Amplifier pairing for Altec Flamencos

I essentially have the same speaker, which is the Altec 846A. I also use the Werner Jagusch (Mass Mutter on eBay...?) Crossover. The Altec’s with the Werner XO have a very high performance ceiling. I use a Shindo Parallel SET 300B, which is 18 watts. I would like to hear a 40-50 watt PP tube amp, but I can’t say my amp is lacking on power. It may not have the grunt of a KT 88, but there’s always a trade off. There are so many interesting choices that you could consider. I would start with the type of sound you are looking for. I know this may cause a mini uproar, but the type of music you listen to should come in to play. If you’re a newbie jazz guy that has always listened to rock like Steely Dan, The Police, CSN, and singer songwriter stuff, I love the 300B. Perhaps the 211/845 tube should also be considered. I may throw on Zeppellin or Sabbath on every 5th listening session, and for that I would love to have a KT 77, 88, or even an 845 amp in my arsenal. But I still enjoy the harder rock on my Shindo. As for amps suggestions, perhaps the above mentioned OTL is a nice. option. For Push Pull, maybe a used Audio Hungary or Lab 12. A used Shindo Montille may also come in within your budget.

I have experience with Aletec 604E that has similar sensitivity to Altec 846A.

In the mid size rooms that I had 200-300 sq feet, 300B SET has enough power. I used McIntosh MC30 monoblocks (30+ watt), Marantz 8B in triode mode (20 watt), and 300B SET (6-7 watt). I also heard 2a3 Boothed monoblocks with my speakers and they were good enough in terms of power. 

The 30 watt McIntosh MC30 sounded great with my Spendor 2/3 speakers but with super sensitive Altecs it sounded rough and not as natural and refined as a 300B amplifier. 
What is really important is that for a 300B amplifier it has to have a powerful driver tube like 6f6, 6v6 but not popular but weak 6sn7.
The strong power supply with a big and good quality capacitor.
If your room is not huge, I suggest you try Coincident Frankenstein 300b monoblocks or Aric Audio Super 300B SET. Both these amplifiers have powerful driver tubes, interstage transformers and good power supply.

Here are my two cents about Werner Jagusch crossovers.
I used my Altec 604E with the original n1500 corosvers. Then I bought Werner Jagusch crossovers. First impression was very good, but then I realised that the sound is too coloured. I bought a measuring microphone, Minidsp umik-1 and measured speakers. I saw the issues of this crossovers:
1. No frequency correction of the HF compression driver caused significant frequency drop above 4KHz.
2. First order HF compression driver crossover led to not suppressed inverted phase output of derived below crossover frequency that caused significant frequency response dip.
I decided to build a crossover based on n1500 schematics but with modern good quality parts. I got a much flatter frequency response and more importantly a much better sound.

@fjn04  Thanks for recounting your experiences and impressions and most importantly suggestions on amps to look for.

@alexberger Thank you for your very detailed account of your experience and suggestions.  This is invaluable information! I still have the original crossovers mounted on the original backs.  I may have to  reinstall them to see how they compare to the Werner Jagusch. Who did you use/ who would you suggest that I contact to build  upgraded crossovers for Flamencos? Great Plains Audio? 

Hi @jplunkettj ,

There are a lot of information about crossovers for Altec on Jeff Day page. Jeff prefers Hiraga schematic crossover for his Altec speakers.

https://jeffsplace.positive-feedback.com/

https://jeffsplace.positive-feedback.com/%e2%99%ab-vott-system/