Tube Amp for Green Mountain Audio Callisto

Srosenberg,

95 dB peaks at that distance is a far different story than 80 dB - in fact, you need about 32 times the power! So, forget what I said about a 300B and definitely forget about the 2A3! :)

(I know you didn't indicate you were looking at SET specifically but I thought I'd throw that out there.)

IF you are interested in SET, an 845 or 805 design would still serve you well. Or, actually paralleled 300Bs for around 20W.

I have a Response Audio/JoLida 60 wpc tube amp, as well as a Mapleshade-modded 18 wpc Scott. Both sound fantastic with my Callisto. With it's 90 dB rating, most any amp over 10 watts will drive it. Basically, it comes down to quality versus quantity with this speaker- although more power is always good for speakers IMHO. enjoy!!!

I would make sure whatever amps you choose have a "zero-negative feedback" option or are simply "zero-negative feedback" amps. Roy's design is both time and phase-aligned, so, personally, I'd only put hardware in front of my Callistos that also maintain the time-domain integrity of the audio signal.

I have only use Ayre hardware with my Callistos, but I have owned a set of AES Sixpacs and thought they sounded great. You can run these amps with zero-negative feedback. They only have a couple of drawbacks - they produce a bit of heat and with 12 EL-34 power tubes, they ain't cheap to re-tube. That being said, if I was in the market for tube monoblocks, the AES Sixpacs would be on my shortlist.

but I have owned a set of AES Sixpacs and thought they sounded great. You can run these amps with zero-negative feedback. They only have a couple of drawbacks - they produce a bit of heat and with 12 EL-34 power tubes, they ain't cheap to re-tube. That being said, if I was in the market for tube monoblocks, the AES Sixpacs would be on my shortlist.
Nrenter

Amen! I too owned a pair that drove my Green Mtn C1.5i floorstanders & I too can say that I really liked the sound of the combination.

If the originator of this thread is looking for tube monos this is one amp that he should short-list.

In my fantasy world where I have a system in each and every room of my house, one system would contain a fully tricked-out Cary SLP-98P and a custom set of Sixpacs painted to compltely match the pre-amp. I think that would be a cool setup.

One more thing to note about the Sixpacs: There is a lot of iron in each monoblock. If you've not lifted one, you'll be surprised exactly how heavy each amp is. New they are a bargain. Used they are a steal. Make sure they are packed *really* well.

If you decided to consider SS integrated, put the Ayre on your short list.