Received an amp/preamp

[Bender81]

Hi, my friend is currently moving to a smaller condo so he gave me a vacuum amp/preamp that he doesn't have any use for. Little more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. Pretty good quality stuff to, so I was wondering what kind of additional equipment I'd need to do the following 2 amps justice:

Silsonic SAP-50T Vacuum amp
VAL MP-L1S Vacuum Preamp

So I'd need a quality cd deck and speakers? I looked up the silsonic amp and I can't really find anything on it since it's a Chinese brand (it was bought in Hong Kong I think). Found this link on google for a little information on it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SILSONIC-TUBE-PO...QQcmdZViewItem

I'm pretty new to this stuff although I was pretty into headphones years back (I have a pair of Grados and a headphone amp). Anyways, any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Mr Peabody]

Well it looks like you have the heart of the system. Where is your budget? 6550's usually have good bass control and one of the more powerful output tubes.

A very good CD player is Arcam and start around $699.00. If that's too much, give a listen to Marantz.

Speakers vary in sonic character and a personal thing, you'll have to try a few pair to see what you like. If you are in an area that has hi fi shops, try to audition at home on your own gear. If that's not possible buy on line from a site that will allow 30 day return policy.

Do you know what the nominal impedance of your friends speakers were or does this amp offer different ohm speaker hook ups? Without knowing too much about the amps ability you might want to stay at 89dB or higher SPL rating on your speaker. Stick with one that has a rep for not having wild impedance swings.

Maybe give us an idea of what you may have access to.

[jt1stcav]

Welcome to the forum, Bender81.

Ditto to what Mr Peabody said. I also agree with his assessment concerning higher efficiency loudspeakers, assuming the power amp can handle 8 and 4 ohm loads. Horn-loaded speakers are usually the most sensitive at 92dB up to over 100dB, and Klipsch can be had (especially used) at affordable prices. If horns aren't to your liking, you do have about 50 watts per side to play with, and there are lots of other loudspeaker brands to choose from...IMO just don't purchase any loudspeaker with a sensitivety rating less than 89 or 90dB to be on the safe side.

Good luck in your search.

[accastil]

Welcome to the forum, Bender81.

Ditto to what Mr Peabody said. I also agree with his assessment concerning higher efficiency loudspeakers, assuming the power amp can handle 8 and 4 ohm loads. Horn-loaded speakers are usually the most sensitive at 92dB up to over 100dB, and Klipsch can be had (especially used) at affordable prices. If horns aren't to your liking, you do have about 50 watts per side to play with, and there are lots of other loudspeaker brands to choose from...IMO just don't purchase any loudspeaker with a sensitivety rating less than 89 or 90dB to be on the safe side.

Good luck in your search.

yes, they need good playback device and speakers. consider Arcam, Musichall and Cambridge audio 640C for the playback and as for the speakers, you may want to listen to as many speaker brands as you can so you can catch what kind of sound you would like to have. sonic character preference differs from person to person and only you can decide for that. try auditioning good standmounts speakers for better clarity and sound dynamics.