I can confirm what auditroy mentioned. I have a LM-805ia with all different tubes, 93db efficient Tannoy Turnberrys and a couple REL S/510’s. Good times. I am interested to listen to an Atma-Sphere and the 300B from Decware. I’m told those are supposed to be the next level up in amps from where I’m at in my journey. I hope that whatever you end up with, you have an opportunity to listen to it in your own listening space first.
Best Tube Amp for High Sensitivity Speakers: 45, PX25, or 300B?
I am looking to change / upgrade my tube amp. I have a good, all-purpose Primaluna EVO 400. It employs the EL34's and has a nice sound, especially in the ultralinear mode. Other components: streaming from Innuos Zenith MKIII to Lampizator Atlantic DAC. Everything playing through Daedalus floorstanding speakers with a 96-97dB sensitivity. Currently, my office / listening room is on the small side: 12'L x 16'W x 8' H, but I'm building a new listening room on our farm where I will later upgrade some components to fit a larger room. Now, here are the tube amp options I am looking at:
Audion Silver Night PX25 8 Watts. Very popular among some, touting a slightly more balanced, dynamic sound over the 300B.
Swissonor 45 SE or Tektron TK One 2A3 / 45 i The 45 is the low wattage (2.5W) but sweet tone alternative. Considered by many to be one of the most musical out there. Of course, its low power makes it more restrictive, only efficient with high-sensitivity speakers and in more small-to-moderately-sized rooms. It might be great in my current office but would have to work harder in a larger one later.
300B Integrated Amp, Make / Model not yet determined. 8-10 watts. Of course, the 300B is making a big comeback and has wonderful characteristics, especially in the midrange and especially with certain genres of music such as acoustic, vocals, jazz, etc. I heard one opinion from someone with a history of work in sound production, "The 300B is great if you just want to listen to a female vocalist with a guitar." One take on it.
Adherents of the PX25 and 45 tend to regard the 300B as a nice-but-limited cousin. I honestly have no experience with any of these three tubes. I moved from SS to tube with the PrimaLuna, a well-built amp that I have increasingly felt carries some limitations that other tubes--more focused specifically on higher sensitivity speakers--would open up the sound in the lower frequencies and some tone qualities all around.
Any opinions would be welcome.
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@audioman58 Thanks for mentioning Radu Tarta at Simple Pleasure Tube Amps. I just spent some time looking at his site and, well, wow. The descriptions of the build indicate (to me, a layperson and to a tech I know who makes amps) a very high level of expertise and care. These small builders are the way to get very high value for reasonable (if still not cheap) costs. But you can look at the parts he uses and know that he's not chintzing on the parts. For those curious about the site: https://simplepleasuretubeamps.com/products/ |
I would like to thank **everyone** for some great entries and advice. I know this website has its detractors but in my year of involvement, it has been a great source and I've meet some amazing people in this community. Since starting this thread, I have been disconnected due to demands and am just now able to respond. I've read the whole thread and reread it. I want to thank all of those who have added specific suggestions, brands, and models of tube amps that have been yielding good results for you. There is also a treasure trove of good info you have shared on tube amp science--much of which I am just now beginning to understand. From the thread so far, I have been immediately influenced by your advice on putting my simplistic goal of the best-fitting amp into a much broader understanding of the tube amp's strengths, weaknesses, and the many alternatives that go beyond what I narrowed my list down to. Honestly, I am revamping my thinking on what my options might be. My budget does determine what I can consider (as for most of us). I think I am looking more to "stair-stepping" upward from my current amp (PrimaLuna 400 EVO) to something that provides moderate, reasonable gains without breaking my bank. I will have a lot more that I can spend in a couple of years when I unload a business. But for now, I have to settle for only moderate improvements... the best bang for the buck. Again, thank you for your participation. Hopefully, many are reading this thread and gleaning from it as well. 👍 |
It is a great thread, so much info from others. I needed 16 ohm taps, so I had limited choices. I have extremely efficient horns/15" woofers, historically happy with 30 wpc, so I never thought about more than 45wpc. I never considered it when I bought my Cayin A88T, but it may be a good idea, whatever category you go for, to go for a bridgeable model, keeping the option for another in the future. let us know what you end up choosing.
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