OP, the key (if I may) is in what I said: Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 6.5 ohms minimum, 14 ohms at crossover point Again: with a 6.5 ohm minimum impedance, they should NOT be hard for a wide variety of amps to drive. This is the same with Fritz's speakers, and so you can stick with tubes. Just get an amp with good transformers. Here's a brief explanation: https://youtu.be/tvTLYqB4Zfk?si=h3wM3Xwehi4SmCrX |
Bobby P and I listened to a lot of his early Merlins together, typically on tubes. I’m still a big fan of the midrange/treble clarity and presence I get from good tube amps. There are a lot of good choices. Having a bit more power never hurts, but IMO it’s more important that it sounds right to you. VTA from tubes4hifi still offers some good American iron at reasonable prices. Kit or finished. Bobby’s old audio pal, Ken Stevens (CAT), still makes some of the best tube amps going, and are priced accordingly. I’d also consider a tube preamp. |
I ran Merlin VSM for years, tubes all the way. Push pulls really liked them with EL34, also ran them with 845SET even better. Always great with the Joule amplification as well, I ran Joule LA100 MkIII pre with all the amps. Not difficult impedance curve with these,don't need much tube power.
Depending on voicing you're after you should consider changing out the pre rather than amp. The Joule pre's always good match and Bobby's usual pairing. Joule LA100 series nice, 150 and 300 better, Joule has meat on the bones sound quality. |
Signature Sound services Merlin speakers and imports Ars Sonum tube integrateds which I think Bobby was originally importing and using with his speakers.
https://sigsound.com/product-lines/ars-sonum/ That said any good pushpull amp in the 15-25 watt range should do just fine with those plenty of choices out there. Synthesis from Italy is another brand worth checking out. |
