I would ask Dynaudio how they feel about tube amps for their speakers, they tend to be 4 ohm speakers which is not necessarily a deal breaker but is less than ideal for a tube amp, unless it is a very smooth impedance across the bandwidth - I don't if it is or isn't, but not all speakers match up ideally with tubes. |
I'm leaning to thinking that you would need a pretty powerful tube amp with current for that load, but I'm not 100% sure on that, you should ask Dynaudio via e-mail to be sure, but it seems better suited to a 100watt SS amp. I think a 30-40 watt tube integrated would be less than ideal. |
Two tube integrateds that should (theory and practice don't always align) work would be an used VAC Avatar and the McIntosh 2275. Even better would be some more powerful tube separates that drive 4 ohms well (larger Manleys, VTLs, etc). While much of what Williewonka, says is true, you can imagine how good tubes must be to put up with all the issues he mentions. In this case, and at your price point I think SS is "proabably" the way to go, at least 100 watts. |
Jihley, you have Dynaudio 1.3SE speakers? |
That is what I think; tubes can work but it is not so straightforward with these speakers, and the specs really suggests an SS approach. My 2cents. |
Hi Chazz, your EARs are great, let me know when you want to sell them, but I don't think it will drive his speakers optimally. |
Three excellent choices, good luck. |
The tube issue I was concerned with was not primarily loudness, but spectral balance. If Dynaudio is right, and they should know, that the impedance curves are benign and linear, than it should be much less of a "problem". |
I think the hybrid approach Pauly recommends makes sense given your desire for some tube presence. The Unico and Pathos hybrids would probably be worth your while to investigate and well within your price range. |
This is not just a question of loudness and an amp may sound fine to you with a particular speaker till you hear the same speaker with an amp that is better matched and you suddenly realize what was missing - usually in termso f top to bottom balance. Tubes should be fine if the impedance cureve is smooth, which Dynaudio claims it is, but at 86db you will occassionaly feel you are running out of juice with 30 watts IMHO, I think you would be better served with someting around 60 watts to hit 105db peak transients. |
Khwarezm, proabably not. I would think the ability to make that type of assessment comes from experience with listening to a lot of systems and developing an ear for good, natural, and balanced sound. Unfortanately it is not very easy to determine the compabatibilty of an amp and speaker on paper, or in theory - although certain specs can be red flags that one should be aware of; you have to listen and the more familiar you are with the sound of top flight systems the better you get at judging and evaluating sound reproduction. I remember reading or being told, that when you start in the hobby listen to the very best system you can (whether you can afford it or not)to establish a baseline of what a system can sound like at its best. I remember thinking when I got my first "high end" syste, with NAD integrated and Polk 10B speakers that it couold not possibbly get any better, it sounded great - but I had a limited reference. I suspect that these speakers with a 30 watt integrated could and would sound just fine, till you heard them with a 60 watt tube or 100 watt SS. This is just my guess based on the specs, but practice has thrown many a theory out the window, so.... |
Nycjdc, let us know what you end up doing and how it works out for you. |
