I'm a long time audiophile who is finally getting a decent system together. I have an old Yamaha a1000 av receiver I use for stereo only, and just bought Teton lore s speakers as a first step to overhauling my system. I listen in a large glass room with carpets (i cant change the glass or put up room improvements) to a wide variety of music, mostly from my macbook itunes and cds, from opera to reggae to folk. I am attracted to the idea of a warm sound from a tube amp but a bit put off by the costs and the low wattage. I like to hear detail and bass at a moderate to low volume, and I like bass to have a punch, not be mushy. Right now the sound is okay but the bass is lacking, I like the mids and clarity but don't like the forward sound, which can be harsh. Can anyone recommend the best way to spend about 1500 dollars? I am using thick copper Home Depot electric wires and monster interconnects. I have pondered a dac, but am focused on an amp, but am unsure if I should try a high wattage emotiva, a low wattage zen tube, peach tree audio all in one, or if there is something else out there. Many thanks for any ideas.
The mini torii had low bass output on both Zu and Tektons. I sold the Lores regrettably and upgraded to the Pendragons. The Pendragons were great but the bass overloaded my poorly treated room.
I now have Zu Def III's and the bass is much better controlled. I have almost bought another mini torii a few times but am waiting to try the newer mkii version of the MT.
The Torii btw has amzing bass output, but obviously costs more than the MT and doesn't quite have the tonal Density of the MT.
Which did you get rid of first, the Lores or the Mini Torri? If it was the Torri, what did you end up running the Lores with? Did it address your concerns about bass? Can't quite remember but I think you have some Zu speakers now?
I loved a Decware Mini Torii with a pair of Lores, bit it's biggest weakness I felt was in the bass department. An EL-34 or KT-88 based amp should give you the watts you need and much better bass. You would get vast improvement with a modest DAC also. I would spend $500 on a Tranquility Dac that pairs well with Mac's and has very nice highs and $1000 for an amp that would meet your bass and power needs. Your system is only as good as the weakest link and right now that is the computer DAC that you are using.
I like the Decware Mini Torii idea - after you try to do something about the room...surely you can find some window treatments to tame the reflections of the glass and some throw rugs. Again, no amp is going to help much in this situation until you fix your rooms issues.
I don't know if you have solved this, I see the thread is 4 months old. As everyone has suggested, room treatments make a very nice difference in taming top end or absorbing room nodes on bass. If you cannot do much treatment, I would suggest if possible to set these up in a triangle listening pattern, pull them out from the side walls as much as possible, then have the speakers at or near a full tow (pointing at you) when in your listening position. This will cut down on room interaction and with the speakers pointing at you rather than being capable of rebounding off glass will keep the top end from peaking so much.... next an amp/pre or integrated that doesn't have edge and is smooth will help a ton. For an amp, I would recommend a First Watt... one of the 25 watt models, maybe a J or newer or even one of its knock offs... pure class A, smooth and warm... then lastly a good inexpensive pre, I'm sure you'd get a ton of recommendations for a inexpensive tubed pre... I hope this helps, Tim
I have recommended the BADA 225 hybrid integrated many times. Very nice inner detail with enough power to turn it up if you like. About 1200 at Pacific Valve with 30 day money back.
I am strongly inclined to agree with the above posters - you're sound is too bright secondary to far too much hard/reflective surface in your listening room. Your options? I think the most cost effective one would be to do something about the room - simply hanging draperies should help a lot. Further, if you can put thick throw rugs or a largish carpet/rug on the floor. Another trick wold be to have soft, fabric-covered furniture - great for lounging and controlling the brightness of hard surfaces as are bookshelves with books/albums on them.
My 2nd choice would be the equalizer...that is a hard one for me as I am a bit of a purist. If at all feasible, I either defeat my tone controls or leave them at the 'flat' setting. But, in your case, an EQ may be necessary.
Regarding amp, if I correctly recall, the Lore's are mid-90s in efficiency. With $1500 to spend and that level of efficiency, you have a large world to explore! Definitely peruse the A-gon amps for sale & auction. As pretty much all of us here are audiophile addicts, we tend to treat our gear as well as our offspring. That translates to being able to pick up well-cared-for gear at prices far less the full retail. Take your time and do the above things first. while undertaking those projects, keep a watchful eye for some candy on A-gon.
I had the standard Lores and loaned them to a friend who had a pretty much untreated room. In my room they sounded much better than in his room, particularly the relative lack of bass (too much hi freq sounds a lot like not enough bass). I don't think a tube amp will do anything. I think the EQ idea is a very good one. I was thinking something with tone controls, but an EQ will probably do a better job.
Agree with the room treatment suggestions. But how old are the Lores? Not looking at the website just now but my recollection is these are pretty high efficiency speakers. Bass lacking might just be a function of needing longer time to break them in. Someone once said, "bass is the last thing to show up". Let the Lores break in. Do what you can about the room (DIY panels you can hang and take down?) then start looking for a better amp. For $1500 (and if I'm right on the Lore efficiency) you should have a nice range of options...especially if you are willing to buy used. Tubes aren't out of the question.
The "Large Glass Room" is your problem. Without changing that or adding room treatments, getting a good Equalizer and knocking down the treble might be a good way to go. I had a dbx 1231 that worked pretty well for me and was pretty smooth and musical sounding.
I have a pair of Lore S speakers and run them with a new Jolida JD502CRC. I felt this amp was a great value. I feel they match well together. It took a long time to break in but was worth the wait. I also thought the Decware amps would be a good choice but I liked having a remote. The Lore S is an amazing speaker. Enjoy
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