@mspot Its driving Fritz loudspeakers Carbon 6s. I use a subwoofer in that system as well.
Cool running, low powered power amp
My regular amp is a Class A, all tube (KT 88’s) affair that runs very warm. For most of the year, it doesn’t matter. But in the dog days of summer, it can become unpleasant in my smallish listening room, where the AC doesn’t reach as well.
My speakers are Volti Razz, which are something like 97 db efficient. My big tube amp is out in California getting repaired, and at the moment, the Volti are enjoying time spent with a Scott 299A. Those 17 wpc are plenty (and sound way better than a 65 year-old amp with original tubes (or at least, tubes marked "H.H. Scott") should. Volti says it only needs to be 8 watts to do the job.
I was thinking of First Watt, or maybe Pass Labs XA 25. But both of those are also Class A. But maybe all Class A are not alike in terms of generating heat. I am not anti-class D, and have had two Class D amps that sounded good, but I’d be more interested in A/B, or cooler running Class A. I'd like to bring it in under $3000, and I am a big fan of used equipment.
Thanks,
David
Showing 3 responses by atmasphere
@dtorc FWIW, we make a 5-Watt/channel class A tube amplifier that can sit on a sheet of notebook paper with room left over. I designed it for my bedroom system. BTW, something to keep in mind about SETs: if they have no feedback (and most don't), their actual usable power is about 20-25% of their rated power. This is because at power levels above that, the higher ordered harmonics start to show up on musical transients. This causes the amp to sound dynamic (since the ear uses higher ordered harmonics to sense sound pressure) but its really distortion masquerading as 'dynamics' and is the source of why so many people say SETs are a lot more dynamic than their power suggests. |