AR LST-2 Advice

J

JohnChi

New Member
Hi gang. Been reading the boards here for years and finally decided to post. Need a little advice on a pair of AR LST-2s I just came into. I have a Sansui 881 and a Marantz 2226B. Will either of these pair well with these speakers or do I need something more powerful? Thanks for your time.
 
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Typically you need 20-25 watts minimum for the bigger ARs but they really
open up with more. The upper limit is basically your tolerance to pain. You
can, of course, over-power them but you probably won't.
 
classicspeakerpages.net for info. The Sansui 881 has 60 watts rms per channel and should be ok. hifiengine.com has the manual(s) free to join and download.
 
RxDx said:
Typically you need 20-25 watts minimum for the bigger ARs but they really
open up with more. The upper limit is basically your tolerance to pain. You
can, of course, over-power them but you probably won't.
Click to expand...

What does "open up with more" mean? Do you simply mean that more power equals louder? Or that somehow having more power than is needed to attain the desired loudness (without significant clipping) makes them sound better?
 
Hi John, and welcome aboard. Lucky you with some LST/2's! It might be helpful to post some specs for your Sansui and Marantz products which would help people advise. At least the LST/2 is not rated with a nominal 4-ohm impedance, but to push all seven drivers in each cabinet, it's good to have some strong juice behind them. Brief specs attached.

AR-LST:2 specs.jpg
 
I owned, and fully restored, a pair. Personally, I would want an amp capable of at least 100 watts per channel. The sensitivity of these speakers is fairly low (similar to other ARs of the era). But of course it comes down to how loud you would want to be able to drive them, room size, and distance from speakers to listening spot.
 
spark1 said:
What does "open up with more" mean? Do you simply mean that more power equals louder? Or that somehow having more power than is needed to attain the desired loudness (without significant clipping) makes them sound better?
Click to expand...
Yes to your second statement (question, actually), from many comments on CSP.
 
With more power, every aspect will sound better. I've powered mine with both 60, 105 and 210wpc. Each power increase yielded better sound. It's hard to explain, but bass was stronger, the mids seemed more open, the highs sparkled more.
 
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Hmmm. I get it if the amp is clipping; that's why I tend towards high-powered amps with all but the most sensitive speakers.

But if the amp has enough power to avoid any significant clipping while providing desired SPL/loudness, I have trouble understanding why having more power in reserve (that is, unused) changes the sound of the speakers.

In any case, like all of the "classic" ARs, you need a big amp if you want to be able to listen LOUD (even if it's only once in a while) without clipping the amp. On the other hand, you have to be careful about listening TOO loud, as you will pop the tweeters.
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. Looks like the 881 until I can luck into something more powerful. This site is great and you guys are the best.
 
I was listening to mine yesterday, and the dimensionality, open sound stage is out standing. Powered with the JVC M-7050 @210wpc.
The bass is not deep. It's punchy, natural some would say, but that opinion depends on the space the original music was recorded.
They don't come close to my 3's, KLH Fives, and even the Sixs go deeper.
 
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