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Bass and Guarneri Homage

Hi,
I've been driving my Guarneri's with 45 watts of 845 tube and I love the mid and high. But, I just plugged in an EAR 534 and discovered that the Guarneris are capable of more bass energy than I imagined. However, the EAR534 as to be expected does not have the transparency and soundstage of an 845 tube. Does anybody have a suggestion of a tube amp that combines the best of both worlds so to speak, and what would you think about an Atmasphere M60 or the Thor 60 watt monoblocs? Thanks for your thoughts, Jeff
jj2468
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,912 posts
 
Jeff, I personally run my G's with the Rowland model 8 which is ss. In my very small room, the G's have enough bass. Would like to try tubes as I am fairly sure that the G's are tube friendly. One amp that I thought would work really well would be the CAT. It has plenty of power and is very sweet. What 845 based amp are you using?
BTW, I think the G's are some of the best speakers I have ever heard and have a level of transparency that is amazing. I recently replaced my Hales with them and prior to the G's had auditioned Kharma's, Wilson's etc in my room. The G's were a step up!
jj2468 OP
280 posts
 
I love the Guarneris. I've only heard two or three speakers that have the transparency of the Guarneris. Of course, they are not about power and if I can get a little more bass energy I'd like it (audio nervosa). I'm driving them with Art Audio Quartets, which are very similar in character to the Guarneris and deliver 45 to 50 watts in push pull. I prefer zero feedback. Whatever component you mate with the Guarneris, the Guarneris are going to reveal its character. A subwoofer with my Guarneris would probably be a great matchup, but my downstairs neighbor would not tolerate it. The range of the Quartets fully extends to the low end of the Guarneri's range and timber, control and speed are excellent. I just don't get a lot of bass energy, which is a function of the small size of the woofer and my use of 845 tubes. If I had unlimited funds, I'd bi-amp and use a quartet of Quartets! I would be reluctant to give up the halographic qualities of the Quartets with the Guarneris. Since I've added a KandK phono stage, it seems that I can pick out individual players in large orchestral recordings. Jeff
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,912 posts
 
Jeff, I am certain in a very small room you don't want a sub with the G's. The G's are so transparent thaI feel you would have a very hard time matching up a good sub to them without loosing some of the purity and transparency of the G's.
Again I guess it depends on room size. The G's remind me of the Quads in this respect, a very difficult speaker to match up to a sub. However, I am not a big bass freak and would much rather have a lightning fast transparent speaker like the G than a large slower speaker with BIG bass. ( The Maxx 2's kind of come to mind.) Just IMHO.
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