Amp change/upgrade for JBL4367 (94dB 2Way with Horn tweeter & 15" woofer)

Thanks all for your inputs. I am amazed no one recommend Mark Levinson.

That's probably for a good reason :)

I have a pair of JBL 4367s, bought them soon after they came out. Great speakers. I use a McIntosh MC 452 and a C2500 and the system sounds fantastic imho. Prior to getting the McIntosh gear I had a Pass XA 30.5 and X1, which worked fine but I prefer the Mac gear. I also use a pair of JL Audio Fathom subs

Thanks all for your inputs. I am amazed no one recommend Mark Levinson. The main reason I included Mark Levinson is: 1)JBL & ML are under same company: Harman. 2) Most high end audio shows JBLs are paired with Mark Levinson. 3) ML has great reputation of sound quality. And last 585 integrated with DAC for $5500 used is quite a bargain (compared to Pass int 250 $7000 + DAC )

I think that you should try tubes! The best tubes amps I have ever heard at a resonable cost are the Atma-sphere OTLs. You will need a preamp of which many are available on Audiogon or as new. Atma-sphere also makes a less expensive preamp which I have yet to hear. I owned a Pass Labs 30.8 and found it not to be transparent and to have a definite house sound which didnt impress me when compared with OTLs, other much more expensive SS equipment as well as some other tube amps. Newer Levinson is to be avoided and I am not a fan of McIntosh gear but I havent heard the newer iterations from this company. I also would steer you away from some of less expensive tube amps from Rogue and Schiit.

In most rooms a 60 watt tube amp would do nicely on a speaker like that.

i have found that the JBL's love current.

If you drive this speaker with a 100 watts, because its 6 ohms the current will be slightly less than 4.1 amps. It won't matter what sort of amp is driving the speaker - tube, transistor or class D, the current will be the same.

I own the 4365's and i have found that the JBL's love current. I've tried them with EL34 40w mono blocks, 400w Class D and 50w Class A and the best they've sounded is with the ASR Emitter. 

A few comments:

1)  Power-  For these speakers, at a 12 foot listening distance, 10 watts gives 99 db, 25 watts 103 db, 100 watts 109 db, and 200 watts 112 db.  The OP said he mostly listens at lower levels, where 10 watts would be more than sufficient, but if he wants to turn it up, perhaps to listen to an orchestra at live levels, 200 watts will keep him from clipping at the peaks. 

2)   Totally personal, but for me of the three amps, it is a no brainer, Pass Labs.  I always found them wonderfully transparent.  I liked older Mark Levinson, but they lost me when their Proceed and 331-333 amps started dying early.  McIntosh has never done a thing for me, always providing adequate power, but sounding lifeless.  To me they are the B&W of electronics.  

3)  I would be tempted to try tubes with your system.  Perhaps something like the Rogue Pharoah integrated with a tube preamps section and solid state amp section.  

One thing to keep in mind with Class A amps, high biased Class-B, and tube amps; they all put out a lot of heat and use a good amount of energy.  They make nice room heaters in the winter, but depending on your room, could sweat you out in the summer.  

Thanks. I don’t quite understand the advantage of say: 30 W class A vs a 250W class A/B. Isn’t the class A/B has the advantage of both ? Example:Pass Int 250 don’t leave class A till 15 W and has all the extra class A/B reserve up to 500 W into 4 ohms! Why would a 30 W class A be a better choice over the 250 W A/B???

I'm sure some one with more direct experience with your speakers can add more but here are your specs. 

• Sensitivity 1W @ 1m: 94dB.
• Nominal Impedance: 6 Ohms.

those specs off hand look easy to drive.

You have a wide open world of amplification at your disposal and you don't need huge power 25wpc and up I'd think. 

So something to consider is less power and save some money. I really don't think you'll need 300wpc or close.

I have speakers that are 94db and 6 ohm nominal and run them with 8wps. for example ( granted i'd think 20-30wpc would be idea for my speakers)

I bet a Pass labs class A amp would be wonderful or maybe a Luxman Class A amp. 

No reason to pay extra for all that power if you wont ever use it. IMO

Something to consider.