Question re input Sensitivity and 110 db speakers

Well, if you don't actually HAVE the amp to test, I think the conceptual answer to your question is--no the amp is too powerful. Even adding an attenuator (a fixed one anyhow) isn't necessarily going to help. I would have thought the whole point of using such wildly efficient speakers would be to use a very low powered set tube amp.

Tarsando, why won't an attenuator help? Please explain.

As far as an attenuator taking away from the precious signal, some designs place nothing more than a resistor in the signal path. We're all in trouble if a single well chosen resistor can make that much of a difference.

I am curious to know which speakers are you using that have that sensitivity. I know Klipschorns were rated at about 102db, but 110db completely blows me away.

I said it won't necessarily work. I bought some rothwell attenuators for a preamp whose output was so great that I could not use it. Adding the attenuator made virtually no difference--not enough to make the preamps volume control usable. THe key is your "well chosen"...value for the resistor. Give the original poster the right value and sure....but I don't know what value to tell him. Do you?

I doubt you will need an attenuator or padding of any kind, though it certainly is an option. I've used powerful amps with 104db LaScalas and had no such problems as you're anticipating. My friend was running a 200wpc Mac amp with Khorns which have a 104db efficiency rating - Don't recall any problems there. I'm currently running 500wpc mono amps into 92db efficiency speakers with no problems at all. I don't get much past 9 O'clock on my volume, but that is really not a problem (it still is a smooth transition, over a shorter rotation). The combination I'm using sounds wonderful to me (not necessarily because of the pairing of high power and efficiency). Obviously your speakers are likely a great candidate for lower power SET amps, as Tarsando points out. That's not to say they can't sound great with another option. Certainly with the higher power amp you will not have to use nearly as much of the volume, but it is not going to be an all or nothing scenario.

Marco