What speakers to pair with Nakamichi PA 7

thx1138

stereo punditry 5 cents
Can anyone who has experience with the Nakamichi PA 7 give me some insight as to what they think is the best speaker pairing they have had with this amplifier and why? I thought of asking for ideas in the sub 700 to 800 dollars category. Definitely sub 1000 bucks.

Might this thread be better in the speaker forum, editor?
 
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Well, i've run mine with

Magnepan SMGa
Dahlquist DQ-10
Snell D
Energy Veritas 2.8
NHT 2.9

All sounded quite good with this amplifier, with my favorites being the big Energy and NHT and Snell speakers...

I'd strongly recommend something large, used, and capable of good deep bass extension so you can let the nak stretch its legs.I'd stay away from the big uber-efficient Klipsches and the vintage Japanese stuff (Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood) that gets talked about on AK.

What kind of space do you have for speakers? How big is the room? how's it furnished? All of this makes a HUGE difference!
 
I was under the impression they aren't that much different. Just some upgrades.
:yes:
You are correct, I have been told this by Mr Nelson Pass himself; If you are curious the information can be found by searching on the Pass labs section of www.diyaudio.com

Basically, it was a modification to desensitize the protection circuit.
All mkI's were grandfathered to have the modification done for free by nakamichi so many mkI's have the modification done already by long removed previous owners under warranty.

cheers,
tal
 
I have had good results with my PA-7II on:

Yamaha NS-1000M
JBL L100t
and even Pioneer HPM-100

I will be trying them on Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl tomorrow afternoon!
 
I had good results with vandersteen 2ce, Polk SDA's, JBL100t, and several others that slip the mind as of present..
From when I spoke with Nelson he provided a better, never put into production front end that he had designed for the PA7&Pa7II
if anyone is interested..
thr_fe90.gif

cheers,
tal
 
You'll need speakers that have a lot of presence to get the PA-7 to clear its throat. The amp is relative slow and sluggish with a signal which is painfully revealed by NS-1000M's. I've also heard one with the AR-9 which caused it to overheat. Come to think of it, the PA-7 overheated with no signal. I think your Mk. II is better in that regard. Try some bright-ish HPM's or JBL L's.
 
I disagree with SoCal Sam. From 1987 to 1994 I worked in a studio in Boston. For a number of years one room had a PA-7 connected to a set of B&W 801 series II. It ran at least 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, never turned hot, luke warm at the most. The 801 is not a "bright" speaker, tests with other amps did not reveal the PA-7 to be "slow or sluggish". Maybe yours is broken...
Considering the pro-environment, this was a well balanced combination.

Maybe you can pick up some old 801's or 802's from the late eighties or early nineties for less than $1k?
 
I disagree with SoCal Sam. From 1987 to 1994 I worked in a studio in Boston. For a number of years one room had a PA-7 connected to a set of B&W 801 series II. It ran at least 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, never turned hot, luke warm at the most. The 801 is not a "bright" speaker, tests with other amps did not reveal the PA-7 to be "slow or sluggish". Maybe yours is broken...
Considering the pro-environment, this was a well balanced combination.

Maybe you can pick up some old 801's or 802's from the late eighties or early nineties for less than $1k?

The Mark II PA-7's were much better in regards to runaway heat but my opinion stands. For the huge money the Mark I and II sell for, far faster and more accurate amps can be bought.
 
You'll need speakers that have a lot of presence to get the PA-7 to clear its throat. The amp is relative slow and sluggish with a signal which is painfully revealed by NS-1000M's. I've also heard one with the AR-9 which caused it to overheat. Come to think of it, the PA-7 overheated with no signal. I think your Mk. II is better in that regard. Try some bright-ish HPM's or JBL L's.
I disagree with SoCal Sam. From 1987 to 1994 I worked in a studio in Boston. For a number of years one room had a PA-7 connected to a set of B&W 801 series II. It ran at least 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, never turned hot, luke warm at the most. The 801 is not a "bright" speaker, tests with other amps did not reveal the PA-7 to be "slow or sluggish". Maybe yours is broken...
Considering the pro-environment, this was a well balanced combination.

Maybe you can pick up some old 801's or 802's from the late eighties or early nineties for less than $1k?
:ntwrthy: Your golden ears crack me up SoCal.
Very interesting exchanges. It brings back the memory of the battle of Easy Coast vs. West Coast loudspeaker sound of the 1970/1980's. From his quote on HPM and JBL, SoCal Sam is definitely on the West Coast Sound camp, Pandora, East Coast or British Sound. :beerchug: :lurk:

The Nakamichi PA-7 is a Nelson Pass Stasis Amplifier with the goal of driving electrostatic loudspeakers. I have a hard time imagining calling it a "slow and sluggish" amplifier. But SoCal Sam does seem to have stay on top of this for a while.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/nakamichi-pa7-finally-garners-some-respect.205845/

Going back to Nelson Pass, it is interesting to read his own word on how fast is TOO fast in amplifier design.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/nelson-pass-simple-sounds-better-page-4
 
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