I live in Turkey. I have the PWT transport and DSD Directstream dac as source . My speaker is Raidho D2.1 . Raidho speakers need too much power, even the smallest one. I have the Gryphon Diablo for the amp but it can not drive well the Raidho’s.
In my country the ps audio dealer hasn’t the BHK amps so i can not have a demo. No chance to listen. Another option for me to have the Goldmund Telos 600 amp as an occasion.
My question is which amp, the BHK 300 or the Goldmund Telos 600 will drive better my speakers . Bass control, mid’s high’s etc ? If i decide to go with BHK 300 is it possible to connect the directstream dac directly to the BHK 300. What i miss if i don’t use preamp.
The D-2.1’s have a stated sensitivity of 89Db at 2.83V and impedance >4ohms.
As far as I know the Diablo Integrated amplifier is made in two configurations;
The Diablo (300) is rated at 300w at 8ohms and ~600w at 4ohms.
The Diablo (120) is rated at 120w at 8ohms and ~240w at 4ohms.
either Diablo should adequately drive these speakers. The recommended amplification is for amps with 50w/ch and higher but can be driven by lower powered amps.
Check to see if you have the DS attenuator switched on.
Is DS DAC volume set to 100?
Are you using XLR or RCA connection between DAC and Diablo (shouldn’t matter).
Did/Do you have a problem driving the speakers with other inputs or have you only tried with the PWT/DSD DAC?
Nice system by the way.
When you say the amplifier doesn’t drive the speakers well - do you mean volume? Can you measure volume in Db with a smartphone or meter? What is volume dial on amplifier at 89Db at 1 metrr from the speaker?
I have the old Gryphon Diablo 2 x 250 watts 8 ohms
The DS DAC volume level is 100
I have tried both connections, my balanced cable is Transparent ultra mm2 , my rca cable is Ansuz ceramic. There is not much difference.
I have tried my Raidho speakers with Exposure MCX monoblocks ( 2 x 300 watts 8 ohm, 2 x 600 watts 4 ohm ) . Exposure MCX made considerable difference in terms of speaker control. MCX has also more air . etc. So i decided to replace my amplifier with some more powerfull amplifier.
Gryphon Diablo is more powerfull compare to a lots of other amplifiers but i think its not enough for Raidho D2.1
the Goldmund amplifirs appear to be a few years old but the company has a great reputation. Trial them and see what they sound like. Yes the DAC can run direct into amplifiers - I did with mine for a while but I also needed additional i/p for turntable so I purchased the BHK-pre as well. Sounded good either way.
If there is a an issue (small??) impedance mismatch between DAC and amplifier then it’s likely the pre will fix it and improve the sound. Several ppl say the music sounds better with the pre, yet others say direct to amps is best - very system dependant.
Good luck with sorting out your problem. I’d still check the DAC attenuator just to be sure. If DAC volume maximum goes to 106 then it’s switched in.
Except the japanese and korean reviews Goldmund Telos 600 has no reviews. And also it has very few specs . So I can’t understand well this amp .
On the other hand BHK 300 has lots of reviews and there are so many very good comments about this amp. BHK 300 is also listed in the Stereophile recommended components.
Goldmund amplifiers and some few amplifiers like Soulution amps have ultrawide frequency range very low distortion etc. But at the end the most important thing is the listening impression .