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Tubes for inefficient speakers.
- Thread starter Joeviola
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How big is the room the gear is in? Are you listening near field, or using them to fill the house? You can run tubes with 84's, but they should be at least something like 6550's, KT-88's, 7591's. 6v6, 7189's and the smaller wattage tubes (unless in PPP) will generally run out of steam trying to do anything other than near field.
I've got a pair of Totem Hawks that are 86db efficient. I am using my Fisher 800B right now to power them (and they sound great with it.) I'm also about to purchase a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum - at 100wpc with KT120's, that should provide all the power those Hawks need.
mjw21a
Super Member
I'm running B&W DM-16's and they're only 87db. With my Yaqin MC10T they still go louder than I care to drive them. I once turned them up about 3/4 volume with AC/DC's "Shook me all night long"..... My hearing faded out and I got a bussing noise in my ears..... Yeah, plenty of volume still.
The MC10T claims 45W though I've heard other's say they're closer to 30-35W. I don't know, its still plenty loud enough, and sounds great.
The MC10T claims 45W though I've heard other's say they're closer to 30-35W. I don't know, its still plenty loud enough, and sounds great.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
What vacuum tube amplifiers have you tried with them?
What will satisfy you will depend on the acoustic space you're trying to load, the type of music you like, and how loud you like to listen.
Brian
An Old Geezer
There are many amps cable of driving the speakers. McIntosh vintage, loads of the Audio Research. Also, remember many low powered tube amps can be parrelelled for 2x the power. So a 75 watt amp can become 150 watts.
I used to drive KLH Nines with tubes and they do not get less efficient than those beauties. They were limited to 50 watts max and a min of 35 watts.
I used to drive KLH Nines with tubes and they do not get less efficient than those beauties. They were limited to 50 watts max and a min of 35 watts.
Thank you all. My listening room is quite small, so I wouldn't have to fill a lot of space. And I don't play very loud.
I haven't tried any tubes with my pm1's. I just got them to replace some kef ls50's. While the kef's were good they just weren't full sounding. I tried the kef's with so many amps including tubes but the only amp which made them acceptable to me was the anthem 225 which has tons of power and bass.
But after upgrading to the pm1's I have more than enough room filling awesome sound. But now I am wondering what they would sound like with some nice tubes. I am just worried about the tubes not unlocking their power.
I haven't tried any tubes with my pm1's. I just got them to replace some kef ls50's. While the kef's were good they just weren't full sounding. I tried the kef's with so many amps including tubes but the only amp which made them acceptable to me was the anthem 225 which has tons of power and bass.
But after upgrading to the pm1's I have more than enough room filling awesome sound. But now I am wondering what they would sound like with some nice tubes. I am just worried about the tubes not unlocking their power.
Like ejman above, I have a Jolida 502 tube amp (60w/ch - 85w-peaks) and have good luck with some of the more efficient speakers -
JBL L200-3ways, KEF 105.4s, and a few others. Love the amp to bit - having a remote to tweak volume or mute it when the phone rings is great.
But a lot of how much power you need may depend on what music you like and what your listening behavior is like.
What works for Acoustic/jazz type music may be different than orchestral classical or hard metal ...
Yes I usually listen to Jazz, Female vocals and alternative stuff. Nothing heavy.
I'm looking for something that makes vocals sing.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Assuming you're referring to the original products, at least: the Mark III is 50 watts and the Mark IV is 40 watts ('90 peak').
http://www.the-planet.org/dynaco/Amplifier/Mark III.pdf
http://www.thehistoryofrecording.com/Manuals/DynaCo/Dynakit_Mark_IV.pdf
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charles 1973
Super Member
While watts are watts, there are some advantages a tube amp has over most SS amps of the same power rating!
The advantage of tube amps over some (not all) SS amps is the impedance matching transformer allows them to be safely operated at full power into a 4 ohm load. Also in the event of clipping, Tube amps generally soft clip, making it less likely you will fry a tweeter or X-over. With a SS amp I'd use a want 40 wpc operated at 1/2 power for the same situation to prevent the amp from running out of current driving a 4 ohm load, and keep it out of clipping.
Even a 20 wpc tube amp with 84 db/w speakers operated flat will produce about 95 db's continuous SPL's 10' away. That's pretty darn loud considering many of us enjoy our music in the 80 - 90 db range. From here I would put quality ahead of power.
The advantage of tube amps over some (not all) SS amps is the impedance matching transformer allows them to be safely operated at full power into a 4 ohm load. Also in the event of clipping, Tube amps generally soft clip, making it less likely you will fry a tweeter or X-over. With a SS amp I'd use a want 40 wpc operated at 1/2 power for the same situation to prevent the amp from running out of current driving a 4 ohm load, and keep it out of clipping.
Even a 20 wpc tube amp with 84 db/w speakers operated flat will produce about 95 db's continuous SPL's 10' away. That's pretty darn loud considering many of us enjoy our music in the 80 - 90 db range. From here I would put quality ahead of power.
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