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How to accurately gauge speaker sensitivity to match with tube amp?

I'm in the process of matching speakers to my amplifier and need a bit of advice. Most recently, I'm trying Focal 936 towers with my Quicksilver Mono 60w amp. They were sounding pretty decent until I experimented by hooking up my old Adcom 535L amp. All of a sudden, there was a giant jump in control, tautness in the bass, quickness in transients. The QS stuff was doing quite decently, but the Adcom really snapped these towers to attention. The mids and high ends, not to mention the soundstage, were worse with the Adcom — no question. But there was quite a difference with the other qualities just mentioned.

My question becomes one of sensitivity. The Focals self-rated as 92 db. Stereophile rated them as 89.5db. I realize that these are average measurements and a much bigger picture is told by the impedance graph (and other factors).

As I continue to search for the right match of speaker (I have a couple contenders), I'm sure one piece of advice is to look for speakers with higher sensitivity averages. But what else should I look for to help make a guesstimate about whether the amp will drive the speakers with the kind of control they are capable of? [Specs for this amp are here: http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/sixty-watt-mono-amp/ ]

I realize I need to hear speakers, in my house, with my gear, etc. to get a sense of them. I’m working in exactly this way. Your advice can help me eliminate candidate speakers that would pose similar challenges to my amp as these Focals have.

And I just bought the amp, so I don't want to change it.

Thank you for any thoughts. 

P.S. Anyone who has has had great success with this amp or similar, please shout it out.


128x128hilde45
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,842 posts
 
@atmasphere re
Thanks for correcting VTL. I'm surprised they're out there with such false information. 
I'm grateful to bury the damping thing. Clearly, it refuses to die, generally.
There may be different senses of what 'Tight bass' means. One way I take it is that a speaker emulates a string bass similar to one at a good seat in a jazz club — clarity in the fretting, the pluck, and a bass-like attack and decay of the note. What I've been hearing from my speakers, at times, is a bass-colored fog. That's at least what I mean by that phrase.

ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
@atmasphere +1

An amplifier, cables and speakers form a system in which they interact.

Anyone who claims one thing in particular is a panacea for all ills is prevaricating.

To wit, from MBL Noble Line N11 line preamplifier @
https://www.stereophile.com/content/mbl-noble-line-n11-line-preamplifier
"Some of my work involved tuning the power supply. It may come as a surprise to learn that you can change tonality without even touching the signal path, because the signal originates from the power supply. The impedance curve of the N11’s power supply is absolutely homogenous from DC to 200kHz, which creates a very balanced sound. I also tuned the resistors for the voltage gain, using a mix of carbon and metal resistors to create a neutral balance. There are a lot of preamps that claim to be ’neutral’ or ’in balance,’ but there are different shades of ’neutral.’ If you have a tube preamp, for example, ’neutral’ is at a different level than solid-state; it’s not better or worse, but it is different. It took a lot of work to find the tonal balance I like a lot that measures well, with low noise, and fits very well in the Noble Line." [emphasis added]

One can only assemble a system in one’s locale with one’s components.
All else, especially idiot topics "What [insert device here]?", is pure folly.
nakam
38 posts
 
I recently purchased a pair of floor-standing Revel 328s (sensitivity 91dB, recommended power 50-300W).  I'm driving them with a Raven Nighthawk tube amp (20 wpc, high current IA).  Question: Am I harming the speakers by underpowering them?
djones51
4,947 posts
 
@nakam Yes you can mess up the tweeter if you drive the amp to clipping. The recommended amp range is an estimate the speaker company uses as a guide for consumers as long as you don't push the amp which means listening for clipping even in moderate listening levels at the transients.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
When the amp clips the current doesn't alternate but behaves like DC which the capacitor in the crossover will pass,  especially bad for tweeters.
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