What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

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alexdingley
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What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by alexdingley » Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:46 am

Just snagged a pair of NS-10Ms cheap enough that, if I hate them, I can re-sell and probably make a few bucks.... For the moment, they're actually going to be bookshelf speakers, hooked up to a home stereo... but I'm curious about eventually putting them in the studio as near-fields. I googled "what amp to use with NS-10Ms" and found a GearSpace thread of a handful of folks who seem bent on only considering Brystons for this matchup.

Anyone have a ≤$1000 amp suggestion? — if it's "bryston 4BST or GTFO", then I will start slowly hunting for a deal on one of those... but I'm curious if anyone's got a suggestion for a decent / fan-less / amp with enough power to make these useful in the studio.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:43 am

Basically, use a solid state amp which is rated correctly for the NS10s. Yes, Brystons were the most popular choice in pro studios... but any amp will do. M<ake sure it sounds clean even at high levels. Thus, gain staging...
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by TapeOpLarry » Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:17 pm

We have a cheap Hafler amp that works fine. Hafler Trans-Nova P-1500. I've worked in studios that had McIntosh powering the NS-10m's, and I don't know that I could say the speakers got any better!
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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:03 am

I used to use a Rotel RB1080, worked totally great, no problems ever. If it wasn't currently powering our living room stereo I'd sell it to you cheap, but you can find them on reverb for well under 1k.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by alexdingley » Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:30 pm

TapeOpLarry wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:17 pm
a cheap Hafler amp that works fine. Hafler Trans-Nova P-1500.
Thanks! That's exactly the kind of amp I had in mind... just didn't have anyone who'd been able to speak to them. I previously had Hafler Pro2400 amps running my big home stereo speakers, and they were great other than having an audible transformer hum (like hummed/buzzed in the room, not through the speakers).... but these Trans-Nova amps have been at the edge of my mind for this application. I'll keep an eye out for one at a great price.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by alexdingley » Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:31 pm

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:03 am
I used to use a Rotel RB1080
Nice! I'll do a little reading on these — that said Larry's recommendation is kinda more in the price-range I was hoping for.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by jimjazzdad » Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:10 am

I have used ART SLA1 amps to power all kinds of things - sort of a studio swiss army knife. Cheap, cheerful and surprisingly good for the price.
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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by digitaldrummer » Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:57 am

jimjazzdad wrote:
Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:10 am
I have used ART SLA1 amps to power all kinds of things - sort of a studio swiss army knife. Cheap, cheerful and surprisingly good for the price.
I had one of those awhile ago too. no fans (or at least it's not audible), no buzzing (toroidal transformer), worked great for what it is and affordable (even new goes for about $300).
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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by cornsound » Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:41 pm

alexdingley wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:46 am
bryston 4BST or GTFO
Having used this exact combo myself, I can say the Bryston's made those monitors a lot more tolerable.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by alexdingley » Thu Mar 30, 2023 6:43 pm

weezy wrote:
Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:41 pm
Having used this exact combo myself, I can say the Bryston's made those monitors a lot more tolerable.
Duly noted! I’m gonna start simple and see if I can eventually justify something more significant behind them. I’m likely to start with the used Haflers.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by alexdingley » Tue Apr 25, 2023 3:44 pm

TapeOpLarry wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:17 pm
We have a cheap Hafler amp that works fine. Hafler Trans-Nova P-1500. I've worked in studios that had McIntosh powering the NS-10m's, and I don't know that I could say the speakers got any better!
Thanks Larry! I grabbed a P1500 cheap on eBay and it’s great! Very happy with the sound.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by Calaverasgrande » Tue May 02, 2023 6:41 pm

I used an Adcom 535 with the ones I had on loan for a while.
Worked great. Now it powers some Avantone cubes.
Cant believe Adcoms are still affordable used.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by trodden » Thu May 04, 2023 7:02 am

The smaller "project studios" I've been in over the decades all seemed to use the Crown Com-Tech 410's for their NS10's. So I, naturally have one powering my old KRK's from the 90's, I got as a package deal when one of those studios shut down. Now that I think of it, that amp is easily 30 years old. I wonder how much of the dislike I got from the NS10's was due to the Crown amps. I mean they're not bad, I don't think, but they're definitely "budget minded". I try not to think too hard about some details because it activated my OCD to a degree where I'm worrying about things rather than just recording the best sound and take I can. Now, these days, when I look at power amps, they're littered with DSP stuff, and seem either focused to the live sound applications or they're way expensive "audiophile" applications, and the only options in my budget are once again, another 30-35 year old amp that probably needs another $200-$300 in rechipping costs. So this thread has been interesting for me.
Last edited by trodden on Thu May 04, 2023 7:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by trodden » Thu May 04, 2023 7:03 am

TapeOpLarry wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:17 pm
We have a cheap Hafler amp that works fine. Hafler Trans-Nova P-1500. I've worked in studios that had McIntosh powering the NS-10m's, and I don't know that I could say the speakers got any better!
Excellent.

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Re: What amp are folks putting behind NS-10Ms?

Post by Calaverasgrande » Wed Jun 21, 2023 6:14 am

I have an Adcom 535MKII. It's a criminally underrated amp. I got mine for a pretty great price since it was advertised as broken, and I wanted something to try and troubleshoot. (every couple years I delude myself into thinking I am good at fixing things)
Turned out it just needed a fuse!
It has worked perfectly for the 15 years since then and powered all kinds of monitors to ear damaging levels without even breaking a sweat. I picked up one of it's larger siblings just before the pandemic, but it isn't as clear sounding or as authoritative with the bass.
I think the later, higher powered Adcoms weren't as simple a design? I've also heard there is a problem with the 535 MKI but can't recall what it was.
One of my tech guru friends explained it to me but it went in one ear and out the other.

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