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90db, 7ohm speakers: tube amp recommendations?

HI,

I have the new Tyler Acoustics Decade D1's, and they sound very, very nice (still breaking in, but so far, couldn't be more pleased). I was considering a tube amp with them, would be paired with my McCormack ALD-1 Revision Gold+. I was thinking about a lower-powered push/pull design, something with over 20 watts obviously, but I don't need a ton of power for these. Room is around 400 square feet. Any good ideas? Budget is $2000 or so (used). Saw a Canary 301 that had been upgraded (22wpc, lots of current capability) but it sold very quickly. I was also considering higher powered KT-88 designs, but have been told that I may do better with a a bit lower powered amp, vs, say a ARC VT-100 MKii.

Looking for a fairly full, musical sound, but not too bloomy or warm. These speakers are extremely transparent yet musical, and I want to continue in that direction; a bit of tube fullness, but with no loss of soundstage or detail. It will be more or less to try: my upgraded (by SMC) McCormack DNA-125 amp currently sounds superb, but it would be nice to try something else for a bit.

dawgcatching
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stonedeaf
101 posts
 
Quicksilver Monoblocks - they're available used for within your price range. Really wonderful amps - even my relatively ancient KT-88 monoblocks are pretty amazing driving 89db efficient Studio 20's. Word to the wise - always retube used amps -have no idea why so many tube amps only have "around" 200 hours on the tubes - must be a pretty rough couple of hundred.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>Word to the wise - always retube used amps<<

No don't do that.

Only retube if necessary.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
Impedance is just one part of the 'load' an amp sees.
perhaps even more important is the phase angle.... The difference is expressed in degrees and is primarily caused by the inductors / capacitors / back emf in or generated by a speaker.
2 speakers with similar impedance and sensitivity but way different phase angle curves will load amps way different.
This is one of the major differences, electronically, anyway between good, better, best amps. And why an amp with less 'power' will kick the butt of a much more powerful amp, which can't drive the weird capacitive/inductive/back emf load of a modern speaker.
So, not only do you need impedance data, but phase angle data as well....
I suspect the differences in some of the above posters experience is not only based on sheer power....but how each amp responded to the complex impedance of the speakers.
jp1208
502 posts
 
These speakers are going to be sensitive to anything you throw at them. Very revealing and very musical. Tip the scale one way or the other and you will more than likely hear every bit of what the amp has to offer. Maybe trying a more full bodied power cord could give a little more bloom without losing the top end. Cabling may do the trick over a different amp.
newbee
4,792 posts
 
I really don't know much about your pre-amp at all, but apart from that small bit of ignorance and considering your attraction to the potential tonal balance of the ARC amp I would recommend that you consider the Quicksilver V4's (although they might cost a bit more than 2K they have good resale value). They might have a slightly warmer tone but are still fairly uncolored, and not nearly as problematic matainance wise as ARC amps can be. FWIW.
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