VTL compact 80 amps and 5881 tube vs EL34 tube

I agree with you about VTL's support, they don't want to help with older products. The quality of some of the older stuff was not great and it was unreliable but it usually sounded good. I have a great shop that knows the VTL products well and he is going to modify and fix anything that is bad. The solder joints were a big problem in these amps along with some poor quality caps and other parts. Once the amps are redone and modified with the correct parts it should sound good and be reliable. Thank you for your feedback.

I would stay away from those amps, VTL's support is horrible for older products. Trust me I learned the hard way.

Ezaudio - You may already know about all of this, but there are various folks out there who modify the DQ 10's, and my understanding is that work on their cross-overs has quite significant effects. I bought a pair not long ago that I'm having modified/upgraded, and one of the things my guy said was, unplug the piezo tweeters. I don't know the details, but will learn more when I get them. (Like you, I'm playing around with a 2nd system, and decided to more-or-less rebuild my 80's system, which was all CJ and DQ 10's. But I'm upgrading everything. Crazy hobby.)

Good listening.

Ponnie, Thank you for answering me. The DQ10's are sitting around and I figured I would put them to use. I agree with you that the speakers are forward and a little bright too. I thought that tubes might tame them. My friend has the compact 80's sitting around so I was going to buy them. I will try the amps before buying but I might just buy the compact 100's with the EL34's instead. I don't want to go crazy since this is only a second system. Thanks again...

Hello. The first thing:the DQ10's need power. Eighty watts may or may not be enough depending on your room size. EL34 vs 5881's well power is the difference here but I always think the EL34 has the best midrange I have heard. That is a matter of opinio of course. I'm still using a modified Dynaco ST 70 with great results. I think you should listen some another pair of speakers that are more efficient than the DQ10's. Alon's for instance. They actually are made by the same designer. But the Alon's disappear and it has depth in spades. The DQ 10 was a speaker on my list to audtion. I had to travel from Maryland to NY to hear them. I didn't buy them at that that time. Mainly for the reasons mentioned here. About 3 years later I ended up with a pair and none of the amps I auditioned including a Moscode 300, Perraux monster amps, VSP Labs TransMos, PS Audio, Audire or CJ MV75 made any difference in the musical presentation.

IMO your preamp is great... detailed with an exceptional soundstage. Your CD player and turntable are great. You may benefit more by finding a speaker that doesn't suck up as much juice. I thought the depth of soundfield was lacking with the DQ10's I owned. They were fast but too forward sounding.
To answer your question I still say EL34's would be your best bet and the Compact 80 monos. The VTL 100's may have been a better match for you or Quicksilver 100's. That's just my nickle's worth.

I had a friend that recorded the Local Symphony in the city I lived in and he had 3 stacked pairs of DQ10's L + C + R. Yes, 6 pair of DQ10's plus at least 3 subwoofers and a rear channels too. They were dynamic but lacking depth of soundstage of the Accoustats and several other speakers popular at the time.