Gone are the days of the great audition.

02-16-13: Jmacinnis
So what type speakers would be "unfriendly" with a 40-60 watt tube amp then? Sensitivity below x???

With tube amps it's more than just a power thing; it's an output impedance/damping factor thing as well.

First, with the power, it's a combination of speaker sensitivity and room size. 36 wpc may be plenty for a speaker of 87 dB efficiency and up in a mostly enclosed room up to--say--14x18. If it's a much bigger room or open architecture and you listen to big band, metal, and/or largescale orchestra, the power may not be enough. If you listen to more acoustic small ensemble music it could be fine.

The other part is that some tube amps have a high output impedance, which means they need to see a load of 8 ohms or more. Some speakers also require a higher damping factor (related to the amp's output impedance) to control woofer cone excursions. These factors comprise what is often meant by "tube friendly. That is, a speaker with a higher average impedance and no great requirements in damping factor.

In the case of your PrimaLuna, however, it has large enough output transformers to offer 4-ohm taps, so that part of the "tube friendly" equation is taken care of. Your amp is very highly reviewed internationally. Still, for a floorstanding full-range speaker the GoldenEar Triton series have built-in amplifiers to power the low bass drivers. This provides an easier task for your PrimaLuna to shine where it's best--the upper bass and above, especially the magic you get in a tube-driven midrange. And there are two locations in Greater DC where you can audition them.

Thanks johnnyb53....hitting the goldenear dealer tomorrow. They also sold me the amp so they want me to bring the amp with me. Now this might just be a great audition. Vinyl preselected!

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Jmacinnis & Rocker, I have given your idea some thought.. I thought about approaching mfgs to use my place as a demo room for their speakers that don't have a dealer in my area (LA)that stocks the speaker....no sales from me, just a demo fee. The demo fee is credited back to the customer if he purchases from the mfg or a local dealer that doesn't stock the auditioned speaker.
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Yes Mitch!! Let us know what they say. Good ideas have to start somewhere, especially where there is a need.

Seeing an ad in the Seattle Times that Magnolia HiFi is having a "moving" sale at their Roosevelt store, I went to see if they had any good bargains. Turns out they are "moving" to a small space in the big Yellow Sign store a few miles away. While I didn't see any terrific deals I was interested in, I have to say the loss of a stand alone Seattle stereo brick and mortar institution is a disturbing sign of the times. I realize that Magnolia was bought by the Yellow brand a while ago, but the Seatle stand alone in the Roosevelt district was the anchor for three smaller shops on the same block, and was the last tie in Seattle to a local icon. This move was inevitable, and while I still bought gear from the stand alone store as recently as this year, I doubt I will visit the new "location" that much. In addition to the three surviving shops, there are two more boutiques less than ten blocks away in the U District and another downtown, making Seattle relatively flush with HiFi B&M stores. But I have to wonder for how long. kn

PS - Johnnyb53, Tim at Experience Audio sells Dynaudio speakers. Check him out.