How to accurately gauge speaker sensitivity to match with tube amp?


I'm in the process of matching speakers to my amplifier and need a bit of advice. Most recently, I'm trying Focal 936 towers with my Quicksilver Mono 60w amp. They were sounding pretty decent until I experimented by hooking up my old Adcom 535L amp. All of a sudden, there was a giant jump in control, tautness in the bass, quickness in transients. The QS stuff was doing quite decently, but the Adcom really snapped these towers to attention. The mids and high ends, not to mention the soundstage, were worse with the Adcom — no question. But there was quite a difference with the other qualities just mentioned.

My question becomes one of sensitivity. The Focals self-rated as 92 db. Stereophile rated them as 89.5db. I realize that these are average measurements and a much bigger picture is told by the impedance graph (and other factors).

As I continue to search for the right match of speaker (I have a couple contenders), I'm sure one piece of advice is to look for speakers with higher sensitivity averages. But what else should I look for to help make a guesstimate about whether the amp will drive the speakers with the kind of control they are capable of? [Specs for this amp are here: http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/sixty-watt-mono-amp/ ]

I realize I need to hear speakers, in my house, with my gear, etc. to get a sense of them. I’m working in exactly this way. Your advice can help me eliminate candidate speakers that would pose similar challenges to my amp as these Focals have.

And I just bought the amp, so I don't want to change it.

Thank you for any thoughts. 

P.S. Anyone who has has had great success with this amp or similar, please shout it out.


128x128hilde45
Ref 3A especially the de capos
Klipsch old school run the Quartets with 4 watts
Omega
Audio Note
Zu
Pi4
To the OP

Maybe you did this but....

In order to compare the qualities of one amp to another, it is absolutely imperative that the sound levels be matched. Otherwise, the amp that provides a slightly louder output will seem to have the better sound. A simple Radio Shack SPL meter is a must have tool for anyone looking to compare components, sources, etc.

J.Chip
@fuzztone
I'd call Mike first see what he thinks.
I wrote him. Only had a couple things for me — advises a 4 ohm tap and to get sensitive speakers.

@ieales
I figured my amps would have the power to drive towers. I have heard the ML Motion 60's are easy to drive; and other towers, too. I suppose if I cannot find a tower that has a friendly enough response, bookshelves will be fine. I do have a REL sub that's big enough to do some of what you suggest. (Crossover, gain, and phase.)

@djones @grinnell Thanks for the suggestions!

@jchiappinelli58 I had this very thought. I was conscious of making things equal but it occurred to me that I was just "eyeballing" ("earballing"?) it. An SPL meter is on my purchase list! Thank you.


great thread gentlemen. with tube amplification I've always used loudspeakers with 8 ohm nominal specs. I agree running the 4 ohm taps takes something out of the bottom end but I didn't know how to explain it like some of you techically oriented guys
OP

Dont know your budget but you may want to check out the Golden Ear line of towers. I drive my Golden Ear Triton R1's with 50 watts of tube power which proves more than enough. Most GE speakers have a high spl (mine are 92 spl) and are equipped with class D power amps to handle the bass (each of the Triton R1's are equipped with a 1600 w  class D amp.) This allows relatively low powered amps to easily drive the mid range and higher without strain. Well regarded line of speakers.

J.Chip