What are the best tube amps for Klipschorns?

I can't imagine how a transistor amp could be preferred on a speaker like the Klipsch- unless one has never heard a decent tube amp! First off the Klipsch doesn't really play the bottom octave, so the idea that a tube amp would have less punch is irrelevant, not just because of the frequencies that are audible but also because the Klipsch is a very easy load for tube amps so there is no advantage that a transistor amp will have with 'current' *or* bandwidth.

Perhaps you might actually try a few of the better tube amps- Klipsch speakers certainly have the reputation that justifies a decent amp for them. Good quality output transformers are rated to 5Hz and a lower powered amp (under 50 watts) will have no trouble having bandwidth.

The idea that transistors play bass better than tubes is a myth from the bad old days- 2 or 3 decades ago. If you allow a story like that into your head you will miss a whole world of possibility.

Hi Boa2, you're certainly not in trouble with me! I can't say about whatever god(s) :)

OTOH, I have to admit that I am used to slightly different tube amps than the ones you describe. With full power down to 1 or 2 Hz I have yet to hear a transistor amp that comes even close. I totally get that its not about the power (despite that I find that putting an amp with excess power on a speaker like this helps even if you never use the power). I find when I put a good transistor amp on the speaker that I am turning up the volume in vain to try to get it to play punch. The tubes do it effortlessly at any volume, and I have run this comparison many times and in different environments.

So we have been hearing very different things, but the amps that I use didn't appear in your list.

All the Best

-Ralph

Yes- I was listening to them before I got into the business 29 years ago (I was a tinkerer and probably the retailer's worst nightmare). I've played bass and keyboards since I was about four- in orchestras, jazz and bluegrass combos and rock bands. I have to have the bass right- I got spoiled by the real thing?

Getting rid of the output transformer unlocks a lot of performance that tubes have always had. The only thing that you have to be careful of is to mind the impedance of the load (smaller OTLs need at least 8 ohms which is easy); Klipschorns are no worries!