Fusion
Active Member
No, Dan, I am not moving forward yet. I still have some interest in the Raven, Prima Luna and LM products. Right now I am settling the speaker issue. I just ordered a pair of ATC SCM 11 v2 speakers to try out. That will help me settle the amp questions.
Nice. I enjoyed reading WhatHiFi's comparison between the SCM 11 v2 and the 118's. Looking forward to reading your impressions.
An SET amp will often act as a sub-optimal tone control. Which means you have no idea how it's going to sound until you hook it up. If there is an impedance dip at frequency X, there will be a change in the speakers response. A huge change you can't predict without knowing the exact curve of the speaker impedance.
I get the whole thing....and bowing to the golden glow of a 300B. Don't forget I'm Mr. Tube. I know this shit. If you have the money to try it and get out, go ahead. But these same guys in an effort to make an amp that is clearly handicapped work will hook up the worst friggin' speakers in the world to them. Just so they can have a speaker with a 16 ohm impedance and 96dB sensitivity. Read the reviews. Like these Lowther drivers that don't have tweeters. Then to make their point they will say things like "Oh it's so liquid and smooth". Of course it's smooth. Lowthers don't have true top end extension. And you have no tweeter. Let me save you some time and trouble. If you want to get the SET experience with Lowthers, but not lose money...just unhook the tweeters in your system.
LOL, I think I'll leave my tweeters connected. I think the high frequency extension of my speakers is a strength and not a weakness.
Now having said that, I own one!!! But I look at it. It's cute and fun. I turn it on once a year. Guys it's cool to do this if you face reality and say it's fun. But to say it's high fidelity, it's just not so.
I guess I'm not overly concerned with high fidelity vs. coloured sound but your warnings about the Cary's unpredictability are something I'll keep in mind. I don't want to overthink things...I like my speakers enough to know I want to hang onto them, and they are relatively easy to drive (plus I have the AN AX-Two's as well). I could pair them with many different amplifiers and they will sound very good. So it's worth looking at amps that don't have severe limitations and that I know will be able to handle my speakers without any straining.
Lastly what about the Sugden A21a. It's SET but solid State and has more oomph at 20 watts? Or First Watt. These beat up a number of tube amps IME as well. And without any tube hassles. The problem with my kit suggestion is that you're stuck with them - I can't imagine them having any real resale value.
I've considered Sugden. Not sure it would scratch the itch to tinker like a tube amp would, but I'm sure a Sugden and ProAc pairing would have excellent synergy.
I may have to give Finale Audio more of a look. They are local and so I could stop by and listen to some of their models. They have a new 6L6 integrated on the horizon that looks interesting. 10-12 class A watts, price is good. http://www.finaleaudio.com/up-coming/ - scroll about half way down the page.