2. amps-preamps
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25 watts Class A or 70 watts Class A/B ?

I understand these days there are many good examples of both Class A and Class A/B amps. To the point that a well designed Class A/B can beat a similar pedigree Class A amp. However my question is in particular related to these two amps:

1. First Watt F5 (Pass Labs)
2. Naim NAP 300

The speaker to be driven is a Tannoy dual concentric Turnberry SE. It is a 93 db sensitive 8 ohm load and in general considered to go well with both high powered and low powered amps.

F5 is a highly purist class A 25 watts design with a robust power supply. It is a push-pull design so it can generally drive difficult loads better than typical single ended first watt models (F3, F4 etc). I have heard the F5 on an Altec horn system and I loved its pure and direct sound.

Naim amps in general has always appealed to me, again because of their very direct presentation. Music has a certain excitement and bounce through them. The NAP 300 is one of their top models and I am sure it will be a very refined amp.

However I will only buy one. Both these amps must be having few fundamental differences in the way they present music considering they are coming from very different designers. Even the topology is different here.

The first question here is, can a 25 watts F5 drive the Tannoys well ? My room size is 200 sqft and I listen to music at reasonably medium to loud levels. I dont play very loud though. I listen to all kinds of music from Mozart to Metallica.

Qualitatively, sound per sound, how do these two amps compare ?
pani
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
Bombay,

Liberty is our direct to the consumer brand which focus more on the entry level to high end. We currently have two products a Phono Preamp the B2B-1 which have received praise form many reviewers and consumers, theres even a few reviews of it here on Audiogon.

The other product is the Power amp I mentioned above the B2B-100 which has also been very well received. Currently working on a fully balanced line amplifier hoping to have that ready for the Newport Show where Liberty Audio will have a display room, right next to PBN Audio.

Good Listening

Peter
pani OP
1,219 posts
 
Lots of interesting suggestions. Few points worth mentioning:

1. I already have a Naim NAC 52 preamp. So adding a NAP 300 would not be an issue from the matching stand point.

2. Bombaywalla, thanks for your suggestions. Somewhere within, I know a high powered is always desirable for this speaker. But I am at a stage where I am unable to find an amp with a good balance of quality - quantity - cost. The tube vs SS battle is also on. After listening to the Wavac for the past few months, I am getting too critical of less than stellar sound from an SS amp. But then finding a neutral, high-resolution tube amp isnt easy either.

3. Charles1dad, you are really fortunate to own a 14ohm speaker. That is a cake walk for these 300B SETs. I auditioned the Wavac on a pair of WHT speakers which were 11ohms nominal impedance. The wavac could drive it to rock concert levels. So, in a way you are pampered :-).

4. Islandman, your suggestion of changing the speaker has already been on my mind since last couple of months. I have been weighing all options. After a lot of research and introspection I came down to this:
The Wavac remains among the most accurate sounding amps I have ever heard. Near flawless, I would say. However it is like a tool, a very high precision one. Tannoy prestige speakers on the other hand are a work of art. They might have flaws but to me they remain one of the most satisfying/fulfilling speakers to listen to music on. Since the time I acquired it I stopped bothering about better speakers! I mean even when I hear a better speaker I do not care because this Tannoy doesnt let me worry. When I auditioned it, it was being driven by $1k chinese amp and even with that I was floored. This speaker remains the best purchase of all time in my audio journey. I just do not know what to replace this speaker with (except the higher Tannoys). Till that time I will keep it.

The problem at hand is to maximize the sound for the money. I have written to Reno hifi for the F5, lets see if I could get a demo. I am at Singapore btw, so the typical demo policy probably wont hold for me.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Pani,
As much as you like the Wavac it is apparent you admire/adore the Tannoys even more.This being the case, your amplifier search makes sense. You're right, a 14 ohm speaker load is ideal for my situation.The 8 watt SET provides effortless drive and ease of musical flow{same as Dan described with his system}.
Charles,
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,913 posts
 
If you are open to tubes, our M-60 can drive that Tannoy with 60 watts...
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islandmandan
1,260 posts
 
Pani, from what little I delved into the design of your Turnberry's, and from listening to a pair of them at a friend's home, I gleaned they are a more difficult load than Monitor Gold's or HPD Tannoy drivers.

I am in the position where I just couldn't afford one of the top of the line Prestige speakers. Being in Singapore, a hotbed of vintage audio enthusiasts, you should have access to many vintage Tannoy drivers.

I know in recent years, prices for older Tannoy drivers has risen to near ridiculous levels, but where you are located, you may be able to find a bargain.

I spent a max of $4500 US to build my custom HPD's, which includes reconing the woofers with Hard Edge surrounds, custom crossovers using Mundorf SIO caps, Dueland reisitors, and Alpha Core inductors. The cabinets I had built of a total of 1 7/8" MDF @ 150 liters, and weigh 192lbs. bare weight.

They haven't disappointed in any way yet, no matter what amplification I've thrown at them. My point in all this is, especially in Singapore, having some custom built Tannoys should be very doable. I wish you luck.

Best regards,
Dan
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