Class T amps and Zu Druid Credenza's

i've tried about 20 different amp combos with my druids and all i can say is a little power dosen't hurt. about 35 or so. i used an old oxix a21 with great sound naim nait, pure sound tube int. bewitched int. all killer. theres also the mccormack micro stuff amp and pre that should fill the bill as i use them with my druid clones[druid drivers in a homade box] my pair of amps cost $650 pre/amp. when i, if i ever finish my speakers i'll post 'em . 13ply birch slate plynth oil caps .my heman amp is a dna 500 and like i've said in other post 135db is cool.

I've run my Druid Mk4/08 with 30W class-t and 100 WPC class-d ICE, and aside from level and some bass control (as you would expect) there is little to distinguish them. That sonic-t amp really is very good, and when you get right down to it, class-d is class-d. I am astonished by how little difference there is between a $50 implementation and a $2000 implementation.

You are right though, you need at least 60W for the Druids. They are efficient, but they are not horns.

Tgrisham,

All the REL's I am looking at have a line level sub input. I will be using a preamp with a line level sub output with the amp.

Just in case you didn't know, Tripath amps cannot have a common speaker neutral without shorting out the chip. This means that using a sub would require a sub output jack on the amp. You cannot simply bridge from the speaker outputs as most RELs are designed.

I own Druids with the 08 drivers, and my Super-T amp sounded good but not great. My experience is that despite the 101dB rating, the Zu FRD needs a bit of power to really come alive. I went from Monarchy SM-70 Pros (fabulous sonics but too noisy) to the Super-T (not enough power) to an Almarro A205A (still not enough power) to a First Watt F4 clone (REALLY nice but not quite enough current) to my current Audiosector Patek, which sounds just right. My only curiosity now is around OTL amps, and I might try an Atma-sphere S30 someday.

I ran all of these with a tube preamp. I never tried a higher power TriPath amp, but it might be worth a demo with the Credenzas. All the amps I tried were under $1,000.

David

I plan on purchasing a REL sub to compliment.

With a room that size,you might want to consider the floorstanding Druid Mk4/08.Just a thought.

Tpsonic,

One input would be fine. One other note is I do like to play things loud from time to time.

Have thoroughly enjoyed my Winsome Labs Mouse/Blue Velvet.Can you get away with one input??
There will be differing levels of performance,based on the chip used.Do some reading about the various ones.

Budget - Less than $1000
Room - Family Room 16x18 10 foot ceilings. Large walkway to the kitchen on the left side.
Other Equipment - Worried about matching the amp to the speakers at this time. Preamp might be needed if the amp I get does not have a matching preamp or if it is not integrated. (alot of the class t amps are)

What price range do you consider "budget"? What other equipment are you using? How is your room configured? These things need to be factored into the equasion.You will get better rec's from folks if you let them know this stuff.Good luck.

Yes I was referring to the TriPath module.

Also open to other budget amps including tubes that work well with these speakers.

By "class T" do you mean based on the TriPath module? If so I can recommend, although there is lots to an amp outside the control module. I have three CarverPro ZR1600 stereo amps which are based on the TriPath module, and they are as good or better than my three CI D200 mono amps that are based on the Hypex module. The D200 is "audiophile approved". The ZR1600 is a pro sound amp, and is therefore bad mouthed by audiophiles. They are missing out on a damn good deal.