Perfect speakers for audio Research Classic 30

Ok, maybe you were more interested in the politic conflict than in my banal request?


 Mario

Mario, I’m not sure I know what you mean by "sing and fly" because my GH’s worked amazingly well with my D70mk2. Your Classic 30 isn’t quite as much power, but most likely has similar headroom.
Another option..a pair of Quads..would sound very nice with the Classic 30..and you wouldn’t risk overdriving the speakers.

One of my favorite systems ever included the ARC Classic 30 and Thiel 1.2 speakers. I worked for 2 high end shops and that pairing was magical in a audiophile way and a musical way. I don't remember the source or pre amp, sorry. I had the ARC Classic 60 and Thiel 1.2's and it was also fantastic, but the 30 was better with the 1.2's. 

I have ProAc D30R’s driven by various nice ARC tube amps of roughly the same vintage as your Classic 30. (My amps are VT60, VT50, V70). I run a nice REL subwoofer to augment the low end. Listen to jazz and vocals mostly. The sound is wonderful. Saturated tonality, great sense of space, very organic, but still quick and impactful when needed.

I think a key to making this ARC amp work well with a solid state digital source is a tube linestage to ’round out’ and ’fatten’ the sound profile. I use nice CJ linestages to accomplish this - Premier 16 or ET5. The older CJ’s would do the same. The Classic series (my V70 is a close relative) errs on the side of sharpness and lean bass, while giving you wonderful transparency and sense of space.

Another thought is to look at the input and driver tubes in the Classic 30 - buy some old stock tubes which can play warmer tones and fatter bass than modern Russian tubes typically supplied by ARC (if that is what your amp came with).

If you were to mate ’warmer’ speakers to the Classic 30, I would think about Vandersteens, Spendors, Sonus Fabers, perhaps higher KEFs and Linns.

Good luck and take care.

@ marqmike  it is not the first time that I heard about this pairing, and since the 1.2 are really cheap, although undoubtedly oldish, it could be a good attempt...

@ jjss49 I'm sorry but I've the opposite problem, my D30R in my room and with my Classic 30 (which has half the power of all your amps...) sound too "fat" and thick and bass is not out of control but not so precise and controlled, surely I don't need a subwoofer.

And I've a very good ARC LS25 mk1 but it doesn't better the situation and recently I prefer to run the system with my Ps Audio Directstream dac directly connected to the power amp, the sound is a bit more defined and controlled.

Regarding tubes I've just ordered a couple of RCA Clear Top nos, and I hope that they will produce exactly the opposite effect than to furtherly warm the Cl 30 tonal balance, after that it will be the time of the power tubes, which are probably part of the problem as they are not the original 6550 but two couples of chinese KT88  branded Audio research, probably old and tired, I'm thinking to two matched couples of

- SED Winged C
- TAD 6550 A STR
 
or what the italian distributor is suggesting me

- Sovtek 6550 WE

Some other suggestions about tubes are obviously welcomed...


Sorry jjss49 for not having been able to explain my problems...


Mario