Speaker suggestions for old Tube Amp

[russofris]

Hi there,

I am in the process of restoring an old Packard Bell PB-51 tube stereo. I work on old guiitar apms as a hobby, so getting the pre and post amps to work was a synch. I would like to replace the speakers in the unit with something nicer. You can see the speakers on my project page at http://russofris.tripod.com . It looks like each side has two 2-1/2" drivers and a 6" main. Things to keep in mind.

1: The power amp is 2xEL84's per side, which translates to roughly 15 watts per side.
2: The speaker configuration must be between 4 and 8 ohms (no brainer)
3: The fold out speaker enclosures have fairly open backs (masonite with about 50 1/2" holes). I could make it a closed back with a quick trip to home depot.
4: Keep it reasonably priced (a few hunders dollars)


So I am looking for suggestions. Feel free to spam the thread with brands and model numbers.

I'm all ears.

Frank Russo

[stratman672001]

Hi there,

I am in the process of restoring an old Packard Bell PB-51 tube stereo. I work on old guiitar apms as a hobby, so getting the pre and post amps to work was a synch. I would like to replace the speakers in the unit with something nicer. You can see the speakers on my project page at http://russofris.tripod.com . It looks like each side has two 2-1/2" drivers and a 6" main. Things to keep in mind.

1: The power amp is 2xEL84's per side, which translates to roughly 15 watts per side.
2: The speaker configuration must be between 4 and 8 ohms (no brainer)
3: The fold out speaker enclosures have fairly open backs (masonite with about 50 1/2" holes). I could make it a closed back with a quick trip to home depot.
4: Keep it reasonably priced (a few hunders dollars)


So I am looking for suggestions. Feel free to spam the thread with brands and model numbers.

I'm all ears.

Frank Russo

Welcome to the world of rich tubey goodness

At 15 wpc I would look for something fairly efficient. I think a pair of Klipsch Heresy or Chorus would do quite nicely. They have about a 97db spl rating so they could be driven easily. And Klipsch speakers in the Heritage line mate very well with tubes (they were designed around them in fact). The Heresy's can be found on ebay at fairly sane prices as compared to the Khorns.

Another thing to look at with speakers in reference to tubes is damping factors. Unfortunately tube amps do not have the high damping factors like their solid state bretheren. This results in what is called "flubby" bass response. So finding a speaker with a high damping factor would be a must to aleviate that problem (sadly speaker makers don't print damping factors in their specs so finding one may be like finding a needle in a haystack). Then again, where you have such a low wattage bass may not be too much to begin with anyway. The midrange is going to be where it's at with this one. The treble takes a little getting used to as well with most tube systems as well, but I find it to sound much more natural than on my ss Marantz or Onkyo recievers.

What other tubes are you running in it? Brands? With audio, tube rolling is very effective for tailoring the sound. NOS is the way to go with these babies (my Heathkit has Mullard's and RCA's).

Anyway I'm babbling... Have fun with your toy

[RGA]

What you might want to consider if Horn speakers are not your ideal -- is to find used Audio Note speakers or in lieu of that used original Snell Type K, J or E or Type A speakers. All will work with lower powered tube amps than what you have...My OTO integrated is using EL 84's and is rated at 10 watts. My speakers were built for the company's amplifiers which are what the company is mainly known for.

Big ol horn speakers though should usually work well -- I would suggest you browse the AudioAsylum High Efficiency forum for other suggestions. http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/hug/bbs.html