quandary: inefficient speakers, low-power amp


Hola fellow Agonners,

Help me figure this out. I'm running a system that presents what I guess is pretty much a nightmare scenario for one or more of the components involved: Dynaudio 50 monitors, notoriously power hungry at something like 86db/4 ohm rating, Anthem Amp 1 EL34 based power amp (40 watts/8 ohms I believe), and a Creek passive pre. My sources are Sony DVD feeding a Muse 2+ Dac and Music Hall MMF-5 w/Dynavector 10x4MkII cart feeding a modified NYAL Super It phono pre. This system sounds damn good to my ears, but I'm afraid I'm putting undue stress on the amp, speakers or both. I frequently run the preamp wide open or close to it, and it gets loud but not always as loud as I'd like.

I've considered getting more efficient speakers and keeping the Anthem (truly amazing sound for the $$$ I paid here on the 'Gon, especially with NOS 12AX7 in place)...or looking for a more powerful amp and keeping the Dynaudios (another amazing bang-for-the-buck product)...or just putting in an active pre to see if that improves matters. I really love both the amp and the speakers, but am I crazy for trying to make this setup work? I don't want to fry anything, but this combination sounds so good that my impulse is to crank it up as loud as it will go.

I wanna keep tubes in the system, so I'm thinking, either go with an active pre and keep the Anthem, or get another hybrid amp (like the modified Moscode 300 I used to have, or the Anthem Amp 2) and keep the passive one. Or hell, add a tubed one. Thoughts, feedback?

Thanks,

Jeff
jfacker

Showing 1 response by bemopti123

by the list of your components, I tend to believe that you will be happier with different speakers along with the same amp. The choices you are given here by members might be better invested with an efficient design such as speakers from Green Mountain Audio, Living Voice and others.

I have and still own speakers that are inefficient, one of then being a pair of Infinity Kappa 9s, also Gershman X-1+SW-1s and a bear of an amp, DNA 225, but my present system set up is op chip amps at 40 watts with a fullrange 8" alnico driver in a massive TL cabinet. Much much better and faster sound than inefficient speakers could have offer and ironically, better control.

Bi amping might defeat the purpose of coherence and space issues. Would we want to add two more components to make one component work with another? It is trying too hard to make things work well.