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Transmission line speakers - great with tubes

Can those with experience, explain why transmission line speakers are great with tubes? I've been using my Buggtussel Circa speakers, which are transmission line based, with both my Scott 222C and John Hogan 300B SET.

The sound is just outstanding! I thought I was going to run into trouble because the Buggtussel Circa's are 89DB sensitivity and the Scott 222C is 18watts/ch and the JH 300B is 8-10watts/ch.

The sound is so good in fact, that I've bought another pair of transmission line speakers to (possibly) replace the Buggtussel Circa's. The new (to me) speakers that I have coming are a pair of Meadowlark Swallow's. I'll post my impressions of both of these transmission line speakers.

It's fairly close to an "apples-to-apples" comparison. Both are 2-way configurations, same sensitivity (89DB), fairly close tweeter and woofer sizes, and employ high quality point-to-point crossovers.
vman71
vman71 OP
218 posts
 
I think it may have come across the wrong way. I'm just very surprised that the TL speakers that I used with my SET and pP tube amp worked so well together. I thought the 89DB sensitivity would cause problems. The TL speakers are definitely not as nice as when I use my Klipsch. Nevertheless, I was just sharing my surprise at how well the TL speakers worked with the SET and PP.

Sorry if it came across any other way.
sedona
144 posts
 
If you get a chance to pick up a pair of Buggtussel Amygdala's .... grab them. The TL bass on them was one of the best I've heard.
audiokinesis
2,737 posts
 
I'm not familiar with the Circas, but Kevin Blair of Buggtussel went to great lengths in his designs to achieve an unusually smooth impedance curve. This makes more of a difference than most people realize, and is probably among the reasons the Buggtussels exceed your expectations with low-powered tubes.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
Good luck with the amygdalas. Buggtussel is no more.
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,975 posts
 
Smooth impedance designs sure do work better for set etc. But a TL is just a TL. My friends shop was a BuggTussel dealer I was able to hear in my home most of the BT loudspeakers. Never tried them on SET seemed to thrive on more power. Nice build. Well sorted designs. Just not my cup of tea dont know why...
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