$$$Sensitive Speakers with $$Amps?

It's a good question.

AMps must always be matched to speakers for best results.

In the case of high sensitivity speakers, like horns, my first concern would be noise levels. If the amp is not dead quiet, chances are you will hear noise. I would focus on assuring the amp is quiet today and also reliable so that it will stay that way.

Tube amps work well and sound lovely with most HE speakers, but noise levels are more problematic with tubes in general. Tubes must be replaced periodically as noise levels creep in with age.

So I would be wary of inexpensive tube amps that might be more likely to have or develop noise issues, but I am also confident that inexpensive good ones that are also quiet are out there.

A lot has to do with expectations regarding noise levels and what bugs you. I prefer dead quiet background but have learned to live with marginally higher background hiss noise levels with my modest tube gear. I cannot tolerate other kinds of noise or easily audible background hiss when I listen because I was not brought up on tubes and not used to that kind of thing. So it all depends.

I have two pieces of tube gear, a DAC and a pre-amp.

The DAC is an overachiever for its very modest cost so I was willing to take a chance and go with a smaller vendor that seemed to receive universal rave reviews and that has worked out exceptionally well.

The pre-amp, an Audio Research, cost a good bit more but is still modest by some audiophile standards. For the bigger investment, especially first time out, I felt best going with a larger known entity like ARC not just becasue the gear sounds good but in hope of good customer service when needed, replacement tubes, etc. Maintaining the ARC is not horrible but it is not cheap (good QUIET tubes are EXPENSIVE). As much as I like the tube pre-amp, I still find myself thinking that when the day comes to replace it, I will try to go back to a good SS pre-amp in that I am not one who gets any enjoyment out of maintaining gear. I just want it to perform consistently well so I can listen to it.

My other observation regarding amps specifically with good HE speakers is that listening to music with very HE speakers, like Avantgarde say, is like listening to music under a microscope. You will hear everything, both good, bad, noise etc. THe sound of tube amps in particular can vary widely but the best sounding tube amps to me are also the ones that sound most like the good SS amps I have heard. And the best ones I have heard accordingly tend to be very expensive (VAC, ARC, Audio Note, etc.)! HE speakers are of particular value with tube amps in that the efficiency helps keep power needs minimal which can help keep tube amp cost down as well. A good SET may be all that is needed, but even those can get somewhat pricey for a really good one.

I am very interested in finding the good bargain SETs out there as well.

Roscoe,

THe miniwatt looks very interesting! A nice minimalist design with volume control even and very reasonable cost. Even available through Amazon. It would be a nice fit for a third system I am looking to try sometime built around HE speakers. Looks like not much to lose in trying.

Trelja,

Its not clear to me what is the criteria by which you assess the SET versus push pull with the back-loaded horns.

At what volumes are you comparing? Are you saying the SETs go both louder and clearer than the push-pulls? How about at lower volumes?

How many combos of sets and push pull amps with back-loaded horns have you tested and observed this behavior with? Same results with each?

Thanks.

".. its nice to have some dynamic range available, even if it does not get used all that much."

Not just dynamic range (difference between loudest and lowest levels) but headroom in general to go loud as needed even if the dynamic range is compressed, as it is in many if not most popular recordings out there these days.

Just watch your ears. Too much exposure to SPLs over mid 80's or so is generally acknowledged to damage hearing incrementally over time.

High efficiency speakers combined with high power amps might be the closest thing in audio to a weapon of mass destruction. Especially when accidents happen ( and they do happen). So be careful....

I was glad to hear that one agoner I know of moved to a more flea powered tube amp from a 500w/ch Class D shortly after adapting a pair of Avantgardes.