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Can tube amps play loudly?

Hello Gentlemen,

I'm in process of upgrading my current system. It's all junk...Onkyo receiver, Wharfedale speakers, etc. I've finally finished grad school and have decided it's high-time to upgrade to a quality two-channel system.

I've heard tube amps in various settings and love the way they sound. I'm strongly considering starting with one of the modified Cayins on the market (Bizzy Bee or PrimaLuna versions).

I’ll preface my question by noting that I am a total tube “newbie,” and I’m sure my question will speak volumes about my relative youthfulness. Here goes: Can tube amplifiers in this modest price range play loudly?

I realize this is dependent on the speakers and their sensitivities. What I'm looking for here is a relative ballpark estimate. There are so many good speakers on the market that I don't even know what to start looking at seriously. If I could weed some out based on their sensitivities, that would help me out a lot.

So, does anyone have any rough decibel ratings for tube amps similar to the Cayin? If so, what sensitivity are your speakers? I do realize that decibel ratings vary widely depending on amp power, speaker type, distance, etc. All I want is a rough estimate.

Any thoughts from anyone would be appreciated. I’d like to be able to narrow down my speaker choices before I start shopping seriously, because I don’t want to waste my time or a dealer’s. Plus, I’d like to know whether I can even achieve respectable volumes with tube amps on my modest budget.

Thanks!
-Chris
cds9000
edesilva
768 posts
 
Er, Swampwalker & Jeffreybehr, I think on a log scale like db, 3dB is double. I also believe that SPL drops off as the square of distance, so 6dB for 2x distance seems right. But, 4m is only double 2m and 2m is double 1m, so I'm thinking a total SPL dropoff of 6+6dB or 12 dB, which still gives you 90 dB SPL @ 4m, no?
delsfan
19 posts
 
You only mentioned amps - but the higher end integrateds have become very good and you'll save the cost of one extra set of interconnects too. For beginners that actually have an ear for good music, some of these integrateds are too good to pass up.

Unless I get talked out of it, my next purchase will be the Conrad-Johnson CAV-50 integrated amp ($1500 or less used). With all the good stuff out there (and the quality of care given to 99% of audiophile equipment) I almost will not buy new anymore. I'd rather be a year or two behind the curve and pay half price. But that's just me. I don't think you could go wrong with this integrated amp.

If you are going to run your CD player (with variable outputs) directly into an amp, there are several C-J MV-55's for sale on agon. I believe these have 10 wpc more power than the integrated version.

I'm not up on speakers right now (well, I've been considering Magneplaner and Martin-Logan so that's of no help to you). However, I would pick up this month's issues of Stereophile and The Absolute Sound as they each have their "best equipment" picks for 2004 included. If you know little, you can learn a lot about equipment in your price range in a very short amount of time.

You'll get some good advice here; for a good overview of what's going on in the equipment world, the latest issues of these two mags will quickly further your education.
soliver
67 posts
 
go to this site www.smr-home-theatre.org and find the article "Power, How much do I really need?"

It has a chart that will probably answer your question pretty well. It shows for a given loudspeaker efficiency how many watts are needed to hit various loudnesss levels. Of course these aren't absolutes but I think it will answer your question well enough.
lokie's avatar
lokie
528 posts
 
Make sure you get an amp that has a volume knob that goes to "11."
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
Cds9000,

Many tube amps will rock your house down. Achieving volume won't be your quandry. Finding an amp that will cover the wide range of your musical genres will. It's a little like playing golf with five clubs in the bag. It can be done, but you will notice the gaps in the tool kit.

My wife and I went through a similar audio journey, and we settled on two systems run from one CD player. We owned and auditioned many tube amps--even as powerful as 140W-- and while they had the warmth and 3-dimensionality we loved, we could not find one that had the bass impact we wanted for rock/metal/blues. Again, not a volume issue. Rather, more of a tonal requirement.

If we had only one amp, we would keep our hybrid. It is not the 'best' at anything, but it covers every genre quite capably. That is not to suggest that it would be right for you. Rather, I would say that it is most important to look/listen for the amp (and speakers, which are just as crucial) that will answer to YOUR listening needs. In the end, you may notice those 'gaps in the tool bag', but there are some amp/speaker pairings that will ultimately satisfy you on all counts.

All the best,

Howard
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