Low power tube amp for Sonus Faber?

According to a lengthy email exchange I had with Roger Sanders --over 40 yrs of ESL experience -- the jist of what he explained to me is that speakers with a 4 ohm rating will not actually perform at their state SPL range.   a 91 db rated speaker will be somewhere in the 80's.

Yes. 91 db and 4 ohms will be 3 db less, or 88 db. I mentioned this earlier:

The speaker efficiency is about 88 or 89 db 1 watt/1 meter; on paper the speaker is rated with the sensitivity spec of 91 db. But because its nominally 4 ohms, this means that the voltage into the speaker will be more than one volt; hence the lower efficiency.With tubes, the efficiency spec is a lot more useful!!

The Sonus Fabers are such a rich, warm speaker I’m not sure that they benefit from the overtones of a tube amp, at least mine, in my room did not.

So is this why the company that owns Sonus Faber also owns Audio Research and MacIntosh?

It seems the majority here agrees 30w is not ideal. So if that’s the case I might be able to get mastersound 845 evolution. It’s 55w per channel. Would this be better or I shouldn’t bother at all under 100w?

That’s not quite double the power- not quite 3 db,,, 100 watts would suit better. But here’s the thing about tube amplifier power- its always been expensive, and for that reason speakers with higher efficiency are recommended. The thing is, you don’t have to take a loss of either resolution or bandwidth in having a more efficient speaker! My speakers are 98 db, 16 ohms and go to 20Hz on the bottom and yet they are also one of the most resolving and natural sounding speakers I’ve heard.


IOW if you really are smitten with the Mastersound, get more efficient speakers.

If I crank up the volume, am I risking amp to clip and damage my elipsa?

No.

i really wanna get the amp, I’m in love with it.

 Imagine putting monster truck tires on a British sports car from the 1950s- if you really want to experience the charm of such a vehicle, put appropriate tires on it. Same thing here- if the amp is the determining aspect, get a set of speakers that will do it justice. A more efficient speaker and maybe one with higher impedance as well will really help.

A lot will depend on your room size and listening habits.
The speaker efficiency is about 88 or 89 db 1 watt/1 meter; on paper the speaker is rated with the sensitivity spec of 91 db. But because its nominally 4 ohms, this means that the voltage into the speaker will be more than one volt; hence the lower efficiency.
With tubes, the efficiency spec is a lot more useful!!

30 watts won't be a lot of power on this speaker. I would consider something with more power. The low impedance dip in the mid bass is not challenging to most tube amps (including OTLs) so I don't think you have any worries there. I would shoot for an amplifier with 100 watts or so- you could get by with a 60 watt amp, but if you play tunes like I do, you'll be running the amp out of gas.