I have argued until I am blue in the face that even very high efficiency speakers need lots of power to develop a truely rich sound but that was in reference to my my 104 Db/W/M La Scalas. I think a single driver speaker can sound fairly full with a low powered not flea powered SET amp. I don't consider anything above 5 wpc flea powered. I will repeat my own experience I was raised on K;ipsch Heresies which I bought new in 1977 and powered them with a 60 wpc SS amp which was about all you could get as tubes were way out of fashion for the mainstream buyer. I always wanted the Big Klipsch so a couple of years ago I bought the LaScalas vintage 1978 from a fellow audiogoner using a 2A3 amp to power them. It was a local pick up so I had a chance to audition them. Sure I could play them at loudish volumes with the flea powered amp but the guy was honest and told me that one of the tweeter diaphragms was replaced because in his opinion the power was quote not the right power! I bought them and hooked them up to 100wpc ARC power amp then later a 50wpc Mac and various other reasonable power amps. The result was remarkable the 15 inch woofer came alive and even for what many consier a screechy horn these speakers delivered a rich full sound with bass. I don't know if your speakers are single driver types which really rely on the enclosure to deliver the best bass the driver is capable of. In addition there are watts and there are watts. Some low output amps have fabulous transformers which can somehow compensate for the lack of rated power output, but only to a limited extent in my humble listening experience. In the end I agree Eldartford size really does matter no matter what she says to make you feel better!!!
Myth: low-power high-efficiency
The past 6 - 8 months I have been living with very efficient speakers (~ 109dB/m/w) driven by low-power SET amps. The amps use 300B output tubes for about 7 wpc. On paper, this should be a match made in heaven. In fact, the combination is capable of wonderful nuance, subtley, harmonic richness, and tonality. It is really pleasing, especially on chamber and jazz music. Except for one thing - dynamic energy. I am not referring to loudness. It can deliver more undistorted volume than I care to listen to. I'm referring to immediacy, presence, power, and punch - the life of the music. If you go to the symphony, or live blues, than you know what I am talking about. Next week I'm taking delivery of a 90wpc PP amp, to audition in place of the SET. I need an amp that can maintain the purity of tone and harmonic texture of the SET, while delivering more power, to grab hold and take control the 15" bass driver in my horns.
I searched the archives, but have not found a similar post. Are there any other high-efficiency low-power people who moved to a higher power amp? Are you satisfied now?
Scott
I searched the archives, but have not found a similar post. Are there any other high-efficiency low-power people who moved to a higher power amp? Are you satisfied now?
Scott