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Need some Tube and Class A SS Suggestions

I recently purchased a pair of Spendor D7s and am just loving these speakers. I have them paired with a musical fidelity KW 500 integrated. The combo is super fast, tight, and dynamic. However, the Spendors can be a bit too revealing in the high frequencies given a harsh or bright recording. This has me headed down the rabbit hole of tube amplification and possibly Class A SS. If the lowest bass is not as tightly defined I'm ok with. It actually may be too tight and defined at the moment. Added warmth in the upper bass would be fine as well. And if I'm going to upgrade then maybe it's time for separates too!

Here are the power amps I'm considering:
  • Primaluna EVO 400
  • Pass Labs XA25
  • Line Magnetic 805IA
  • Schiit Aegir Monoblocks - the price is just too good.
And on to the preamps:
  • Rogue Audio RP-5 and RP-7
  • PS Audio BHK Preamp
Ideally I would find at least one of the two Pre/Power used. I can probably get about $2200 for the musical fidelity so budget would be about $6k or so assuming I can somehow get both items used.

I'm curious to hear if any thoughts on what I've picked out already and if there are other units worth looking.

Thanks!
shahram
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
@shahram

What tube amp did you use previously?

I had a Cary CAD120S MKii, rated 60w in triode and 120w in ultralinear. Even in UL mode it didn’t come close to driving the D7’s like the XA30.8 can.

When you are listening at what you consider a loud volume, how far do you push the volume knob? Or where do you never go past on the dial?

When listening to a digital source (streaming in my case) I never turn it up past 10-11 oclock on the dial. That pushes the level up to 95dB or so listening 9 feet away. And the preamp I’m using only provides 10dB of gain. When listening to vinyl I rarely go above 12 oclock.

I’d say most of my listening is around 80-85dB and I’m somewhere between 9-11 oclock usually depending on source.
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I own D7’s and for last year have driven with Audio Research DSI200 SS integrated amp. 200w into 8 ohms. Sounds pretty magical to me. You can find the ARC used usually around $2.5k


Note that they D7’s take a few hundred hours to break in, but when they do they are amazing. It’s that LPZ tweeter that sets the D line apart from the lower Spendor lines. Just fantastic. 
I like it so much I have the D1’s in my secondary system and the older (non-LPZ) SA1’s in my third system. No comparison D1>>>SA1 to my ears. 
shahram OP
116 posts
 
@three_easy_payements

Thanks for the feedback.

How do you like the midrange and treble of the D7s with the Pass Labs vs. the Cary tube amp?

My volume knob rarely goes past 10am with this amp with a digital source. Vinyl can push it to around 11am.
shahram OP
116 posts
 
@kren0006

You are right about the break in. It is happening slowly for sure, but I am hearing the difference as time goes by.

I have been looking at ARC as well. The ARC LS28 preamp is definitely interesting, but a bit pricy at around $4800 on the used market. 
shahram OP
116 posts
 
The Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 has joined the conversation for the preamp. I e-mailed the company and got a prompt reply, so good start there.

Very sexy looking too!
https://backertlabs.com/rhumba-1-3-preamp/

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