2. amps-preamps
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25 watts Class A or 70 watts Class A/B ?

I understand these days there are many good examples of both Class A and Class A/B amps. To the point that a well designed Class A/B can beat a similar pedigree Class A amp. However my question is in particular related to these two amps:

1. First Watt F5 (Pass Labs)
2. Naim NAP 300

The speaker to be driven is a Tannoy dual concentric Turnberry SE. It is a 93 db sensitive 8 ohm load and in general considered to go well with both high powered and low powered amps.

F5 is a highly purist class A 25 watts design with a robust power supply. It is a push-pull design so it can generally drive difficult loads better than typical single ended first watt models (F3, F4 etc). I have heard the F5 on an Altec horn system and I loved its pure and direct sound.

Naim amps in general has always appealed to me, again because of their very direct presentation. Music has a certain excitement and bounce through them. The NAP 300 is one of their top models and I am sure it will be a very refined amp.

However I will only buy one. Both these amps must be having few fundamental differences in the way they present music considering they are coming from very different designers. Even the topology is different here.

The first question here is, can a 25 watts F5 drive the Tannoys well ? My room size is 200 sqft and I listen to music at reasonably medium to loud levels. I dont play very loud though. I listen to all kinds of music from Mozart to Metallica.

Qualitatively, sound per sound, how do these two amps compare ?
pani

Showing 2 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,867 posts
 
In this case with those speakers, having never heard either combo, I'd probably try the lower power Class A amp first under the assumption that good Class A > good Class A/B and that either amp is capable of driving the speakers to suitable volume well in the target listening room.

Not to say the Class A/B amp might not sound better, especially if the room is larger and listening levels higher in general, but if I have to start somewhere....
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,867 posts
 
Obviously the Pass has a lot of upside if it is up to the task in your specific setup and room. So there is some risk with this option, possibly worth taking.

The Naim is a safer bet, and will still likely sound very good!

So if it were me, I would only buy the Pass if I knew I could change afterwards without taking a financial hit. You could buy used, not overpay and resell if needed, or buy from a source with a good return policy. Then if does not work out, you still have good options and little downside other than extra work to change and perhaps a small financial hit, depending.
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