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Which 300B SET for SF Guarneri Homage?

Driving my Guarneri with a Pass Aleph 3 amp(with audio aero capitole mkIISE cdp+pre), which goes quite well, but thinking of upgrading amp to a couple of 300B monoblocks...
The thing is this is a tricky change because, among other things, the Pass is built like a tank and is an excellent amp. So I want to make the decision carefully with no hurries...
Considering as an option the Coincident Frankenstein's but i'm not too informed about tube amps.
I listen to all sorts of music though fav is Opera, so my expectations with the change would go on the line of getting a more real life experience.
I wonder if anyone had any experience of driving these 87db sensitivity, 6-8ohm speakers with a SET and would appreciate opinions or suggestions
dongiovanni
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,836 posts
 
George, I do agree with you that the GH's like a little stick up front. Along with my 65 watt/ch tube amp, I also use, to get a different perspective, a 250 watt/ch Rowland amp. The GH's have no problem at all with 250 watts/ch! OTOH, I don't agree with your comment that the GH's need a room of 5x6 meters otherwise they cannot image!... I have mine in a 3 X 3.5 meter room and they image very nicely and are able to portray depth well. This room size is not ideal, BUT you can get the GH's to work in a small room, albeit with a lot of experimentation.
flg2001's avatar
flg2001
543 posts
 
I drive my GH with a Viva Solista SE amp, no issues!

Great sound, dynamics, punch... Everything is there.... Saying that, and since the 845 tube is a different thing than a 300B I should audition first.
dongiovanni OP
10 posts
 
I appreciate all the informative opinions to aid my decision.
The ideal thing would be to try it, but that won't be possible.
An additional thing is that i have a SF Gravis active sub to help with the bass (cutoff below 42) connected to the amps outputs; i don't know if this factors at all on the equation.
My personal experience is that the SF GH are driven pretty easily by the Pass, but this is 30w.
Cheers,
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,836 posts
 
Dongiovanni, I don't think having the sub help with the bass is going to make much difference. As I stated above, the GH's need a little stick up line. The Pass
at 30 watts has the ability, current wise, to drive the GH's to a satisfying level in your room, helped by the fact that you are not asking it to push much bass. An 8watt 300B SE amp is a different deal. It could work, BUT I doubt it would be satisfying at all; as Flg2001 pointed out, the 300B tube is not like an 845 tube or 211 which in the Dragon puts out 75watts/ch. Since you are unable to listen for yourself, then you had better get return privileges from the dealer/manufacturer, if you insist on trying the flea powered amps.
flg2001's avatar
flg2001
543 posts
 
I forgot to mention that I use a Velodyne DD18 with the GH with good results, the sub fills the <45Hz that the Guarneris miss to reproduce, I cut the sub at 90dB with a soft 12dB rollout.
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