Tubed Monos for Focal Aria 948s


I'm considering a pair of tubed monos for my Aria 948s. Given that their efficiency is at 92.5 it seems that I could swap the 130W SS monos for the warmer tube sound in the 40W range and not have any issues. Any ideas how much bass would be lost? Do I need to factor gain into the equation? Already have a tube preamp and like the way that sounds, even like the the way the SS monos sound but since the Focals are so clear my thought is that tubes would pair very well.

Thanks
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xzyphryx
...my thinking is that the warmth of the tubes may help the tonal balance. Is this is incorrect?

No, not incorrect but I will say there may be other areas to mess with before jumping to tube mono amps to remedy the leanness. Sure a pair of tube mono amps with smooth sounding EL34 tubes can "round off" the highs a tad to accentuate the bass some but you may have other options to try before you try other amps... tape a paper towel over your tweeter on your speakers as a cheater simulation test...: heheh.

I took a look at your amps, torroid transformer, notable power quad caps and while don’t know much about your amps sonically - but know a few locals with them that did go to tube amps later but for sonic reasons OTHER than adding the weight and fullness you seem to be looking for (below 200hz) with your Focals. With that said, I think you might look at some other areas if you want to keep your Odyssey amps. They are kinda nice. Perhaps restarting with 1) your preamp/upgrades, preamp tubes, preamp caps and 2) maybe even some softer and more rolled off interconnect cables next to cheat some...a tradeoff some times (chat via private message), gotta few ideas there too from my own hybrid tube preamp / ss combos. And, if you have not already done so. 3) maybe look at adding a little REL subwoofer is a nice cheater fix to fill in that dip. They can sound nice. I build my main speakers and custom subs and a good sub can help fill that void particularly for low volume level listening and permit your mains (to work less hard) to resolve better too in a large room. Look at what some of the more expensive Wilson Audio speakers are doing the past decade, see the lower half of he speaker :) Just a few other thoughts, feel free to send a private message. Gotta a few other questions for ya. Your preamp has the triple 12AU7s per side, correct - or older version. The new PL labeled input tubes in those preamps look like rebranded PSVANE tubes, sort of. Also noting the Mundorf caps in the newer version pre - I run those same caps in a tube DAC, but there are other caps that are warmer, less tinny, the EVO supremes are fuller, IMO. You may have other areas to work on IF you keep those amps you have now.


To the extent this is helpful - 

I used 60 watt per channel Allnic 300B XLS amps to power Focal Sopra 1s, and it worked like a dream, more bass than I ever would have imagined. I could play it loud. However, I never cranked it alllll the way.

I currently use a pair of Conrad Johnson's that put about 180 watts into 8 ohms, and they power my Sopra 2s perfectly. Extension in both directions, more than enough power to play very loudly.
@gmercer I'll bet that sounds great. If the Sopras sound half as good as they look you must be pretty stoked. I heard a pair of Kantas at a dealer's home and that's what got me hooked on Focals. The clarity and detail was like nothing I've ever heard so when an opportunity to score some 1.5 year old 948s came up at the price they did, I jumped. I figured they would be lean in the bass like the Kantas but they are not at all. They just need that something extra to push them across the finish line.
I hace the 948. Very good speakers at budget prices these days. New and used. New if you get the walnut. I preferred black gloss. Looks good with a jl fathom gloss sub. But anyways i currently have a audio research ref 75. Sounds great. But the amp i had before and wont sell because i got it for a grand is a krell kav 2250. It sounded just as good as the arc. You can find one for a grand somewhere and its built like a tank. But my preamp is a audio research ref 5. So maybe the krell and arc preamp matched just as well as the arc tube amp.
Hace2 denafrips pontus dac and my arias sound really great. If you havent gotten some isoacoustics gaias yet. Go ahead and grab those. It cleans up a already clean sound and youll notice right away. I bought some used gaia iii for my aria 948 even though the arias are a little over the recommended weight if the gaia iii at 70 lbs. Save some money they work fine with arias. 
I started out woth electra 1007be and it sounded very good and detailed. Then someone sold me a pair of used chorus 836v focals. And wow, i realized that towers sound so much better. Or at least it did to me. I will not be selling my chorus or krell amp. Ill put them in another setup someday. Im currentky wanting some sopras in blue. But they cost way too much. So im currenttly carbon fiber vinyl wrapping my chorus 836v. It's gonna turn out pretty sweet. I got my blue speakers one way or another. I feel like you cam get the focal sound in the basic models just as easy.
The budget line of focals is where its at. Feel like kanta 2 may be a hair better than my arias but im paying for looks and not sound at this point

The arc amp is nice but that krell held its own. And it weights 70 lbs so its not a pushover amp

@ikluemper00
I did get the isoacustics you mentioned. They do make a bit of a difference. Overall, I love these speakers. I was considering the Kantas but when the opportunity to get these popped up I jumped. Very glad I did. I’d love to try the Sopras some day just to hear the difference