weeks, I can ask him then. ATM i have an older Elektra Reference which does the same but is only a pissy 250 watts into 8ohms. joz, I would love to know what Arthur thinks of running his 2ch Ref HD into a pair of Maggie 1.7's. 250 wtts into 8 ohms isn't pissy in my books mate...
joz Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 @ pity your in NSW you could have come over for a listen. Even if mine is not the HD it would be difficult to fault. Though I'm not sure how it would actually sound in comparison to the Magtechs, The Elektras specs stand up extremely well. Yes I have heard both but in very different setups, so can't really compare.
joz Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 joz, I would love to know what Arthur thinks of running his 2ch Ref HD into a pair of Maggie 1.7's. 250 wtts into 8 ohms isn't pissy in my books mate... Hehe! Nope 250 isn't pissy at all is it :lol: I know one local hi-fi store used to demo their big Martin Logan panels with the Elektra Refernece, they sounded wonderful. I'd assume the Maggies would be no drama at all. 1
betty boop Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Hehe! Nope 250 isn't pissy at all is it :lol: I know one local hi-fi store used to demo their big Martin Logan panels with the Elektra Refernece, they sounded wonderful. I'd assume the Maggies would be no drama at all. thats a good point…I do remember the logans running off them…and its where I got my first elektra from all those years ago 1
Blk plastic Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 @ pity your in NSW you could have come over for a listen. Even if mine is not the HD it would be difficult to fault. Though I'm not sure how it would actually sound in comparison to the Magtechs, The Elektras specs stand up extremely well. Yes I have heard both but in very different setups, so can't really compare. Thanks for the offer mate. What's funny is I grew up in Earlwood NSW,so there you go….. I might try and organise a home audition with Bill, see what happens. All positive info so far , thanks gentlemen.
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 13, 2015 Volunteer Posted February 13, 2015 Worth considering ME Amps too. Also local and also good at driving difficult loads 1
Addicted to music Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 joz, I would love to know what Arthur thinks of running his 2ch Ref HD into a pair of Maggie 1.7's. 250 wtts into 8 ohms isn't pissy in my books mate... I run 240w @ 8 ohms, driving standard maggies 1.7....its pissy in my books, either a set of ncore400 or a Sanders amp..I wish....
Antripodean Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Mcleans Smarter Home Entertainment (distributors of Maggies) use Elektra Amps with the maggie panels. That's as good a recommendation as you can get! 3
Guest Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I've recently commissioned Arthur to build me an Elektra 7 channel that should be ready any day now. It's for a new 5.1 surround setup with Osborn speakers, that I've been charged with putting together for a family member. Looking forward to the outcome. 1
blybo Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I've recently commissioned Arthur to build me an Elektra 7 channel that should be ready any day now. It's for a new 5.1 surround setup with Osborn speakers, that I've been charged with putting together for a family member. Looking forward to the outcome. Should be quite a system. I love my Elektra Theatron. I suspect it will be the only piece of equipment in my theatre room that won't fall victim to upgrades. 2
betty boop Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/65542-elektra-theatre-hd/ posted an under hood shot of the theatreHD back there top quality components superb build, fit and finish Should be quite a system. I love my Elektra Theatron. I suspect it will be the only piece of equipment in my theatre room that won't fall victim to upgrades. yeah when I upgraded from my theatre 7 after many many years of ownership, was an easy decision to upgrade to another elektra in the theatreHD definitely the kind of thing that can keep upgradeitis at bay ! 1
joz Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 The Elektra gear I own have been the longest stayers in mine too.
DaveH1 Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Hi fellas, I was wondering if anyone had one of the Elektra pre-amps and was able to provide some information on it? There's very little information on the 'net about it that I can find except some mention of it at a GTG and the McLeans website just lists a price but nothing else. Cheers, Dave
hired goon Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Worth considering ME Amps too. Also local and also good at driving difficult loads I've got an ME-550II hi-cap amp, and an Elektra Reference amp. Haven't done a head-to-head, but from memory the ME handled the transients (big changes from quiet to loud) a bit better, as well as accepting more difficult loads. The Elektra had a smoother sound, and does not have the sometimes noisy fans of the ME. --Geoff
Blk plastic Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) ME amps could also be a contender for me. I'll have to speak to Zaph about those. A head to head would be interesting Geoff. I've got an ME-550II hi-cap amp, and an Elektra Reference amp. Haven't done a head-to-head, but from memory the ME handled the transients (big changes from quiet to loud) a bit better, as well as accepting more difficult loads. The Elektra had a smoother sound, and does not have the sometimes noisy fans of the ME.--Geoff Edited February 15, 2015 by Blk plastic2
jdh500 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 I've been using Elektra power amps for over 10 years. I originally owned the Elektra Reference and Theatron 7. Late last year I sold both and upgraded to a new Elektra Reference HD and Theatre HD2. I use the Reference HD to drive Paradigm S8s and the HD2 for centre and surround duty. JDH
joz Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 @@jdh500 What changes did you notice with the upgrade?
~Spyne~ Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Does Arthur make an integrated stereo amplifier?
jdh500 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Noticed better overall control and tighter base with the new Reference HD. I sold the original Reference for $1600 and the new one was arround $3200. The original amps had served me well so did the full Elektra upgrade to the HD versions. JDH
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