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Eminent Technology 8b Speakers - Amp/wattage Recommendations

I recently purchased a nearly new pair of 8bs. I am now looking for an amplifier. 

My preference is tubes over SS.

The room is 23x15x10 feet dedicated for music. 

I like to play music fairly loud at times. 

I will likely biamp, meaning whatever tube amp I end up using will receive a high-pass filtered signal and drive only the mid and high freq panel drivers. 

I am aware that Bruce T recommends 75-200 watts. 

I am considering two options, (a) Quicksilver KT monos with KT150 tubes (100 watts) and (b) another amp by a boutique builder using 4 KT 120 per side and 120 watts. 

My preference is option (a), but worry that 100 watts is not sufficient. 

I would appreciate any real-world experience on how many watts is practically needed with the 8bs. Are they as power hungry as I think they are, or is 100 watts more than enough? 

Does bi-amping make a difference, meaning one can get away with using less watts since you are driving only the mids/high drivers and not the subs? 

Any feedback or suggestions from 8b users would be appricated. 

Thanks much! 

 

 

jwr159
ledoux1238
283 posts
 

@jwr159 I am going to change amps this weekend, give a more considered A/B and report back next week regarding 100w vs 20w amps' SQ on the 8b.

 

@bdp24 New 8C upgrade consists of dipole woofers, front firing 8" and back firing 6", but in a closed box, not OB+ DSP / plate amp.

 

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,519 posts
 

One thing to consider is the added gain from a preamp...

The power amp drives the loudspeakers, the preamp drives the amp, there is no additional gain to the loudspeakers from the preamp. As long as the preamp provides enough voltage to drive the amp to full power that is all that happens. Maybe I'm missing what you are saying? 

jwr159 OP
28 posts
 

Here is a link to the ET website describing the 8c update. For $1500, it is probably well worth it. 

 

http://www.eminent-tech.com/LFT-8cwooferupdate.html

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,816 posts
 

VERY interesting. Thanks @jwr159.

jwr159 OP
28 posts
 

bdp24, my understanding is your are using the GR Research OB subs in place of the sealed subs on the 8bs. May I ask the details on how you are implementing the bi-amping.  Are you using a high pass filter of some kind between your main amp and the LFT mid and high freq panels? 

BTW, I called ET yesterday and mentioned adding dipole subs with the 8bs. They suggested running the dipole subs in parallel with the sealed subs on the 8bs. The supposed advantage is that with 4 subs in the room, room modes will be mitigated. Probably worth experimenting, but I am not sure it will be easy to get the sealed and dipole subs to integrate well together. 

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