That Stereophile review was of the Super Conquests about 4 years ago. I have since given away my back issues of that period. J. Atkins measurements section, as I recall, did draw some attention to a difference between the advertised specs and his tested sensitivity results. Something like 3 or 4 dB off... Don't remember the exact figures. Atkins did not belabor the point.
I have not tested the sensitivity of my Super Eclipses (which I love), but my "sense" of them is that they act and sound more like 8-10 Ohm, 90 dB speakers rather than 14 Ohm, 92 dB. Completely non-scientific, and I could be completely full of....
They may measure nominally at 14 Ohms and may in fact not dip below 10 Ohms. They don't seem like it. That does not take anything away from the marvelous way they sound. I just would not dream of trying small amps with them again. I need the full orchestra deal: Reference Recordings' organ and percussion going full tilt. 90 strong tubed watts is the lowest I would go. (My room now is roughly 12' x 17'.)
Maybe with a really beefy sounding pre-amp (Lamm LL2) to feed a small-ish pwr-amp, one could get good weight and authority from 22 watts. I'd love to hear that it is so.
I have carried on long enough else where on A-gon about how I never could mate any amp lower than 50 watts with the Supers to my liking: Manley Ref 300B Retros, 47 Labs Gaincard-S (double power supplies), Cary 805-C's, and even Atma-Sphere M-60's sounded anemic. (My room for these tests was then 16' x 25'.)
Atma-Sphere MA-1's (140 OTL watts) and Cary SLAM-100's (95 Triode, push/pull class A, or 165 ultra-linear watts) do quite well. The ASL DT-200 "Hurricanes" at 200 watts are an Israel Blume recommendation.
I had unbroken-in, stock Hurricanes in my system for a week. Great power match with the Supers. (I did not care for the pair of H's I auditioned in other regards; they are very pre-amp picky for one thing. I know that Israel loves them, HP gave them his 5-star rating, and TAS declared them the best tubed amp of 2002. I guess my system and "ear" suck!)
I have not tested the sensitivity of my Super Eclipses (which I love), but my "sense" of them is that they act and sound more like 8-10 Ohm, 90 dB speakers rather than 14 Ohm, 92 dB. Completely non-scientific, and I could be completely full of....
They may measure nominally at 14 Ohms and may in fact not dip below 10 Ohms. They don't seem like it. That does not take anything away from the marvelous way they sound. I just would not dream of trying small amps with them again. I need the full orchestra deal: Reference Recordings' organ and percussion going full tilt. 90 strong tubed watts is the lowest I would go. (My room now is roughly 12' x 17'.)
Maybe with a really beefy sounding pre-amp (Lamm LL2) to feed a small-ish pwr-amp, one could get good weight and authority from 22 watts. I'd love to hear that it is so.
I have carried on long enough else where on A-gon about how I never could mate any amp lower than 50 watts with the Supers to my liking: Manley Ref 300B Retros, 47 Labs Gaincard-S (double power supplies), Cary 805-C's, and even Atma-Sphere M-60's sounded anemic. (My room for these tests was then 16' x 25'.)
Atma-Sphere MA-1's (140 OTL watts) and Cary SLAM-100's (95 Triode, push/pull class A, or 165 ultra-linear watts) do quite well. The ASL DT-200 "Hurricanes" at 200 watts are an Israel Blume recommendation.
I had unbroken-in, stock Hurricanes in my system for a week. Great power match with the Supers. (I did not care for the pair of H's I auditioned in other regards; they are very pre-amp picky for one thing. I know that Israel loves them, HP gave them his 5-star rating, and TAS declared them the best tubed amp of 2002. I guess my system and "ear" suck!)