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Is 45W enough power to drive B&W N805?

I have B&W N805 with Sonic Frontier SFL1. I am looking for a used Tube power amp to drive N805. By budget is $700 - $1300 used. What should I put in my short list? And do I need to consider power rating? Would 45W be enough to run them? My listening is not too big and I do not listen too loud to scare my neighbors... Thanks in advance. Dan
cobra95
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I ran a pair for a while with a Cambridge Audio A3i 50 watt integrated amp. Worked fine at mid or lower volume levels. I think the "official" power range of these speakers is 50 to 200 watts per channel at 8 ohms.
hardear
12 posts
 
if u r running clean not over rated 45 watts per/ch,,, u should not have any problem...go listen to VT60
trelja
3,223 posts
 
Haven't heard them with many tube amps, but I can tell you to be careful. I did hear them with C-J CAV-50, and it didn't have enough to drive them(by any stretch of the imagination). The current demands were too great for this intergrated amp(just like the MV-55 power amp) to handle. I think that maybe an amp based on 4 EL-34's might not have the guts. You might try one using 6550/KT88/KT90. Amps based on these other amps tend to be more expensive, and not as magical. Maybe look at the bigger used C-J, Quicksilver, SF, AR, etc.
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