Moving away from inefficient/low impedance speaker in order to move to a Tube Amp
I think this is talked about more on the amplifier side...tubes to solid state or vice versa. But as we all know, going with a tube amp requires some effort in choosing the proper speaker. I have Harbeth C7's, which are a very nice speaker....but I'm not willing to spend the money on a high quality 100 watt tube amp. For those that have been in this scenario, please share some additional steps from your journey. Example 1: You had speaker A, but surprisingly found it worked fine with tubes...Example 2: You had speaker A, but it did not sing with tubes, so you found speaker B, and paired it with Tube amp C..... Cheers -Don
I'm driving my Forte IV with 40 watts of EL34 power in a smallish to medium room and its plenty of power . It was plenty of power for my Revel M106 too as long as you didn't want to crank it too loud. Not the best pairing but sounded great at normal to moderately loud levels I am having a 300b built and 8 watts should be plenty for my system and listening habits |
Folks seem to forget one very important factor when choosing an amp, tube or ss, and that is the quality and ability of the transformer. This, IMO, has more to do with the drive capability than just about anything else. The amount of watts/ch is secondary to this aspect. This is the reason that a lot of well built lower powered tube amps with great transformers can sound as loud, or louder, than a much higher output ss device with a wimpy transformer, as an example. |
i suppose IF ya think of mechanical amplifiers aka compression driver / horn and cone breakup as not lossy, a bit of uniform compression ain't the devil you think it is… For those seeking stunningly well designed and executed output transformers look no further than Gow’s MC240 or Roger Modjeski RM-9. 40 wpc and 100+ WPC…. BTW, heard an absolutely gorgeous sounding pair of Harbeth w Line Magnetic low powered amp the other day at Gig Harbor Audio…. Cast a wide net ;-)
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+++ @daveyf right you are, BOTH ( or more ) transformers…power supply , output…and ? |
Ok my 2 cents ,I own Polk lsim707, 8 ohm 88 eff..The manual saids 20 to 300 watts to drive them.But everyone who has tested these speakers say ,you will need 300 to 350 watts to drive them.I had used a SS amps Adcom,Carver,and others to drive them.Then one day I hooked up my Cayin A 50 TP MK 11 tube integrated amp to drive them...I used the ultralinrar sett5at 35 wpc.and have found no problem driving them...I have a nice size livingroom 28x32 with Cathedral ceilings...ok I dont put the volume up like I'm in a concert hall,put they play loud.Every article I have read saids ,you need power to drive them...the tubes do a great job and they sound great. |
