Best Pre-Amp/Amp for Focal JMLab electra 920

Price is not necessarily indicative of sound quality or , more importantly , synergy . You would do better to just state a dollar amount as some here may not know what your speakers originally sold for years ago .

Some of today's newer tube amp designs are trying to incorperate the plus's of SS with those of tubes . That is to say that they will not be rolled off at the extremes . My Primaluna Prologue 2 is one example . But , as Aball eluded to above , you may need more power than the 40 w. that they produce . Higher powered tube amps can get expensive .

Good luck .

I have the Electra 915s, and I also listen mostly to classical. These are unusually transparent speakers at the price range, so good equipment and proper toe-in are helpful to avoid sounding hard. I have paired them with Rotel and PS Audio's HCA-2/PCA, but my favorite combinations have been Musical Fidelity and the BAT VK60 tube amp.

Like the speakers, the MF gear is more transparent than usual in its price range. Some of the older MF gear was a bit soft in the bass (like the original A3 series), but their newer equipment fairs better. All the MF gear I've heard has airy treble, not harsh, which is a good match for JM's inverted dome tweeter. The older MF gear has a more upfront presentation, though I have read the current lineup is slightly darker and more laid back.

The BAT tube amp had a more full-bodied sound, with plenty of current for the 915s, which have a tough impedence dip. The VK60 avoids syrupy euphony while still retaining tube gear's richer harmonics and more palpable rendering of space with only a slight sacrifice in very low bass authority. The 920s have a more friendly sensitivity and do not have quite as bad an impedence dip. The BAT is a big tube amp, however, and can heat a listening room in the summer. Some of the new tube integrateds from Cayin or Prima Luna may deliver enough current for all but head-banging levels.

Based on prior experience, though not heard with the 915, I think Krell would also be a good match. Krell has a slightly dark sound in the treble, like BAT, giving a more relaxed presentation. The KAV 300iL or 400ix are two excellent, high-powered integrateds. They have plenty of power, and will control the woofers without complaint.

Toe-in is also important. Less toe-in reduces treble energy. Fortunately, the JMs are a wide-dispersion design and do not require heavy toe-in for good center fill. Make no mistake, the 920s are large speakers, and can use a large space for the bass to blossom fully enough to match the top and. I spent more time than usual getting the 915s positioned, but they are capable of disappearing sonically with good electronics and adequately sized room. My room is approximately 12x17 with a 9-foot ceiling.

In solid-state electronics, I should add that Ayre is another excellent choice. Sonically, I'd say it's somewhere between Musical Fidelity and Krell, and about as close as transistors come to a tube-like rendering of space.

Congratulations on purchasing a fine speaker! Its a matter of taste what kind of equipment you end up using. 920's are not a difficult speaker to drive so you have a wide range of choices between solid state, tube, and integrated amplifiers. My 920.1 are driven by Sim Audio P-4001 pre amp feeding Sonic Frontiers SFM-75 monoblocks (75 wpc). My father also has 920.1 being driven by Audio Refinement Pre2DSP pre/processor feeding a Audio Refinement Multi 5 power amp. Both systems sound very good even though they are very different. If I had a choice I would go with a YBA power and pre amp combo. By the way if your 920 speakers are not broken in yet the sound becomes much better after many and I mean many hours of break in. Good Luck!

Thanks for the opinions, everyone!

I think the speakers should have been broken into, since it's been owned by a very passionate and professional musicial, driven by Classe 100W mono blocks, he told me to run a test by holding a small piece of paper to the tweeter, that shows that the hardness might comes from the source that I am using. I believe I'll get better sound when I get the right amp and CD player.

:) will keep everyone posted on my progress.

(PS: really into the idea of tube, now thinking of borrow a set from friend to test it out before I buy it).