It'll work and might sound decent but not an optimal match. Getting optimal amp/speaker match is essential to get the best objective results.
Amp and speaker matching.
I wanted to know if anyone out there has driven a harder load speaker (86db to be exact), with a Tube Amp around 70 watts? I was thinking of driving a pair of Dynaudio Contour 3.0's with a pair of Prima Luna 7 monoblocks 70watts. Currently I use a Solid State amp 350Watts. The Dyns love power so im afraid to drop down in power.
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86 db means that you will generate a SPL of 86 db at 1 meter with 1 watt of power. It is easy to get confused about this! In this case the spec is Sensitivity, not Efficiency. Sensitivity is 2.83 Volts at one meter, meaning that with a 4 ohm load the power is 2 watts. So the *efficiency* of this speaker is more like 83 db (since 2 watts is 3 db more than 1 watt) while the Sensitivity is 86. There is also the issue of whether tubes will sound OK on the Dynaudios regardless of the power; IMO they will sound OK but the speaker will be the sort of load that has a tube amp at a disadvantage. For more about this see http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php If you really want to get the most out of your tube investment dollar, I would get a different set of speakers! OTOH if you want to optimize these particular speakers you are probably looking for a transistor amplifier or a very large tube amp (+200 watts). |
I have used this mix for many years. So, Thiel CS 3.6 (2.5 to 4ohms, 86db) with CJ Premier 11a and 6550 based Sam's Audio Labs Integrated. So, both 6550 based amps. The results have been both excellent and problematic. I have had success in a smallish 13.5 X 16' room, but Sam Kim had to employ unique technics to give me the gain I desired, like a 3-ohm tap for the Thiels. I have recently decided to purchase more sensitive speakers for my amp. This decision became clear when trying hi-rez digital files in my setup. When playing 96/24 files, I could not approach the sound levels of my analog front end without raising the noise floor where the music became harsh sounding. I also got this result when playing Redbook CDs, but level drop became quite apparent when playing Chesky CDs that are lower-level. I would not recommend the combination for digital playback and it's marginal, at best, with analog. |
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