Cornwall IV – tube (amp) choice

Tubes: Oh Yeah!

Power: enough, but not too much, with future considerations:

efficiency of 102db/1w/1m: ’not much’ power needed.

I drove my similar speakers (horns, 15" woofers) with 30 wpc tube amps for many years (they came with Fisher 80az mono blocks). Then 35 wpc, now 45 wpc, more than enough, never near full volume and I play fairly loudly, like live in a small club.

I only moved up in power for feature reasons, 30wpc is no compromise for those Cornwall IV's. I had and sold McIntosh SS 300wpc, the tube amps/15" woofers make lots of wonderful sounding bass, don’t worry about that.

That let’s you use a variety of tubes, so combine tube type research, optional tube uses (some have switches for this), easy Bias.

Personally, I have used EL37’s (originals, too pricey now), EL34’s, 6LC.... 5881, 7591, 6550, KT66, KT88, (never tried low power or higher power 120’s).

With my similar speakers, I preferred the KT66 in the Fisher 80az 30wpc tube mono blocks; and now prefer the KT88’s in my Cayin A88T 45wpc integrated tube amp

Consider weight/size/heat/placement options (as well as cost) when considering size of tube amps, line of sight for remote controls, ...

Your speakers can be either Bi-Wired or Bi-Amped. You might think about that now, more significant than tube rolling. That would be a very good reason to have a separate tube preamp with remote control features, and mono-blocks near the speakers.

Think Long, Go Deep.

I have the Willsenton R800i with all replaced all stock tubes and it sounds sublime with my Cornwall IV's. I am actually in the process of selling it to fund a Luxman 590AXII.

If I had to do this all over, I wouldn’t have gotten my Primaluna. I think I would get Quicksilver. That’s a dead honest opinion. I got the PL just so I could tube roll more than other amps...to hear as many tubes as possible before I get my final tube amp.

That said, the PL is so damn well made, reliable and easy to use. It’s dummy proof. You can do a lot of things wrong and it will save your skin.

Yes I have 8 tubes in my Evo 400 but they’ll last forever (hyperbole).

After some time, you will notice that the other stuff sounds marginally better. But you get that by running the tubes a bit hotter.

What PL achieves in sound quality while driving tubes softer is quite remarkable. PL gets a little more hate than the rest for being a European brand made in China. But I need to say, I have been so thoroughly impressed with quality in ALL areas of the ownership experience.

I was going to trade up until I got my Tannoys. It’s a match made in heaven...now I feel like I’m stuck with PL. First world problems.

I have an Ayon Scorpio XS driving two Klipsch Hersesy III's and the sound is amazing!

EL84 based amps like the Black Ice F11 should not be dismissed unless you lean toward the leadfoot on volume.  104dB sensitivity means that 18W is like 300W with 91dB speakers.