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Would a Miniwatt N3 be enough to move my speakers?

I currently have a Music Hall MMF-2.2LE and Music Hall Phono Preamp that I'm buying from a member on here, and I really want to hook the Miniwatt N3 Tubes up to my speakers because of price, looks, and the rave reviews I've read on the tiny little amp.

The speakers I have are Phase PC-9.1s (they're "hand me downs"), and their sensitivity are 92dB. The Miniwatt N3 is rated at 3.5WPC, but would it be enough to power the speakers? I don't play music too loud, but at times I do enjoy cranking it up a bit.

I really like the speakers b/c they do have a good sound stage on 'em, they sound pretty precise and have a good bass response (not quite as tight and fast as I'd like, but no where near boomy when hooked up to a good source), although they can be a bit "cold."

I'd rather not buy new speakers, but I'm willing to go up to $1000 ($500 to $750 is preferred) for some good bookshelf speakers. Likewise I'm not dead set on the Miniwatt. I'd prefer to keep the amp around the $500 range, but can go up a little bit in price.

What would be another good tube amp to go to? What speakers would work with the Miniwatt?

I'm fairly new to buying/setting up my own Audiophile equipment, so I apologize for my audionoobness.

Thanks guys!
csedl87
3 responses Add your response
pjudice
5 posts
 
Where did you end up on this? I have the Miniwatt with the new upgraded Chinese tubes they pair with it plus a high grade fuse. After 3 months as my primary music source, I'm a big fan.

I'm using it with Sonics Anima speakers (about 86 db efficiency) and I can shake the house. Three and a half watts sounds weak, but this thing will drive a lot of speakers with elegance.It's also built at a level of quality that would surprise you for a product under $400.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
Do you like these speakers? If not sure then either as J-Bailey says single driver but I don't know which would be quality and about $500.
An alternative are high efficiancy Horn speakers like Klipsch Heresys which you can pick up used for about $400. They are not really a small bookshelf speaker but are rated at 98db/W/M. You will hear a lot of arguements about the coloration of horns versus the "purity " of single drivers.
On the other hand there are plenty of Chinese PP EL 34 amps yielding 35-40 wpc that may be more realistic for you. Many of them go for a song used in good shape.
j_bailey
53 posts
 
Hello,
That amp/speaker combination is probably marginal at best. 1 watt gives 92 dB. 2 watts gives 95 dB. We would need 4 watts to get to 98 dB which we do not have. We also do not have any additional capacity for "headroom". If the speakers drop below 8 ohm and they probably do, then the output will be less than 3.5 wpc.

A better speaker choice would be high efficiency single drivers. Fostex and the like rated in the high 90s dB.
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