Amplifiers for Cadence Speakers

[jenson]

Seeking feedback from those who have either owned or have, direct experience with speakers from cadence (electrostatics, ideally arista or upwards)

What has your journey been like with respect to amplifiers...any learnings, recommendations..

Many thanks for your time.

 

[naks]

try bryston they are a good match

 

[arj]

Seeking feedback from those who have either owned or have, direct experience with speakers from cadence (electrostatics, ideally arista or upwards)

What has your journey been like with respect to amplifiers...any learnings, recommendations..

Many thanks for your time.

I thought cadence went well with tubes and the cadence Va1 and Canasya was a great match with them. I remember some discussion where Virens Amps were also paired with them very well. the VA1 i believe were EL34 Push pulls.

 

[rikhav]

In my very short experience the electrostat speakers of cadence absolutely hate SS and go well with tubes with around 20 watts

 

[naks]

I thought cadence went well with tubes and the cadence Va1 and Canasya was a great match with them. I remember some discussion where Virens Amps were also paired with them very well. the VA1 i believe were EL34 Push pulls.

Yes they matches well with Viren amps but ss also ok as I have tried them long ago with totem forest and Bryston mono blocks and Bryston with cadence speakers. Ultimately it depends listeners preference

 

[SwaroopKS]

While they love tubes, they also play well with SS. I played them with quick silver monoblocks as well as marantz PM8003. I haven't yet had chance to hear them with VA1 pairing which seem to be perfect match according to few FMs I queried in past

 

[RRR]

I have heard about 3 Cadence Electrostatic speakers all paired with Tube amplification and they sounded best that way.

 

[IndianEars]

Cadence Electrostat Speakers are VERY Nice, despite the fact that the Electrostat unit needs to be serviced (new diaphram put) every 5 years or so. I have heard all (?) 3 models.

They certainly sing Very well with Tube amplification. The Tube amp need not be a very tuby sounding amp.... I had tried the middle model with my Prima Luna Prologue-2 (KT-88 based).

Their VA-1 amplifier was infact a bit of an oddball... I never heard it play well on Non Cadence speakers.

The Canasya Amps (845 Output Tube based) was almost Solid State sounding, and an owner and good friend often half jokingly remarked that the Tubes on the Canasya were probably for show, with the output from hidden solid state devices.

The Point I am making is that the Cadance Electrostat speakers sounded good with even the Canasya amps, and hence would even sound good with a Solid State Amp, as long as the Silicon based amp did not have an overtly aggressive HF. You also do not need too much power to drive these speakers.... 50 Watts Glass Power or 100 Watts SS is Great, though you could get away with half as much.

 

[Ash]

I have a pair of Avitas whose electro stats need to be replaced now. Paired very well with my Arcam and Trigon. But terrible with my Roksan Caspian M2.

 

[jenson]

Earlier when I had Arista plus va 1.0, I found it to struggle with hip hop and or dense rock music in loud volumes... It somehow felt odd, in that the speaker looks to be perfectly capable of such music... But somehow va 1.0 wasn't able to control it... Am I hallucinating about this not sure or maybe it's blasphemous to play those genres in that setup...

Nevertheless, what is played well was just mind blowing. .. Music sounded like music..warm as it should be especially vinyls..

I'm sure someone out there has figured a configuration that works all round

 

[SwaroopKS]

Earlier when I had Arista plus va 1.0, I found it to struggle with hip hop and or dense rock music in loud volumes... It somehow felt odd, in that the speaker looks to be perfectly capable of such music... But somehow va 1.0 wasn't able to control it... Am I hallucinating about this not sure or maybe it's blasphemous to play those genres in that setup...

Nevertheless, what is played well was just mind blowing. .. Music sounded like music..warm as it should be especially vinyls..

I'm sure someone out there has figured a configuration that works all round

Could be true as I heard VA 1 on a different set-up and it sounded too smooth and soothing compared to other amps. They sounded much more energetic when I added AP tube pre and marantz as power amp compared to without AP pre. With the monoblocks using KT88 tubes, they are splendid in all genres but when replaced the KT88 with KT90, the low end was on steroids.

 

[harry123456]

Earlier when I had Arista plus va 1.0, I found it to struggle with hip hop and or dense rock music in loud volumes... It somehow felt odd, in that the speaker looks to be perfectly capable of such music... But somehow va 1.0 wasn't able to control it... Am I hallucinating about this not sure or maybe it's blasphemous to play those genres in that setup...

Nevertheless, what is played well was just mind blowing. .. Music sounded like music..warm as it should be especially vinyls..

I'm sure someone out there has figured a configuration that works all round

Hello Jenson, I can totally understand where you are at. I was in a similar situation a few years back so here goes. I have been using the Cadence VA1 and two pairs of Cadence speakers ( Arita and Diva's) not the electrostats. Having heard both the electrostats and non electrostats from the Cadence stable i can safely say that the sound signature is pretty similar.

When i used the VA 1 with my speakers i too felt that it could not deliver the energy and control required for Rock and complex passages at loud volumes( just seems to lose grip and muddles up the music). Like you said for certain kinds of music like Ghazals, percussion vocals, some types of Jazz the setup is sublime musically.

Thus started the search for an amp that could play rock and also add the extra thump for party music, Tried a few modern solid state amps and they just didn't seem to work too well.

So about 7 years back i responded to an olx ad and the seller( who is a good friend now) brought this Vintage Marantz receiver in his car to my place. We hooked it up and played music on both the speakers and 5 minutes of listening was what it took to know i had found what i was looking for. I have not felt the itch to upgrade this as i feel for this price point these speakers are playing at their potential.

About the Receiver : This is a Marantz 2238 B from 1976-77( Made in Japan) from the Golden era of receivers made by Marantz. The sound signature has the tube warmth of the VA 1 and the punch for Rock /Hip Hop/Party music. Cant turn up the volume beyond 45% as it gets too loud and a friend after drinks blew my woofer at a party last year by turning up the volume beyond 50%. The Marantz guys have somehow been able to replicate the sweet tube sound and add the punch that most tube amps lack. Also the tuner is amazing and the sound through the FM is crystal clear and alive. Me thinks that a good vintage stereo amp or receiver from the Golden Era with 35 - 45 watts of power should do the job. Best of luck in your search.

 

[CircleGame]

You could contact Mr Mahendra Dave, of Oceanic. He was one of the founders of Cadence, he'll be able to help you. Can share number if you DM me.

 

[jenson]

You could contact Mr Mahendra Dave, of Oceanic. He was one of the founders of Cadence, he'll be able to help you. Can share number if you DM me.

Well I'd rather take feedback from users... I have interacted with mr. Dave years back.. I kinda know what the suggestion would be

@prem
@hifiashok
@dhiman
@Dr.Bass
@jls001

Seeking ur guidance

 

[prem]

The Cadence electro stats bass lags the panel. Listening to rock on it is boring. I don’t think any amp will help. It’s fine for acoustic stuff, simple vocals, etc.

 

[RRR]

@jenson prem has put it together best what others have commented on rock. The bass lags on all 3 models and they did try correcting it later on.
The Cadence are just not meant to rock.

 

[jenson]

@jenson prem has put it together best what others have commented on rock. The bass lags on all 3 models and they did try correcting it later on.
The Cadence are just not meant to rock.

Noted..
By 3 models you mean avita, arista and amaya? Does it include ARCA as well

 

[RRR]

Yes Avita Arista Amaya. The Arca are in a much higher price range.
The panels were also due for an upgrade with different materials around 2016-17 to make them less prone to Humidity. However it did not work out with the supplier.

 

[IndianEars]

Actually....... ANY Hybrid driver speaker.... where the HF is either Electrostatic or a Ribbon, will have a Much faster HF than the LF from a cone driver....

 

[prem]

Absolutely Indian Ears. I had the same problem with the Martin Logans too. I believe in their newer models, the integration is better.