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Advice on selecting a tube amp

Sold all of the Sunfire and Martin Logan system when we retired and moved from a huge condo to a 46' sailboat. I'm missing the music.
I am an audio analyst by trade and tend to pick my music apart.

I've got about $1500 to spend and a pair of Sunfire CRM2s. They are small enough for the boat and love the ribbon's imaging capabilities. 90Db sensitivity and 8 ohms.

I'm not physically able to do the modding and such, so I am looking for reliability. Researching the Music Angel turned daunting when I read about the amount of work some of the guys needed to make them perform. Hands shake a bit too much.

I don't listen to loud music much anymore, except a little Pink Floyd. Mostly instrumental Jazz and some Hawaiian slack key.
I want to make the move to tubes and prefer to buy one which I will keep. I'm in over my head, but I like it like that.

I need and really appreciate any suggestions you guys would share.
nicknac
nicknac OP
14 posts
 
RL, Appreciate the reply. We bought a fairly nice boat/yacht. Swan 46. I have the standard boat stereo but it doesn't do justice to the music. I had considered a solid state Levinson or such.
We live aboard full time and I want a truly exceptional system. I figured it's time to try a tube system. It's a small warm place that should be a decent listening environment.
Iv'e heard some jaw dropping things, always from a tube amp. Listening to Yo-Yo-Ma and hearing the horse hair and rosin dragging across the the strings and the resonance of the cello was amazing.
nicknac OP
14 posts
 
Charles1dad, thanks for the input. I will look into them. I appreciate your suggestions.
I am really wondering about what sounds the best. I am really new to this. I've read a couple of places which state that I should be looking at at an SET amp. Most of the SET amps have very low outputs, even as low as 1.5-2.5 Watts.
So my the heart of my current question is, What is the minimum that I should be looking at to drive a 90Db speaker? If I am approaching this right, is wattage the place to start, considering my music choices and speakers?
nicknac OP
14 posts
 
RLWainwright, I checked out the Emotiva Mini-X at your suggestion. Glad I did. I have been looking for something to put in our stateroom and this seems a good fit. I am considering matching it with a pair of Revel ceiling speakers.
There was an old system installed in there as original equipment(1985.) As you can imagine it was pretty bad. Something which might have come out of an old Pontiac.
There are 8" teak grated ports already stained and varnished to match the interior. Hard to find something which fits into that footprint.
Any other good suggestions?
Thanks
nicknac OP
14 posts
 
Mceljo
I've seen Yaquin gear all over. There are a lot of them out there. That say a lot about reliability and performance.

It's a great price, but I do have $1500 budget. If I dont spend it..., well I do have a wife.
There are so many out there and I'm not familiar with any of them so I appreciate your endorsement.
Is there something a you might consider a bit better or is this the brand and model you would go with?? If you had $1500 bucks to blow, would you upgrade?
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Nicknac,
Regarding the SET amplifiers it depends.
Speaker load 'ease' drivability, room size and typical listening levels. I'd guess 6-10 watts as a minimum to manage 90 db sensitivity and an 8 ohm load would be a good starting point. At your stated price range there are more choices with integrated push pull tube amplifiers. The Coincident Dynamo is an 8 watt el34 SET for $1300.00 . And is
said to use very good transformers. What volume levels do you usually listen to?
Charles,
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