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Pops Unregistered guest | Can anyone please recommend some bookshelf or floorstanding speakers in the $300-$1000 per pair range that will work well with a 30 watt tube amp? Medium sized room, no need for huge bass--just clean sound. Thanks! |
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J. Vigne Unregistered guest | Pops - Just about anything out there that isn't just god awful inefficient will work with your amp unless you are loking to blow the doors off your listening room. Look for any speaker that has a sensitivity above 88dB with 1 watt in and you should be fine. Try to keep the impedance swing of the speaker as close to 8 Ohms as possible. But you will most likely find the Home Theater recievers on display in most stores do not sound very similar to your tubes. Make certain you can try the speakers at home with your amp before you make a final commitment. What kind of shape are your tubes in? |
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Pops Unregistered guest | The amp is new, so I hope the tubes are OK. I will try better tubes after I get some good speakers. I have listened to some speakers with balanced sound and good sound staging, but as you say--only with home theatre or solid state amps. I liked the JM Labs 706 S, but I think there must be other options for ~$1000, like maybe the Usher X-718, a Magnepan or other planar, that I might prefer. I'm not looking to blow the doors off or for thumping bass (although that would not hurt). I'm more interested in sound staging, clarity, and presence--I want to feel like I am in the room with the musicians. Thanks for responding! Do you have a tube amp? |
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Bronze Member Username: Timn8terSeattle, WA USA Post Number: 74 Registered: Dec-03 | Ed Shillings Horn. All the reviews of this little gem have been spectacular. http://www.thehornshoppe.com/model1.html |
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Pops Unregistered guest | It's funny you should mention these--I just stumbled upon them today while I was researching horn speakers. I saw an ad for the Madisound BK-16 horn kit, and subsequently found the Horn and others. Thanks for the recommendation--this one has piqued my interest. Know of any other full range speaker / horn designs I might compare this to? |
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Bronze Member Username: Timn8terSeattle, WA USA Post Number: 75 Registered: Dec-03 | At the upper end of your price range is the Decware RL-1. http://www.decware.com/radials/radials.htm For a little less is the Adire Kosala http://www.adireaudio.com/StockProducts/finished_speakers.htm#KOSALA If you like working with your hands and have woodworking tools I can recommend a plethora of options. Fostex makes excellent drivers that many bottleheads love to use and Fostex provides the plans. |
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Bronze Member Username: Timn8terSeattle, WA USA Post Number: 76 Registered: Dec-03 | I built these for about $100 and they sound wonderful pushed by a 2A3 amp. http://www.alegriaaudio.com/bipole_voigt_pipe.htm |
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J. Vigne Unregistered guest | Pops - I have had many tube amps through my system over the years. The amps I have stayed with for over twenty years are McIntosh MC-240's internally strapped in mono to give 80 watts per amp. They have been updated to modern (as opposed to circa 1962) internal and external parts though no mods were done to the original circuit other than to eliminate some switches and plugs that were redundant in my system. Horns work well with tubes as they genarally present a fairly even impedance load and are typically of very high efficiencies. Horns do have their inherent limitations, however, that I have not seen anyone totally diminish. A horn loaded speaker is a definite must hear before purchasing and do a little research before you decide a horn is right for you. The most famous horn speakers are Klipschorns (104dB w/ 1 watt input, 125lbs.). The original line of speakers designed by Paul Klipsch were horn loaded down to the Heresy (hence the name of the speaker) and you could find these at reasonable prices on the used market. They are big and all the horn loaded designs, plus the Cornwall (horn loaded mid and tweeter) use a 15" woofer. They are an acquired taste but many people love them and they do sound best when driven by tubes. A problem that you can find with tubes and horns is the efficiency of the speaker is so high (as with the Klipschorn) that you will hear the tube noise. Otherwise my previous post is my advice. What speakers did you hear the amps on at your dealer? |