Last time I heard a pro amp doing a credible job of driving ribbons, it was
a QSC USA 1300.


What about your beloved Mackies or the new Behringer amps. If the
Mackies are good candidates I could place a resistor in series with
the fan to slow it down and reduce the noise. The Behringers I
understand may be copies of the QSC and could be had for $300.


Try eBay. USA 850s and 900s are the most common "find", usually closing
around $200. Will 375 wpc or so do the job for you? How much does it take to
damage that ribbon? It would be good to not be able to go there.


I think 375 he should be perfect. I would never listen to it that
loud, but it would have more than sufficient headroom for peaks and
the ribbons should easily handle it. BTW, I seem to remember reading
some negative stuff on the 900s, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for all your insights.

BTW, years ago we had a couple of discussions in RAO about blind tests
and I was not in total agreement with your total dismisal of sighted
tests. Even though I still don't totally agree (I think they
sometimes can be used to determine if further investigation is
warranted), I can now see why you were so fervently against it. For
many sighted testing is the measure, especially in RAO and some
magazines I no longer subscribe to (could not take it any longer).
What is really dissapointing though is the level RAO has droped to.
It caught me totally by surprised how my inquires were used as another
excuse to debase any form of discussion.

Regards,
Goyo