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tubes with thiel, meadowlark or revel

I am trying to help a very busy friend assemble his system, or start to anyway. He has the VTL MB125 monos (125 watts in tetrode, 60 in triode) and needs speakers. I'm looking at used, as his budget is $2000 shipped. The speakers I'm considering are the Thiel 3.6s, Meadowlark Kestrel 2s or Ospreys (if some become available) and the Revel F30s.

Musical tastes range from jazz and acoustic to classic rock.

Yes, I saw the discussion below about the 3.6s with tubes, but wondering if anyone has tried these others as well or can offer any thoughts. Thanks much!
one_speed
elevick
2,636 posts
 
Does the VTL have 2 ohm taps? If not, stay away from the thiels. My amp has 2 ohm taps and the thiels sounded amazing-just power hungry.

Consider Coincident speakers to go with the VTLs. Similar sound quality and tube friendly. Plus, way more efficient, 94db vs 87db.

I wouldn't run the Revels with less power than 150 watts and would consider more.
kinsekd
252 posts
 
Elevick is right about the Thiels. I have owned 3.6's for several years. They are notoriously difficult to drive. IMHO, they need a big, bad beast of a SS amp to really make them sing. 200 wpc or better.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 

Despite VTL doesn't have 2Ohm taps it can drive difficult 2-ohms loads. It has a transformer that is stable to 2Ohms.
Power is certainly not enough but models such as MB180 or MB225 can handle these speakers as any SS amp.

Coinsident speakers IMO can sound too bright with VTL since it realy tends to drive low-impedance speakers due to the nature of an output transformer used in VTLs.

A PERFECT match will be mentioned Medowlark speakers!
thefourlawrences15c4
1 posts
 
The Meadowlark Kestrel 2's should sound great with this system. They are smooth and image like crazy! Believe it or not the bass output is very good too. They don't go terribly deep but the low end sounds so real. I would opt for the hotrodded version, it's worth the extra $$. It gives you better internal components and the option of bi-wiring or amping. The Kestrels are very easy to set up and seem to disappear once you get them placed in the right position.
jetkitty
53 posts
 
If you are considering the Kestrel 2s, you should also look into a pair of Shearwater Hotrods (I doubt that you'll find Ospreys within your budget). While I haven't heard the Kestrel 2s, I lived with a pair of Shearwaters for over a year and I was duly impressed.

Good luck!
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