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 macg19

macg19
987 posts
 

I suggest something like some vintage tannoy’s with the 12 or 15 inch concentrics (monitor gold) that maybe need a bit of work. High efficiency, amazing sound especially the bass response. 

@mulveling may have some advice here if that is of interest. 
 

The other point I would make is spending what may seem disproportionate on speakers may not be a bad thing.

For example, for about 3 years my Harbeth 40.3’s did double duty as 5.1 mains driven by a $2K avr (Yamaha RX A3080) and I often used it for streaming music for casual listening.

It sounded remarkably good compared to a dedicated digital source and through a T+A 3100 HV 

So get some really nice but well priced efficient speakers that could hang for an amp upgrade or 2

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