What's the best s.s. integrated for Khorns?

ive owned klipsch horns & i ran them with tubes & solid state,i prefered solid state any day over tubes,you hear all the time about how loud 5 or 10 watts will be with 104 db speakers,not 100% true,that statement is subjective to what each person thinks is loud & i will gaurentee you that 10 watts or even 30 or 40 watts will not even come close to giving you the listening level you described in your post.

the thing about khorns or any other 104 db efficient speaker is that they easily expose any weakness in the gear driving them & the biggest weakness of tube amps is the lack of a good strong bass & at loud listening levels the bass will become very loose & weak,allmost strained,from my experience people who like seriously loud music also prefer a good strong thumping bass & with tubes you wont get it.

try not to get too caught up in the whole plastic vs metal horn deal either,ive had all the horn types including the original wood type horns & at the listening levels you described none will make a difference.

klipschfan's suggestion is the best ive seen for what your looking for,try to stay away from midfi gear such as adcom,rotel,parasound ect & stay with top end gear,my personal favorite was the krell ksa 150 class a,that combo was like thunder & the khorns absulutely loved 150 wpc class a amplification.

mike.

hi,

Khorns = tubes not ss for the best sound.

Larry

104db @ 1watt
107db @ 2 watts
110db @ 4 watts
113db @ 8 watts
116db @ 16 watts
119db @ 32 watts
122db @ 64 watts and you start losing your hearing!
Follow the pattern.......
Every 10db doubles the perceived sound pressure/volume.
I spent many years with Hereseys then Cornwalls. My favorite amps were always Class A rated solid state amps by Threshold, Sumo, Pass Labs, Aragon and the sleeper of the bunch was Yamaha's M-80(there is a 60 and 45 also). The yamaha was an integrated too. I know there are a couple of Threshold 400A's floating around audiogon that will blow your mind, not your ears!

I would go with a tube amp, but if you want solid state, and I understand the desire to avoid tubes, then the 2 I've used succesfully with my Duos were a Naim Nait 5i (50 watts, $1500 new) and the Avantgarde model 5 (25W, $3,500 new). Both very musical with the Avantgarde having a bit more resolution. hmmmmmmmmmm both models have a 5. Coincidence? I think not!!!!

110db @ 4 watts
113db @ 8 watts
116db @ 16 watts
119db @ 32 watts
122db @ 64 watts and you start losing your hearing!
Follow the pattern.......
Every 10db doubles the perceived sound pressure/volume.

Jeez, do folks really listen to music at those levels? I thought ear damage starts to occur at over 100db? I suppose you are listening more than a meter away though, and you're talking about headroom here. But still, for me, I don't think with my musical preferences I'd every use those ceilings much.

I tried a class couple of class A ss amps with my LaScalas; a Bedini 25/25 and a Pass Aleph 5. Both were OK but, being used to listening with SET amps with the Scalas neither were anywhere near compelling enough to make me want to give them much of a chance. Neither threw a soundstage like the SET amps, and both grated on me overall. I found myself fatigued after listening for a few hours, more so on the Bedini than on the Aleph.

Marco