$$$Sensitive Speakers with $$Amps?

Jaybo,
My questions aren't so much about choice of speakers as about if there are relatively low-watt amps that can equal the SQ of much more expensive choices.

I am heading in the direction of sensitive speakers in the 96 to 99dB range, but my current amp is a 6550 35-watter.

I happen to love the sound of the Hornings and have listened to many speakers of different types from multiple shows. The Horning sound is still my personal favorite after three years of listening. However, I always hear the Hornings paired up with $20K to $40K amps. There also seems to be a movement away from Lowther drivers and I got caught up in threads and reviews about the ex-Lowther-based Rethm speakers. I have not heard these yet.

I was at the 2011 show in Montreal where I heard the Voxativ Amppegio speakers which caught my attention. For me, those fit my ears pretty well. I would find out that these cost $30K, so that wasn't going to happen. After finding out that these speakers received Stereophile's Product of the Year for 2011, I read a review in Six Moons where the Rethm Maargas were preferred over the Voxativ in a head-to-head listen.

In the Six Moons article, the Red Wine Audio Signature 15 integrated amplifier was claimed to be an excellent match for driving the Rethm driver. As this amplifier is only $1,500, I became curious if others out there have had excellent results with lower-cost/low-watt designs.

It's a good question.

Are there really super values out there for these type of amplifiers, or do the typical spending rules apply?

The short answer is yes. Your job is to go out and find the really super values.

I own a pair of Hornings, the product previous to the Aristoteles, that I use in my second system. Given their resolution, the quality of amplification certainly does make a difference.

My opinion regarding amps that retail for $20K - 40K is they are often boutique products and/or produced in countries (often, Europe or Japan) where a price premium gets applied. While you don't need to break the bank to drive them, you don't want to aim too low, either. And, as a surprise to some, due to the onboard woofers, you want to give the Hornings some power as well, more than you might consider otherwise. You don't need to go overboard, but in order to not have them come across as unbalanced in a bright way, you don't want something limpwristed.

Push pull tubes seem to do best with them. Triodes generally are better than pentodes, though my Jadis DA60 and Dynaco ST70 marry well with them, for whatever reason, my Jadis JOR and DA30 not so good. I own a cheap Chinese 6AS7G push-pull integrated from Jas that also makes me happy. Best of all was a Deja Vu 15 wpc push-pull 2A3.

I also have spent a fair amount of time with Jacob George of Rethm. Should you go in that direction, you can away with less power than the Hornings, due to either not having to drive any woofers or having them powered for you. Still, aim for quality, as the Rethms will reflect your decision there.

AMps must always be matched to speakers for best results.

In the case of high sensitivity speakers, like horns, my first concern would be noise levels. If the amp is not dead quiet, chances are you will hear noise. I would focus on assuring the amp is quiet today and also reliable so that it will stay that way.

Tube amps work well and sound lovely with most HE speakers, but noise levels are more problematic with tubes in general. Tubes must be replaced periodically as noise levels creep in with age.

So I would be wary of inexpensive tube amps that might be more likely to have or develop noise issues, but I am also confident that inexpensive good ones that are also quiet are out there.

A lot has to do with expectations regarding noise levels and what bugs you. I prefer dead quiet background but have learned to live with marginally higher background hiss noise levels with my modest tube gear. I cannot tolerate other kinds of noise or easily audible background hiss when I listen because I was not brought up on tubes and not used to that kind of thing. So it all depends.