Spatial M3 Triode Master Preamp/amp choices
If you are willing to get away from the tube idea a really great integrated amp that is a within your budget and goes well with the Spatial's is the newest version of the Kinki Studio EX-M1 at $2398 shipped. I've tried EL-84, EL-34 and KT-88 tube amps with the M3TM's from 35-60 wpc monos and was never satisfied with the extension on either end. https://www.kinki-studio.com/ex-m1 |
Thanks @atmasphere , @jackd and @jjss49 for steering me strait. I can definitely tell that my old NAD 2100 is not up to the task of adequately driving the Spatials it works great until i start increasing the volume over 90 db and just doesnt seem to do much. I normally do not listen loud but i do not want the speakers restricted by a mismatch of equipment. I am not wedded to tubes, in fact, i have never had tubes. The Kinki studio is one i had thought about. There are also favorable reviews for the Doge PACD MKIII push pull 60w kt88 amp. There is also an Audio Research VT100MkII available in my area with new tubes in it. I also wondered if a LTA Microzotl used as a preamp paired with a new Purifi amp might be a good combo for the Spatials? Are there any l tried and true combos i should consider for the Spatials? |
I know our amps work very nicely on that speaker according to Clayton. I would expect the ARC to be a bit dry on that speaker. The Purifi amp with a tube preamp is worth exploration- depending greatly on who did the implementation of the Purify module. You might also look at Berning as he has some very musical amplifiers that should work nicely with the Spatials. |
if you want to avoid tubes just get a hegel rost or h160 or h190 be done... absolutely brilliant sounding ss amps that will grip the spatial’s woofers and be transparent and free of any ss harshness it will not give you tube sweetness but it will provide utter blackness of silence, tremendous bass foundation and control, and a super sophisticated refined midrange and treble... you can then add a tubed dac for some tubey magic i have no affiliation to hegel (other than having 4 of them hahahaha) |
I own the Spatial Audio M4 Triode Masters. These are the smaller version of your speakers. I started with a Cary Rocket 88R tube amp that was good for 60 watts in ultralinear mode. I tried EL34 and KT88 tubes but the bass just disappeared when music was played. I listen to mostly jazz at normal levels so it's not like I was asking for a lot of bass. The amp was a good one but I don't think the tubes played well with the open baffle speakers. I then moved on to a solid state CODA 10.5R amplifier (100 watts with first 25 watts in Class A) teamed up with an LTA mz3 preamp. This combination is very good and provides all the bass the speakers can put out. The LTA MZ3 was so good I decided to try LTA's ZOTL10 amplifier. Even though the ZOTL 10 is only 10 watts, it drives the speakers as well (if not better) than the CODA amp. Even though the ZOTL is a tube amplifier, the low end frequency response is more like a solid state amp. Given your budget, the LTA amp and preamp are going to be way over what you want to spend. For your budget, I would recommend a used quality solid state amplifier like the CODA ( I purchased it used for $1,200.00) and a new or used tube preamplifier. |
