Acoustic Zen Adagio, How Good Are They?

Response 34: I'm driving my Adagios with an Art Audio PX25. It's huffing and puffing with 6 watts. But, in my small room (12.5' X 15.5') it sounds fantastic! There is a limit to SPL's with this setup, and I am shopping for more juice, but I have to find an amp with just as much majic to go with these super-musical speakers. Not easy. Maybe one of these days I can bring myself to name the excellent speakers that the Adagios are running out of my house. They cost a little more than 4X the AZ's. Robert Lee is a genius, but it also must be said that he has been working on these speakers for many years. It also says a lot about him that he got his design right before he put them on the market.

Kmillette.. I can imagine just how emotionally involving the Art Audio is with the Adagio speakers. I have run 8 watt 300Bs with these speakers and..........well, you already know.
Maybe a push-pull 2A3 or 300B will give you the control you need while maintaining that sound you now love. I have runn my 25 watt push-pull 300B mono blocs with them and it was enough to make you melt in your listening chair.
Right now I am running a pair of 60 watt push-pull 6C33 based mono blocs an I think I have found the magical combination. For my taste at least!

Response34, I am running the 6C33C too but in SET with my Almarro 318B (NFB) into the Adagios, the sound is really good, perhaps the sound is a bit on the warm side as the lower midrange is quite pronounced but nevertheless it is extremely musical sounding. (I'd believe the Adagio is a warm speaker)

What we have changed is the input bypass Nichicon Gold caps to BlackGate NX in parallel Super-E config (ie 2 stock caps into 4 BG-NX), Mundorf Supreme and Auricap for coupling.

I chose these as well as Sylvania VT-231 and Tungsol VT-229 because I wouldn't want want to pair the Adagios with a slow, warm, laidback sounding amp. The resulting music is really musical and not the Hifi-ish sound you get from many setups nowadays.

Those 60W of PP power must be great for ya. I think that 18W is still somewhat limiting on some programme, even in my smallish room of about 11x15 feet. I hope to be able to play with stuff like 805 or the GM70 someday, with more amps using these tubes.

PS. I heard really good things on your mods for the MIC tube amps, but I just can't bring myself to spend on the V-CAP teflons! And the Russian Teflons are too big to squeeze in. Sigh.

Hi 2100,

I have feeling you're from Singapore. I am too getting the Alamrro 318Bn to pair with the Adagio.

What cables are u using in your setup?

Thanks.

Hi merelyok,

Yup you in SG too? I use the same handle/nick in the local forums (echoloft/Xtremeplace). : ) I guess you'll be getting the same stuff from the same dealer?

Cables....Nothing special, just van den hul CS-122 single run (well the Adagio can't be biwired, so i save here...ha!) and DHLabs Air Matrix w/Eichmann plugs, both silver coated Long Grain copper.

Do change the input bypass and coupling caps in the 318Bn,
you will find that the amp leaps into another league.
Whether or not is it just an improvement or difference depends on your tastes. The Adagio is not exactly very sensitive at 89dB/m/w so for tubes try to go for at least double digit wattage tube amps, esp if your music demands the headroom. The Almarro can be made to match the Adagio and your tastes sonically just by changing the caps, which won't cost much.

Let me know if you have any questions in echoloft, i have a thread on the 318B there.