Are Low Power Tube Amps Worth The Troubl

Coincident has a "new" speaker at their website rated at 95 db. I would discuss it with Mr. Blume to see if he has designed it with either low powered push/pull or SET tube amps specifically in mind. There is another manufacturer, I think that their name is Swan (and not the Diva one) that makes wooden horn loaded (the bass anyway) speakers. Doug (Sedond) had given me their website once, but I lost it. Good and efficient means expensive as far as I know. It also will depend on the amp itself as some seem to have a lot more driving power than others rated at the same power output.

I have a pair of 91db Ribbon Hybrids (Newform Research R645's) that work well with the 35W AES-25 Superamp (DJH Version). I listen almost exclusively to large orchestral music and have been pleased. Am looking for just a little more oomph for the bottom octave and may augment with subwoofer. Otherwise, the dynamics are fine. My solid state Amp (Odyssey Stratos) goes lower and has more visceral impact. However, it does not have the sweet midrange or highs of the AES.

3chihuahuas: There is something else in regard to horn speakers that I would like to mention (since you may be looking into them). From my experience, "most" horn speakers require that you do not sit very close to them, to get the best sound. I am sure that others may disagree with this general statement, but I feel that this is "one" of the reasons that many people do not like their sound (they auditioned the speakers while sitting too close). I don't have an exact distance or anything nuts like that but off the top of my head I would guess at least 10-12 feet and even further might be better, depending on the setup (for instance I have heard large/huge vintage horn speakers sound great to super from 20 feet or so in larger rooms).

If you need affordable, high-performance speakers for a SET and don't have the money for full-range horns, try the Super12's. One of the biggest problems with SET amps is getting sufficient bass at low power and still retaining the magic mids/highs. These puppies go to 40Hz and are 97db efficient! They'll go loud and deep on just about any music, especially if you are using a 8 watt 300B SET amp, plus you'll have all the SET magic you could ever want.

The only slight drawback is that they come as a simple kit for the drivers and crossover, you have to build the boxes(or have someone do it). Anyway, the kit is only $600 and the speaker boxes can be made for about $60-100 with simple MDF boards. It's dimensions are 14.5" x 14.5" x 48".

Check out the reviews on the Hammer Dynamics website and also the Super12 modifications page. There are quite a few people who have taken the performance to near reference level. You can email or post them from the Single Driver Website that hosts the Tweaks page. Search the archives on the Single Driver forum for posts. Also check Audioasylum.com

BTW, they'll work great with any amp, SET, push-pull, Ultr-linear, solid state.

http://www.hammerdynamics.com/

Super 12 Tweaks:
http://melhuish.org/audio/super12.htm

I auditioned the Cary 300BSEI (15W per channel) with my Jean Marie Reynaud Twins mkII's (90dB sensitivity) at a local dealer. I really couldn't afford the $4k amp, but I really wanted hear what the SET sound was all about. Also, the Twins are $900 speakers, so that may not be a fair match(but price isn't everything, right?).

The Twins are amazingly musical with my Audio Refinement Complete Integrated SS amp, but the Cary made their best traits even better. The combo was magic! The sound was so much more spacious and airy, also the midrange was incredibly textured and real. Vocals, wind instruments, strings, and even bass! Deep musical bass like I'd never heard before that was amazingly detailed. I could hear resonance of the the drum heads. Cellos and Oboes were absolutely scary.

Now there were some downsides that are also partly attributed to the Twins medium efficiency, mainly that on more complex passages absolutely all bass dropped out. Just gone. The amp would quickly run out of gas for the low frequencies. It also had the effect of flattening out the mids and highs, or at least reigning them in slightly. And I'm not talking about giant orchestral crescendoes, but anything with more than 4 sparcely playing instruments. And forget about rocking out. I posted about this on Audioasylum and many people said thhat is a shortcoming of Cary amps, I don't know if this true, though because tha is the only SET I have ever heard.

Although, I had a chance to play a cd of traditional Japanese drummers and the deep, powerful, bass was simply incredible, even the multiple drum tracks still had punch.

Matching that amp with more efficient speakers would have been incredible. ALthough, equally good, if not better, amps for much less than $4k. Thorsten Loesch, a SET guru and audio reviewer has been using a very cheap(in price) $775 pair of "The Billie" 300B monoblock amps from diyhifi.com with superlative results. They are a very simple kit with less than 20 parts +/- a few. Anyone with simple soldering skills can assemble them. Or you can buy a great looking, pre-assembled set of the amps from http://www.consonance.com.hk/ Look in the Signature series. They look great, although the website is very slow tonight.

My final impression is that SET is absolutley where the real music is for me, when I can afford it. I'm shooting for next year because I just upgraded my system 6 months ago.

Good luck, and audition, audition, audition. Take your time because you'll have to live with your choice for some time.