B&W DM604 S3 - 22W x 2 class A tube amplifier good enough to drive them?

Want to upgrade to B&W DM 604 S3 speakers. Currently using 22W x 2 Class A tube amplifier and was told that better matching speakers with high sensitivity, Any advice to me please?

Hi, Welcome to AR...


B&W's are pretty power hungry...

I'd run those with more power (and most likely with SS power, since tubes don't like the big impedence swings the B&W's have...)

it's possible, but keep the volume on the lower side...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

thanks, so what is the best match for my tube amp.? I prefer floorstanding speakers, any advice please.

louis

which tube amp is it? I'd definately look for higher sensitivity speakers, depending on how loud you want to listen, maybe even horns...

maybe a Tannoy from their prestige line would do fine (depending on your budget...), but also look at Klipsch, Zinagali, ...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

Not all tube amps are created equally - so it depends - generally I would go with a tube friendly speaker but if the volume is not going to be played too loud and the room isn't big - a good tube amp will still make the B&W or other LE speaker sound better.

There are standmounts out there such as mine that have deeper more powerful bass than the 604 and sound considerably better - but it also costs more. The Tannoy prestige is a good suggestion but the Kensington is 4 times the price fo the 604.

It depends on the amp/room and the rest of your gear.

The B&W DM604 S3's have a minimum input requirement of 25W into 8 ohms so you're going to be below the minimum. You don't even want to be at the minimum input to maximize the speakers' performance and capability. I would recommend an amp rated at at least 75 watts/ch continuous into 8 ohms. Whether that's a tube or solid state amp is less relevant. Sensitivity on these units is 90dB so that's not bad. I almost purchased a brand new pair of the DM604 S3's but went with the DM603's instead. No regrets. I just didn't need that size speaker for my room size. They are heavy bass producers.