2. amps-preamps
  3. 194444-3130

??? How Do You Determine How Far You Can Take An Amp When Choosing Speakers ???

 Talking to a friends son today who is only a few years into this hobby..He’s moved up from an all in one home theater system to a gently used Peachtree Audio Nova ( Gen.1 ) that his dad had sitting in a box the last few years..
 As he is an Electrical Engineering student, he’s gone through the amp & refurbished it with new caps,resistors,transistors & a new 6922 tube from Gold Lion...
 His speakers are also hand me downs from pops..A set of original Dynaudio Audience 52’s..While discussing speaker upgrades he asked me the same question I posted in my thread title..I honestly didn’t know how to answer him..
 I’ve always worked on the budget basis,seeking out the best option for my given price range..He’s already making $ hand over fist & he stated flatly he didn’t have a budget in mind,being willing to spend as much as it took to get the absolute best speakers his amp would support..
 At some point in the future I’m sure he will finally get the urge to upgrade the amp but that could be many years from now..
 So the question I pose to you is, how would you determine just how much speaker your choosen amp will sing with before becoming the weakest link in the system?Twice the retail value of the amp?3 times,5 times,10?
 I realize most common system building dogma dictates choosing speakers first then buying an amp for them but he's already got the amp so that doesn't work here...
 I know synergy between speakers & amp plays some importance in the final overall sound but he lives in an area not known for being an audio store hotspot & dragging his amp to stores several hundred miles away seems like a real PITA...Any advice?
 


 

freediver

Showing 1 response by barts

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barts
759 posts
 

After being done with the Radio Shack "kid stuff" (late 60s) and only having one real human source for advice.  The guy was a neighbor and an EE and had a single Klipsch Klipschhorn driven by all mono Mc gear.  Fat story slim...he advised buying the very best speakers you can and work backwards to the source (remember it was only LPs, radio and tape).  

I took his advice and a few years later bought a pair of Hartley Reference loudspeakers and I still have them (tri-amped).  Went through Sansui amps, David Hafler amps, ARC amps and landed on Pass Labs amps with a Ref6 about a year ago.  Took a while to climb that ladder, but I'm glad I did it that way. 

For you friend's son:  Look and listen for a long time and purchase the speakers you love.  They will not disappoint.

PS.  Those Hartleys cost $10K back then and everyone thought I was bonkers, crazy, irresponsible and insane.  But I'm still smiling.

Regards,

barts 

 

 

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