Amplifiers: Voltage vs Current
Speakers: Voltage vs Current
Electrostatics and tubes
I am looking to get some new to me speakers, I've been looking at options and would really like to try a set of planars "electrostatics". I have read or heard somewhere that as far as speakers go they tend to be inefficient (85 to 89) vs.90+(db) on the Klipsch or Dali's I've been tossing around as a standard speaker option. I guess my question is would I need to worry about any over heating issues. I plan on using plenty of power with a set of VTA, M-125's to power them. I am looking at a lower budget set maybe Martin Logan ESL 9's or Magnepan 2.7i . Just wondering I would hate to over heat a few hundred dollars worth of tubes if I don't need to. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ don't roast me to bad I cry easy 
thanks.
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- 50 posts total
Your message made my heart beat faster. I also restored a pair of ESLs and Quad IIs during the 70s and still groan at having been forced to sell them at liquidation prices when I was forced to downsize in retirement. FWIW, after spending years pairing the speakers with numerous power amps, I could not find a better match than Quad's own 1950s-vintage Class A Quad II monoblocks. Today, I listen to gear that is an order of magnitude pricier than my old ESL/II combo, but in many ways, the Quads still remain unmatched. Que lastima. Boy, you would have loved the Quad IIs when they returned, all shiny and refurbed, from Quad’s UK factory! Here are the only photos I could find, shot at different times during the restoration process. You can see my 220V Quad IIs to the right of one of my Dynaco projects-in-progress, as I originally purchased them, including NOS Quad-branded tubes.
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A good set of tube amps will be magic with M-Ls. I have an older pair of Sequel II's which do have lower impedance than the more current versions of their ES Hybrids. These speakers and some ReQuests I heard (back in the day that the ReQuests were being sold new) driven by ARC tubes was the best sounding system I had ever heard, for under $20K, save for my friend's $15K Sound Lab A1's driven by Jeff Rowland amps. He and I went to a demo of Boulder amps with a total system cost of well over $100K and it's couldn't touch the quality of full range sound of the electrostatics. |
@hotrod6871 If all I ever drive is a Honda Accord, it would be fine to get me from place A to B. I would never know the excitement of stepping on that pedal, hearing the engine rev and deep sound of the exhaust note coming from the rear. I would never know that feeling of coming up on a curve in the road, stepping on the excelerator as I reach the apex. If I drove a Corvette or Farrari, I would know all those feelings. A low watt tube amp will give you all the excitement of the Honda. You will hear sound from your Maggie's or Electrostatic speakers, but you won't feel the music. Most of the tube people will say, they play just fine, they would on a highly efficient speaker. And since they are driving the Honda, they don't know the difference. I would say, buy a used Classe Amp, one with 200 watts and over. You'll be able to find one on this site for around $2000. Test it against the tube amp you want to get. Those older amps hold their value and if it doesn't work out, you can sell it for what you paid. I am not downing tubes, my front end on my Maggie system is a Bottlehead Foreplay, backed by Classe CAM350 Monoblocks. My Acoustat Spectra 33's are backed by Acoustat TNT200's Monoblocks by Roy Esposito. All this to say, I've been around the block with panel speakers and I know what drives them best. Enjoy the Music |
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