2. speakers
  3. 166566-161297

Amp for Vandersteen 5A Carbons

Getting ready to, very possibly, make a deal for a pair of these Vandy's. Wondering if my amp will do. It is more than fine with my current speakers, some older Infinity's with powered side-firing subwoofers, but those speakers have a sensitivity of 96 dB. The Vandersteen's is 87 dB.

My amp is an Audio Research VT100. 100 watts/channel.
serlvz
8 responses Add your response
jackd
1,037 posts
 
Your only going to be driving the top half of the speaker with you amp so you should be fine. You will be high passing at 100hz. 
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
The VT100 has some power but It's hard to say if it will be a perfect match. I'd try it out before I would look for another amp. 
gdnrbob
4,411 posts
 
@jackd , gave you good advice.
The 5a Carbons have built in subs that relieve the amp from the power draining bass notes.
100wpc is fine.
If you want other opinions, go to the Vandersteen website and sign up for the forum.
Bob
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,370 posts
 
I'm using Ayre with great success.   I have a large listening room and am glad I have lots of power.  Be sure your in line filter from amp to speaker is properly set.....you could ruin the drivers if not.
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,610 posts
 
vt100 should be fine... great amp... hope you have a mk2 or better yet mk3 version

enjoy...
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,469 posts
 
In terms of power, you ought to be fine given that you are not driven low frequencies.  Tonally, you might find that you want something a bit more forward though.  Obviously you can't be certain of that till you get them in the room.  Very much depends on room damping, etc...
nmmusicman
276 posts
 
I have a pair of Vandersteen Quatros and run them with a Pass Labs Aleph 3 and have plenty of headroom. If my little 30 watt high current class A amp has no issues, your 100 watt tube amp should be just fine. 
nrenter's avatar
nrenter
765 posts
 
I ran a set of Quatros with a 60 Watt (into 8 Ohms) Ayre Ax-7e (Ayre installed crossover) with no issues whatsoever. In a small to medium room it was really nice. You should be set. 
Log in to respond
More to discover
80x80
Acoustic Energy AE-120
80x80
ATC SCM20PT
80x80
Vienna Acoustics Baby Beethoven