Is a Tube Amp Capable of High Current?


I need your help.

I have a pair of VERY inefficient speakers (Platinum Solos), but am also a big fan of tubes. I know that tubes can work with power-hungry speakers as I have done it with a pair of Magnepans...BUT...I'm not certain that it will work in this case.

The speakers are rated at 84db with a nominal impedence of 6 ohms.

I am purchasing an Audio Research D-125 which is rated at 115wpc.

I know that people always say that "tube watts" are more powerful than solid state watts, but I'm not really sure what that means. I also always hear people say that you need a "high current" amp. I've always taken this to refer to solid state, but can this be true of tube amps as well? Is the ARC D-125 high current?

I'm not a head-banger and certainly prefer quality over quantity when it comes to sound. Also, my room is not particularly huge, so that shouldn't be too big of a factor.

I need your advice. Am I setting myself up for disappointment? Does a load like this inherently require solid state amplification?

Thanks!
dan53e1

Showing 2 responses by atmasphere

Yes, Ghostrider, the output impedance of course is a current limiting factor as more and more of the output voltage is dropped across the output section as opposed to the load as the load impedance is reduced.

However in the case of the ARC this is not a serious issue with a 6 ohm load. So the issues of a 'high current' amplifier are rendered moot, for the most part.

Were it a 3 ohm load, I think a different solution (amplifier) might be advised. There is also a guy on the ASOG (otlamp.com) named Paul Speltz who makes a torroidal autoformer (a variation of one we used to make) for this sort of application. It has taps for 4,3,2 and 1 ohm loads and sets the amplifier load at 16 ohms. Works quite nicely on those otherwise hard to drive loads that tubes don't normally like.

Allows one to use tubes with, say, Appogee Scintillas, if you could find a set these days. For the most part though 3-4 ohms seems to be the most challenging most speaker manufacturers are doing these days.
The idea of a 'high current' amplifier is a bit mythological. If your speaker is a 6 ohm load (not particularly difficult for tubes, BTW), then it is easy to show, using Ohm's law, what is really happening.

Let's say that you've settled on a tube amp that produces 115 watts. Let's further say that you have a transistor amp that will produce the same power into 6 ohms. By using a little algebra (Ohm's law is Resistance = voltage/current), we can derive how much current will be flowing in each case.

Power = (current)squared X Resistance, so:

115 = (4.38) squared X 6.

This is the same regardless of whether it is tube or transistor. IOW, 'high current' has little or nothing to do with it.

You'll probably want to use the 4 ohm tap to keep the load on the output tubes at a good operating point for low distortion.

Since the amp specs are rated from its 8 ohm tap, it likely that you will have a little less power on the four ohm tap as the transformer is less efficient on the four ohm tap. The loss will be minor.

My guess is the real issue is whether or not 110-115 watts is enough power. Unless you are in a really small room (and depending on your listening habits) there's a good chance you'll be running the amp out of power if you try to play it loud.