Cayin vs. Antique Sound Labs

Buda-

When I had a Cayin TA-30 I noticed exactly the same thing. It was a wonderful amp at low levels, but right around 10 o'clock things would start to go south. This wasn't too much of a problem for me since my speakers were only relatively inefficient (Onix Ref 1's @ ~88dB/W). Anything less than that though and it would have been a big issue.

Gary

I think the real question is "Why are you wasting time and money engaging in trying to match the wrong amplifier with the wrong speaker?"

Thiels are notoriously well known for being very inefficient speakers. Thiels need high current to get them to perform. Tube amps do not provide lots of current relative to solid state. I had to dig deep on the internet to find the specs on the CS3.5 and here is what I found:

S/N = 89 dB at 1 Watt-meter
Impedence = 4 Ohms
Recommended RMS driving power = 50 - 250 Watts

The recommended RMS driving power says it all; 30-35 Watts is not enough. I could not find information on whether the impedence rolls off excessively low in the bass range but if it does, that's another strike against using tube amps.

I have found that S/N data is not a very good measure of rating a speaker's efficiency. What is relevant is the recommended power to drive them (and knowing if the impedence rolls-off too low to be safe on tube amps).

I own a fully modded Cayin TA-30 with the factory Valve Art EL34s and 12AU7s (unknown Chinese brand). The Electro Harmonix 12AX7s were replaced with NOS Telefunken 12AX7s. The Telefunkens significantly improved the imaging of this amp vs. the EH 12AX7s. The amp is driving a pair of Infinity Reference Studio Monitors (RSMs) which have the following specs:

S/N = 88 dB at 1 Watt-meter (some publications claim 86 and 87)
Impedence = 4 Ohms
Recommended RMS driving power = 30 - 250 Watts

I have no problems filling a 14' x 16' room to very loud levels with this amp/speaker combo. The RSMs look more inefficient when using S/N ratings but its the recommended power that shows the RSM is much more efficient. I may be hearing some of the distortion you are describing once the volume hits the 12 O'clock setting but by that point, it's too loud anyways.

I do tip my hat to the ASL AQ1003DT at doing a better job than the Cayin on your Thiels. However, the bottom line is don't waste time and money pairing the wrong amp with the wrong speaker; you're just asking for a fried driver or amp component (and dissappointing sound as seen with the TA-30).

Mr. Kidknow

I strongly feel that the Cayin is a better performer in every way, as I once owned both units. Get rid of the Thiels, they sound WRONG with most tube amps. Get some tube-friendly speakers and your Cayin will sing, making the ASL sound pretty rough by comparison. As good as the ASL is, the Cayin, by virtue of its flexibility and musicality, is the proverbial best buy.