Question about low watt tube amps

I am about to acquire a pair of hand-me-down monoblock tube amps. I am entirely new to tube amps and don't know the first thing about how they will sound, but I am curious. The problem (?) is that they are just 8 watts each. What kind of speakers do I use for these? I have a pair of Klipsch RB5-II's and a pair of Axiom MT22's that are both suposed to be very efficient, but will the amps be enough? If not, what are some of my other options?

You won't know until you try. Generally you would need about 90db sensitivity or higher and preferably a very gentle impedence swing - say 5-17ohms.

Some Axioms are rated as 4 ohm which means they dip much lower and would not be a good match. Klipsh is generally very easy - most horn speakers are.

Beyond that - your options are new speakers.

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Originally Posted by RGA

...Beyond that - your options are new speakers.

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The Klipsch's are rated at 96dB @ 1watt/1meter, so I will definitely try them out, but I'm not tied to using them with these amps; they are actually on (extended) loan from a friend. If I was to consider new speakers, what would you recommend in the $1K range? There isn't much out there with that kind of sensitivity.

The VSA's love tubes and have the sensitivity and impedence you'll need. Could be a good match if you like their sound. I have these so consider me suitably biased ;). VERY different sound than the Klipch so make sure you give them a long audition before making a decision. It will take your brain a while to recalibrate.
http://vonschweikert.com/vr1.html

Green Mountain Europas are getting a lot of buzz as well and are often compared to the VR1's. Might be worth a listen.
http://www.audiolon.com/home/page3.html

Unless you really like to crank it, I'd pay a lot more attention to the impedence graphs than sensitivity, although like RGA said I wouldn't stray far from 90db as a baseline. Speakers with big load swings will eat those little amps for breakfast.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by nightflier

The Klipsch's are rated at 96dB @ 1watt/1meter, so I will definitely try them out, but I'm not tied to using them with these amps; they are actually on (extended) loan from a friend. If I was to consider new speakers, what would you recommend in the $1K range? There isn't much out there with that kind of sensitivity.

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Yes Von Sweikert is tube friendly - have not heard it myself.

My speakers would serve you well as well - if you can listen to them somewhere you might want to. They are $2300.00US but www.soundhounds.com has several of last years left going for $1500.00Cdn ~$1200.00US. A bit out of your budget - but definitely worth a listen if they're in you're area. They won't budge on that price though as it's nearly half off. I suggest it because I own them and thus know more about them.

They do have something called the AZ TWO which is a floorstander for $899.00US. I have not heard them myself but they seem to get positive press - Audio Note is a Single ended amp maker and their speakers are all built with very low powered amplifiers in mind.

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/a...ero_system.htm

Review 3 talks more about the speaker than the system
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...ionotezero.htm


Unfortunately, tube friendly speakers don't grow on trees - they should be but most spekaer makers are IMO incompetant.

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Originally Posted by nightflier

I am about to acquire a pair of hand-me-down monoblock tube amps. I am entirely new to tube amps and don't know the first thing about how they will sound, but I am curious. The problem (?) is that they are just 8 watts each. What kind of speakers do I use for these? I have a pair of Klipsch RB5-II's and a pair of Axiom MT22's that are both suposed to be very efficient, but will the amps be enough? If not, what are some of my other options?

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Is have the tubes checked. An 8 watt amp is not going to be very good with tired tubes. I would get a second set of tubes anyway as a backup.

Your speaker choices are not as limited as it would seem, but you will not be able to listen to music at volume with many of them.

Probably the best speakers for low powered tube are are horn loaded, and single driver speakers that employ no crossovers. I've seen a few exotic examples, the most interesting being the Aventgarde Uno. There's a set of Lowther Medallions up on AudiogoN for less than a grand. I've never heard them but it's an interesting design. I really like the sound of single driver speakers. I use them in my computer setup and it sounds great.

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Originally Posted by Geoffcin

I really like the sound of single driver speakers. .

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As do I. My main system speakers are single drivers and the thing I like most about them is their coherence. No part of the audio signal is given too much emphasis. Can't say that about Lowthers, at least not in the half-dozen applications I've heard them in. The upper mid/lower treble peaks in Lowther systems drive me nuts! I've never heard them sound like anything but a recording. I use BSL's - two drivers per side, with one driver bottom loaded and one firing straight ahead. These speakers are so incredibly lifelike, it's scary sometimes.

Their vanishingly low distortion and high degree of transparency/neutrality often works against them, however. Most recordings need some sweetening and transparency tends to spotlight the flaws. Their sensitivity is high enough that a good 4 watter is all you really need. Now...finding a "good" 4 watter is awfully difficult and I use 25 watts but 4 watts would give you 109 db's at 1 meter - WAY louder than anyone needs.

I've been reading quite a bit about tube amps. Apparently some monoblocks are as low as 3.5W. I also spoke with Steve Philips from Klipsch about this and he said he used a pair of RB5's at home running off a 5 watt source w/o problems.

DMK: Are you referring to Brentworth Sound Labs? If so, it's a very interesting design but way out of my price range.

Geoffcin: I didn't find a definite price for the Avantgarde Uno's but I think they are also out of my range.

TopSpeed, RGA: I Iike the Von Sweikert's. I'll see what's available second-hand out there.

I know it sounds backward, but this tube system a test-setup for now. I don't really have a lot of money to spend on this right away, but I want to build this up to very high specs over time so as to replace my 2 channel music system (my current benchmark). Several people I have spoken to, rave about tubes but I don't know how it will sound (don't know about the quality of the tubes either), so I am very curious.

Note: The Von Schweikert's msrp is $999. I got mine for $675/pair nib so negotiate. A lot.

I love tubes, at least good ones; ARC, BAT, VTL, VAC. Every reference system I've considered musical has been invariably driven by tubes. Obviously this is a personal preference thing and opinions on tubes vs. ss are as varied as opinions on speakers. For me, tubes provide a certain sweetness and air that lends a special musicality that is simply lacking in the ss amps I've heard. I've got a hybrid amp now that nicely fulfills my needs but eventually I'll probably have tubes. As with anything, you simply need to listen yourself and see what you like. You may find tubes to be too fussy, colored, or euphonic for your tastes. Who knows?

Good luck

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Originally Posted by nightflier

I've been reading quite a bit about tube amps. Apparently some monoblocks are as low as 3.5W. I also spoke with Steve Philips from Klipsch about this and he said he used a pair of RB5's at home running off a 5 watt source w/o problems.

DMK: Are you referring to Brentworth Sound Labs? If so, it's a very interesting design but way out of my price range.

Geoffcin: I didn't find a definite price for the Avantgarde Uno's but I think they are also out of my range.

TopSpeed, RGA: I Iike the Von Sweikert's. I'll see what's available second-hand out there.

I know it sounds backward, but this tube system a test-setup for now. I don't really have a lot of money to spend on this right away, but I want to build this up to very high specs over time so as to replace my 2 channel music system (my current benchmark). Several people I have spoken to, rave about tubes but I don't know how it will sound (don't know about the quality of the tubes either), so I am very curious.

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The Avante guards are way up there in price over 10k for most of them.

Used is your best option depending how old you want to go. If you're good with your hands you may want to check the AN/K thread as 92011 or whatever may building an AN E for relatively cheap - the E goes for $4kUS and he will probably be able to cut the price to around 1/4. They are designed for very low power and are full range speakers - I doubt you will find a better speaker for a budget level. They also sell Kits for their acclaimed preamps and Dacs and power amps - all of which can be significantly cheaper than buying built units.

It's out of my league because I don't have the materials or know-how to be able to do it right.