Hi Srajan, what are your thoughts about using the Crayon CIA-1T with the Qualio IQ speakers? When it comes to watts I think that it has enough power. But I read that the IQ likes a lot of current. Does the CIA-1T put out enough current to make the IQ perform at their best? Also, the CIA-1T's damping factor is only 40. Will that be enough to control the IQ's bass? Peter
I don’t have a CIA-1T so never heard it on the IQ. Also, it’s not the bass that likes a lot of current but the Sartori widebander because 1/ it’s open-backed so has no air compressed in a box to support the return stroke, 2/ also wasn’t especially engineered for dipole mode with a stiffer surround and suspension. You’re right, power alone isn’t the issue but current definitely wakes it up. A friend tried a 25wpc class A amp on it then was shocked when he heard the same speaker on my Kinki monos. When he came home, he bought the Kinki stereo amp. Srajan
Thank you. Since you reviewed the CIA 1T I was hoping that might know what the current output was. With respect to my question about the bass is about the CIA T's low damping factor. Some speakers need a high DF amp to control the bass. I wonder if a DF of 40 is sufficient to control the Qualio IQ's bass. Peter
Just because I reviewed something years ago doesn’t mean that many rooms and systems later, I have anything really useful to say about it; never mind on very specific specs. Sorry, Peter. I live in the real not dream world. And, one more time, repeat after me: what needs more damping in the IQ is its widebander not the ported woofer. I really hate repeating myself. Srajan
I appreciate your willingness to answer my questions. And I understand that you don't like repeating yourself. But since it still not clear to me, I am going to ask you one last question and hope that it doesn't irritate you too much. Whether it's the Qualio IQ woofer or widebander, is the CIA-1T's damping factor of 40 too low? A simple "Yes, it is too low" or "no, it isn't too low" would suffice. I promise that this is the last question. Peter
After all these years you still believe that hifi shopping by numbers gets you anywhere? I’ve never heard the CIA-1T/IQ combo to know how this gear interacts and I don’t believe in simply recommending things on specs so your guess is as good as mine. Of course you could ask Qualio directly. They probably have a very educated notion because they've experimented with many amplifiers on their speaker; far more than I have. Srajan
Just to be clear, I didn't believe in basing purchases on specs (and for the most part I still don't). But when considering the Cube Nenuphar, the general opinion/suggestion was to use an amp of low damping factor. I had never even considered the idea of damping factor prior to reading that. But it was good to have been made aware of this fact in order to mix and match wisely. This becomes even more crucial now that I'm retired and on a fixed income. I have to buy knowing as much as possible beforehand because buying and returning, while certainly helpful, still requires an outlay of funds for shipping. I would like to keep that at a minimum if possible. Once again, I thank you. Peter
I guess my question becomes, why can't you just be happy with what you already have? We've been here so very many times before. The buy 'n' sell hifi game is for guys and gals with plenty of spare change. Can't you finally call it a day and enjoy the tunes? If you can't as it appears, I still think the best approach is asking the chaps at Qualio. They're very approachable, honest and definitely experienced with what electronics even for a modest outlay get the best from their speakers. I'm just a reviewer, not a personal audio consultant doing house calls. Srajan
