Thoughts? - First Watt F8 / Vandersteen Treo's

@bigkidz 

I drove my pair of Vanderteen model Sevens with an Art Audio 28wpc stereo amp that was simply amazing sounding. We use our own 40wpc class A tube amps that make them  really  sing also.

Art Audio has some wonderful amplifies. Did you have their Carissa 845 SET?

Charles

The difference between 25W and 40 W is roughly 2dB, between 25 W and 100W is 6dB. Unless you're a head banger in a big room, you'll be fine. Just understand the limits, and maybe think of it as 'qui-fi' - as in quiet fidelity. You'll be surprised what a good 25 W amp is capable of.

Vandersteen calls the Treo a 6 ohm load. Unlike most solid state amps which have more wattage into lower impedance loads the F8 reduces power  into lower impedances putting out 1/2 power into 4 ohms so the 6 ohm output is probably midpoint or about 19 watts into 6 ohms. This is way too low power to handle significant peaks. Even assuming the advertised 85 Db for 1 watt the Treo will die above about 98 dB peaks.

That speaker needs some real power. Those first watt amps are designed for baby speakers that are high sensitive.

While the sensitivity of Vandersteen speakers is usually in the 80s, as someone said, their an easy load. Bring your amp to your friend's house. Also, give Vandersteen a call. They'll likely put you on the phone with Richard and he'll tell you what he thinks. For what it's worth, I rad a pair of Model IICe with a 35 wpc harmon Kardon Receiver from the late 70s and it did the job.