Amp Speaker Pairing

Pass Labs XA’s, if I had a room that was 19’ wide, 32’ long with 9’ ceiling, I’d be looking at Tannoy Westministers, or at least a pair of Tannoy Canterbury’s.

You have the room length to be able to take advantage of the bass extension the Tannoy’s possess, and that Tannoy sound stage.


Driving a pair of 4 ohm Yvette’s who’s sensitivity is only 86dB, in a 608 sq/ft room with a pair of XA 60.8 doesn’t make a ton of sense, reguardless of their headroom.

Now, an 8 ohm Tannoy Westminster Royal with a sensitivity of 99 dB and a Frequency Response 18 Hz - 27 kHz, even turned up those Pass Labs XA’s will be running in their sweet spot all day long.
Even the Tannoy Canterbury Sensitivity 96 dB. Frequency Response: 28 Hz - 22 kHz.


I haven’t heard the Yvette’s, but I did auditioned the Sophia II a number of years ago, driven by a Bryston 4B-SST, fed through a Sim Moon deck, and for the money...... I wouldn’t buy them, but that’s just me.

That said Chilli, take the Tannoy’s for a spin, you owe it to yourself, see what you think.

Those that have suggest either Tannoy or Klipsch are suggesting speakers that dont have much in common with Wilson. There is a very significant difference in sound and entirely different approaches to speaker design. The best I have ever heard Wilsons sound was with low power tube amps and when they turned the volume up everything went to hell. Now with the new Wilson tweeter this may have changed. 

The Pass Labs amps will drive virtually any speaker. However, they will sound best on more efficient speakers because the amps will operate in class A over a wider dynamic range. I have the XA 60.5s and love them.

FWIW -- I have a friend that moved from the Sophia 1 to the Yvette and he said there was minimal improvement.  It is understandable as it is simply and upgrade on the same overall size and design.  As suggested, maybe the Sasha line would be a better fit for your space.

My current issue is similar as I recently acquired a pair of Wilson 1.  My space is approximately 16x45 with 10' ceilings.  My former speakers are Platinum Audio Quattro that use four 4.5 in drivers(2 mids 2 low).  They ran full range(mfg claim down to 31Hz) and I have two Hsu Research TN 1225 crossed over at 62Hz.  This combination worked very well.  The Wilsons create almost that same low level extension when I am seated in the music room with the Hsu turned off.  It doesn't blend with the Wilsons as I suppose the frequencies are competing.  The interesting thing is once I leave the sweet spot and listen in the far end of this space(dining room) or around the corner in the kitchen, the sound isn't as full as my former setup.  The sub's bass carried through the house better.

You may also benefit from a setup incorporating subs, especially with our similar taste in music as my collection is heavy in those 3 genres as well.  

I'm with the Squire on this one.

chilli42



I you have no problem. 
I heard 2 paralleled GM70 SE (50w) tube amps drive those Yvette’s no problem.

As tested by Stereophile with the XA60.8 you have up to
150W into 8 ohms
240W into 4 ohms
380W into 2 ohms

And the speaker load is not to0 bad, or that inefficient for your amp
https://www.stereophile.com/images/419WilYvfig1.jpg

Cheers George

You might consider looking at the Tekton line of speakers. Ulfberht at $9k. And easier to drive.

@2dgirls.
 Thanks very insightful and helpful.

@islandmandan 
The Yevetts may in fact be too small for the room.  My only excuse is that I auditioned and like the Wilsons but would be the first to acknowledge ... I really don’t know what I am doing.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Wouldn't the Yvettes be on the small side for such a large room? In my 12' X 34' w/cathedral ceilings room, I use 12" Tannoys which work very well for my purposes.

Why such a small speaker in such a large room?

Regards,
Dan

Have you looked into Tannoy, or the large Klipsch models?