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Joule Electra or Wolcott Tube Amps, or...?

Hi Folks:
I'm tempted to get either a pair of the Wolcott 220M monos or a pair of the Joule Electra VSN160 (both available used on A'gon). Does anyone have experience with both of these amps per chance, and have a preference?

For now, I'd be driving a pair of MBL 121 monitor speakers, which are quite inefficient at 83db. Hence, some folks may side with the Wolcott which are supposedly great at driving difficult loads. However, I got a lend of a VSN-80 from my friend for a week or two, and it proved to be great in my system. I was 'very' happy with it, across all types of music. So, somehow it worked, and if anything the VSN-160 monos would be even better. So, I'm most interested in other comparison factors beyond 'ability to drive difficult loads'. I think both will make the cut.

Anyways, let me know if you have thoughts or suggestions. I'm currently using Spectron, but am tempted to get back into tubes. I'm a tubeoholic.

Thanks,
John.
128x128outlier

Showing 1 response by atmasphere

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,632 posts
 
Outlier, mbls have low efficiency ratings as they radiate to 360 degrees, which means that the mic making the measurement will not pick up all the energy the speaker puts out.

The result is that if you have the speaker in a room, the radiated energy will be present- the speaker is really not that hard to drive.

We had a customer using our 220 watt amp on a set of 101es and could not clip the amp in his room.
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