Tube amps & warm speakers?
Wow...Sure are some knowledgable folks here. I don't pretend to be any sort of audiophile but I sure know what sounds good...even if I don't understand all the techno-speak. I will check into said integrated amps and see if I can demo some of them. It sounds like anything around 75 watts will get the Dyn's singing. thanks |
You may be able to drive the Dynaudios with a small integrated tube amp, but the 4ohm speakers are going to sound much better with a 75 watt solid state amp. I had a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8s and they were unbelievably musical driven by my Threshold T-200 amplifier. If I were you, I would pick up a Forte 4, Class A solid state amp. This amp has a really smooth sound, great dynamics, slam and timbral accuracy. It has none of the glare of transistors. Then, purchase a tube preamp to give you the bloom and soundstage...a Audible Illusions Modulus 3 will do just fine...you can land both for about $1,250, and they will blow away any tube integrated you can buy at the same price. |
Consider the Prima Luna 2. I wrote a review here about 2 years ago and I was using the PL2 with Acoustic Research 302 speakers (sealed box, 3 way, 10 inch woofer, 85db sensitivity). I have also used the PL2 and PL5 with monitors from NHT, Omega, and Rega. All a little bit different sounding, but the 3D and overall musical sound character were all there. Change out the supplied KT 88's with some SED Red Wing 6550's and you will be very pleased. Regards, Rich |
If your room is not very big, the Dynaudio 50s will do just fine with many tube amps. I've used the 52SE with some really small tube amps in a small room and they delivered the goods. Most of the Dynaudio speakers have very linear impedance sweeps and actually suffer less from the high output impedance characteristics of tube amps. The Dynaudio 50 is a fine little monitor and nothing to sneeze at. |
I will second the PrimaLuna PL2.Very dynamic and possibly a bit lean w/stock tubes.I substituted the Shanguang triple-mica 12ax7s and some French cryo 12au7s-stand back.The 12ax s are about $6/ea and the 12au s were $45 ea.Listening room size and distance from the speaker will determine the amount of power you need.Experiment with the different sound of the corresponding taps-4 ohm/8 ohm,they will sound different.Which ever suits your system best,is the correct tap. |
AW, you'll probably be better off with a transistor amp driving your speakers. The 50's are not very efficient and have a nominal impedance of 4ohm which makes me think they they are not going to be tube friendly. You could try a big push-pull tube amp, but I doubt it would be worth the effort. Regards Paul |
It really depends on the tube amp. Some of them are not as seductive and warm on top as you might think. For instance, I had a CJ MV55 and compared to my McIntosh MC240, the MV55 sounded like a solid-state amp in that it was cool and dry sounding. As far as too warm, if your amp and your speakers have good transparency, you can alter the tonality very easily with the source and cables, and to some extent, the room. The trick is to realize that you have several variables to work with and not just two. Good luck and have fun. Arthur |
I don't recall the Dyn's as being a warm speaker . But anyway , some of today's new designs for tube amps are really not "warm" as the older designs have been . Some of the newer designs are closer to good SS than traditional tubes . And tubes can be fine tuned to increase or decrease a particular aspect . One of these 'newer' designs is the Primaluna Prologue 2 . An integrated that stock , does not have that traditional tube warmth . It can use quite a few different tubes to tailor the sound to your liking and is self biasing , which can make the initial experience less daunting . Some tube amps can be a real bear to bias . |
