Jb. I so hope so. I'm looking forward to experimenting. |
Charles,
I must admit to being an SET man at heart as well. If I thought I could get away with it I'd go 45 based amps but I fear that would be a step too far. I really, really Loved the yamamoto a08-s but at max 2 watts per channel simply not enough for the Tannoys (great with the avantgardes), although jeff Day did suggest that I tried it with the Tannoys. There is a Shindo dealer in Auckland so I may see if I can demo some of their kit if I cant find a suitable SET. Surely I can. Much fun !! |
Charles1dad is right, in that SET amps will drive them fine. IMHO, 300B SET sound is best. |
Borg,
Your plan is rational.I admit a bias toward SET amps as compared to other genres I`ve heard/tried they sound the most realistic and true to live music. Obviously we all hear things differently and choose accordingly. You may find that OTL or push-pull tubes(perhaps solid state or class D) is better for your taste.I wish you much sucess in your amplifier search, your ears will lead the way.
Regards, |
Hi Guys, thanks for your very helpful suggestions. While I am very keen to go back to directly heated SET, from what you mention above, I'm not sure the usual fare will be "powerful" enough. Tannoy recommends min 50 watts, but the specs (99db 1w/M) suggest that 8-10 watts would be enough. I have read Jeff Days reviews(and chatted with him) and he loved the Sophia 300b's with the Wests as well which seem to bare this out. Also I tend not to listen at very high volumes.
Off the back of your suggestions I'm going to take the following, pragmatic approach.
1. Run the wests with my current(no pun intended)amps.
2. Try a number of SET amps that I can demo from local retailers (I'm in NewZealand so not in plentiful supply).
3. Off the back of that determine if the Low powered SET approach will work for me.
4. If I enjoy the SET over my existing amp selection, I'll buy a suitable "special" one having saved up enough to spend 10k ish on something used.
Then I'll have to chat to you about pre-amps !!!
Thanks all for helping me to this decision. I'll let you know how everything works out. |
Since you already own good temporary amplifiers, the idea of saving to purchase a great tube amp is a wise one. I would add one the list that may solve any power problem: Manley Neo-Classic SE/PP 300B (11W/24W) for different times of day/mood and great sound either way.
Enjoy your superb speakers meanwhile! |
How does everyone feel about the something like the KR kronzilla or something like that?? I actually listened to Canterburies driven by this amp, and the result was nice. Also listened to AN driving the same pair -- very nice but the Kron gave a "fuller" sound (meaning more mid-bass & upper bass). The high frequencies were OK with both amps as well. This was some time ago so take all of this with a few grains of salt! As usual, the music was a combo of symphonic & blues |
Borg,
You have gotten good suggestions. Jeff Day owns these speakers and did a long and extensive review of the Sophia Electric 3oob SET amp using this speaker and was overjoyed with the combination.The review is at Positive Feedback Online.He preferred this 8 watt amp to his push-pull Leben amplifier driving the Tannoys,YMMV. I f these are truthfully 98 db sensitive speakers then a 'good' SET amplifier should have no problems at all(as Jeff Day pointed out).I use an 8 watt SET to drive 94db speakers with zero problems and prefer it to my 100 watt UL (60 watt triode) push-pull class AB amplifier.Hope you can get the chance to hear it with a good SET amp.
Good Luck, |
Read about the Decware Zen Torii III. It promises the magic of SET with the power of PP, 25 wpc using el34's and special circuitry (point-to-point). Secure your order with a credit card but they will not charge you until it ships, approximately 3 months while they build yours. When you get it it will sound good, but six months later it will be purely magical as you are hoping for. I have had mine with my Canterburys since early June and it really reached the heights 3 weeks ago, utterly sublime. Read and decide at Decware.com. I am simply a happy customer, no affiliation. |
Those Wavelength Audio products look interesting !!! Thanks. |
Thanks guys for your responses. Certainly food for thought. I currently have some good quality amplification left over from my previous system. Class A solid state: Plinius sa250 and matching pre amp and a "super integrated" Hybrid class A AMR AM-77. So I've got some nice amplification on hand to be going on with with. But I'd like to try and get back to the magic tonality I had with the Avants and the 45 tubes.
Reading between the lines it seems that I should save up my pennies for a while and buy something more appropriate. How does everyone feel about the something like the KR kronzilla or something like that?? What would be more of an "ultimate amplifier" that could take me the way I want to go ? (Without going mental like the Wavac ec300b)
Sorry to change tac on you !!! I appreciate your advice and time. Thanks. |
I have a pair of Tannoy Stirlings TWs. I have tried powering them with all sorts of amps; from 5W tubes to 200W SS. I am basically a tube guy. But IMO the Tannoy dual concentric drivers, especially the larger (12"-15" units), need a little power (and current) than most tube amps will provide in order to sound their best.
I have not yet tried the Atma Sphere amps with these speakers - it is something I would very much like to test some time for a "winter" system. The Manley tube amps might also be a good choice, as they are very detailed units.
So far my personal preference has been for the Pass X30.5, the First Watt J2 (although the F5 and M2 were also very good) and the McCormack DNA 0.5 (preferably rebuilt by SMC), in that order. |
Lucky you! Love Art Audio SET, but you would probably be best served with a push-pull design instead. A KT series tube should be in the right power band. Personally, if I were you I'd be all over the Art Audio Concerto Monoblocks that are up right now. |
Art Audio Jota HC, Wavelength Audio Triton or Wavelength Audio Cardinal. Don't buy until you can afford one of these. |
The amp you want for these is definitely tube! However the efficiency is slightly on the low side as far as SETs go- but of course a lot depends on your room size and listening habits.
My speakers (Classic Audio Loudspeakers model T-3.2) is about the same efficiency (98 db). I find that while I can play them with 5-10 watts, the simple fact is that the amp is straining if I push things at all. So I see 30 watts as being a good minimum power level.
There are good number of tube amps that make that sort of power. SETs in that size are rare though, and lack the bandwidth that the speaker has. So my recommendation is some sort of push pull triode amplifier. Our S-30 amp does well on that speaker and you should be able to find a used one for that price.
Push-pull triode amps can be rare. A small ultra-linear amplifier might be a good choice also. Two vintage examples of that are the Dynaco ST-70 and the Marantz 8B. Dynaco is still making the ST-70. Tannoy recommends 50 watts minimum. With that kind of power you would never clip the amps in most rooms.
Awesome speaker! |
