Organ Pipe Music

[doguniverse]

I mostly listen to organ pipe music by E. Power Biggs. Which combination of speaker with amplifier would you like when listening to organ pipe music? Thank You, as always for you thoughts.

[GaryProtein]

Almost anything with at least 2000 watts per channel and lots of big woofers.

There isn't a lot of tonality and timbre at the very low frequencies.

From a tonality standpoint, an organ is fairly easy to reproduce.

[JMAC]

Mine. See below.

I believe the spec on the "Big Mac" speakers is minus only 3dB @ 16 Hz ! Can't hear it but can feel it if the signal is strong enough.

By my test, the power-guard lights on the MC452 don't light up until 900 watts. The amp won't allow clipping & that's part of why I got it. As it turned out, I got these speakers and they have 3 "solid state devices". Circuit breakers. One for the 28 tweeters (which are already pretty safe from overheating due to their numbers)-one for the 44 midrange drivers (again-numbers) and 3 for the 2 bass drivers, which are really sub-woofer bass. (I should say, these are the drivers in one speaker, not the pair, in case you're wondering.)

And this amp is way more powerful than I need to drive these speakers, yet they are rated to handle 1200 watts. I'm guesing that these speakers would be adequate in, say, a typical high school gym-(and they're line arrays- they lose only 3dB per doubling of distance instead of 6dB) maybe with this amp and even more likely with the 1200 watt amps that, I'm guessing, go to 2400 watts before Power Guard. I say that because there was a recent thread about the 600 watt amps not flashing Power Guard lights until 1200 watts - double the rated power, like on mine.

EDIT - Sorry GaryProtein. I hadn't read your response before I wrote mine. But... I wanna stick by it...pretty sure......

I've posted before that I rarely see the right side of 45 watts on peaks (and that would be explosions or elecronic bass) to listen to varieties of music that average mid 80 dB range. And 900 watts are available.

[robert_kc]

Originally Posted by doguniverse

I mostly listen to organ pipe music by E. Power Biggs. Which combination of speaker with amplifier would you like when listening to organ pipe music? Thank You, as always for you thoughts.

I listen to classical music and opera. I have several recordings of organ music, including this CD by Biggs:



FWIW, I think that the following 24bit/96kHz download from HDTracks has excellent audio quality:



How large is your listening room? How loud do you like to listen? What is your budget for speakers? Do you already have an amp?

As you probably know, speaker sensitivity is specified based on a logarithmic scale. Speakers with a low sensitivity rating (<90dB) may require 20x the amplifier power (or more) compared with speakers with high sensitivity ratings (>100dB). Room size is also a major factor regarding how much power you need – as is how loud you like to listen.

I’m a fan of Klipsch speakers, which require relatively little amplifier power to produce "big" sound. I’m also a fan of Oppo universal players that can play any digital music format, and can provide a crossover function in order to off-load bass from the main amp and speakers to a powered subwoofer. I collect tube amps, which mate well with Klipsch speakers – however solid state amps are better suited for people who aren’t hobbyists.

Here’s two of my configurations with Klipsch speakers.

• Klipsch Palladium P-37F tower speakers (96dB, 4 ohm, 3 way) that have three 7” woofers. Subwoofer: Klipsch Palladium P-312W (12” woofer, dual 12” passive radiators). Oppo BDP-105’s crossover is set to 100Hz. Small listening room.
• Klipsch RF-7II tower speakers (101dB, 8 ohm, 2 way) that have two 10” woofers. Subwoofer: Klipsch R-115SW (15” woofer). Oppo DV-980H’s crossover is fixed. (I don’t know the crossover frequency.) Medium listening room.

A single-ended-pentode tube amp that produces approximately 10wpc will drive the Klipsch RF-7II to satisfying volume level with good dynamics and bass – even without the subwoofer. With the sub, there’s as much bass as you want depending on how big of a sub you get. I’m satisfied with my subs listed above for classical music.

Some people are fans of the Klipsch “heritage” speakers, such as Klipschorn and La Scala, which are even higher efficiency. (Some people drive the Klipschorn with 5wpc SET amps.) However these speakers are much bigger (and the Klipschorn requires corner placement) and I cannot accommodate them in my listening rooms.

Bottom line, the large Klipsch speakers are known for producing powerful sound with little amplifier power. I think that the RF-7II is an excellent value. The Palladium tower speakers (P-39F, P-38F, and P-37F) are nicer aesthetically; they are in the process of being discontinued and are on sale for half price from authorized on-line distributors. If you want to hear the lowest organ pedal notes, then I suggest a crossover (such as built into the Oppo BDP-105) and a powered subwoofer as big as you can accommodate.

Hope this helps.

[SCAudiophile]

Pipe organ is one of the most nuanced and difficult instruments in the world to truly reproduce (IMHO) as it is literally hundreds of different sound profiles (stops) and can mimic reeds, horns, and so many other sounds. All frequency ranges have tonal challenges to reproducing individual pipes speaking as well as the massive ensemble effects possible when several manuals are tied together by the organist; could go on an on with this subject. The 'onslaught' or "wall of sound" effects possible equal and in some cases exceed the largest symphonic or symphonic and choral works out there (IMHO). There is also the sound of the bellows, the stops themselves, whether the organ is mechanical or electrical in terms of his control mechanisms, air movement throughout the entire system and as each pipe "speaks", hall/church/synagogue acoustics and many other factors. I was fortunate enough to apprentice to a French pipe organ builder/restorer from 1978-1980 and I've been in awe of the instrument ever since.

Best amps in my experience are big solid state with ample power into 8 ohms and more (double-down into 4 ohms) with speakers or speakers+sub that get you down to 16-20 hz clean/flat. Room should be big enough, or vented enough (hallways, other openings) to let the large bass frequency's wavelengths materialize. Note the latter is true of any other music you play as well.

I have over 600 different releases for pipe organs and composers throughout the world. It is one of THE great challenges for an audio system to reproduce...

The big Karan Amps, Edge NL12.1, NL Reference, Maker Audio NL14s, Esoteric A-02, Grandioso M1, Grandioso S1 are all excellent candidates I've heard and/or owned first hand that do a great job at reproducing pipe organ.

Time to wake this thread up!

[radio times]

Since I got a dac/amp, my portable trio sounds great with JS

[Coytee]

Do you want to listen to it as "Muzac" type background music or, do you want to "experience" it?

If you want to 'experience' it, then I jump on Robert KC's bandwagon.... get some big Klipsch.

I've heard the Palladium & Cornwall. I've owned the Khorn (sold), LaScala, Heresy (sold), Jubilee, MWM and the bottom line is, if you have the space, it simply gets better (and more life like) as you go bigger.

You really raise the game when you have an all horn loaded system (including a horn subwoofer if you have the space)

The dynamics are about as life like as you can get. The distortion is going to be much lower than a dynamic speaker.

[Coytee]

I'm "just a few miles" north of you on I-75, probably 4 turns! If you are ever near Knoxville area, you are welcome to hear some of the mentioned.

[RocioXRuma]

Hi! Where I can download the XRumer 12? This URL is not working - freecheapxrumer.com

[doguniverse]

Just bought Bryston 7 cubed amps(900 watts/channel) from Ivan. Next selection are speakers. The room will be my library mostly listening to the music. Room size is not a concern, so any thoughts on speakers would be appreciated.

David