Transitioning from SS to tube amplification
Jim (Broadstone), 'twas I who referred earlier in this and other threads to these measurements of the currently produced Reference 3A MM de Capo BE, optimistically spec'd at 92 db and 8 ohms, and speculated that the sensitivity of your earlier Reference 3A model MIGHT be similar. That speculation seemingly having been confirmed by the dealer you spoke with. The 86.7 db/2.83V/1m sensitivity for the MM de Capo BE that is reported in those measurements, btw, equates on a per watt basis to about 85.4 db/1W/1m in the mid-bass region (where lots of energy is typically required), given the speaker's impedance of about 6 ohms in that region. That said, as you may have seen a few months ago in the long thread entitled "Building the Audio Note Kit 1 SET amp," member Rebbi achieved remarkably good results using that speaker with an 8 watt SET, albeit listening at modest volumes to mostly non-classical music. Eventually, though, he moved on to more efficient speakers. At least one other member whose inputs I consider to be especially credible, Brownsfan, also reported using those speakers with surprisingly good results using an 8 watt SET (the $6K Coincident Frankensteins), in his case mostly with classical music. But personally I would not suggest going any lower than the 35W capability of the PL1, or perhaps the 30W capability of the Atmasphere S-30 (although I suspect that the M-60 would be a better match, in terms of impedance as well as in terms of power capability). Among the reasons I say that are the comments above by Tubegroover, Ralph/Atmasphere, and others, the somewhat large size of your room coupled with a greater than average listening distance, and my own philosophy that configuring a system in a manner that is marginal with respect to power should be avoided if at all possible. Finally, one thing that might make the Atmasphere amps particularly worth considering, when and if your circumstances permit, is that based on all I have read about them I would expect they would provide extended and "fast" response in the treble region, with high frequency transients being reproduced in a "clean" and accurate manner, but without the overly bright sonic character that other wide bandwidth designs often seem have. All of which might result in their sonic character being a particularly suitable match for the hearing sensitivities you have described having. Good luck. Best regards, -- Al |
Today I auditioned the Cary Rocket 88R for about 2 hours in my home and fell in absolute like with them. I was able to compare back and forth with the Primaluna Prologue One. The Prologues sound wonderful but I can't say enough about this 88R; I think I finally understand the meaning of effortless sound reproduction. I've been listening mainly in the triode mode but we went through many genres at low to high volumes back and forth between that and ultralinear and, even at high volumes the cats eyes never seemed to alter. I like the latitude afforded with this amp, from 4 or 8 ohm out, linear or triode mode, bias adjustment, tube rolling, etc. but I have a lot of experimenting to do toward a more complete understanding of how best to set it up. The one thing I already know, though, is that this pairing of the amp with the Reference 3A's is magical with no doubt that this is the best sound my house has ever heard. I'm still using the Peachtree Nova as a preamp and may start looking for another pre at some later time, but for the time being, I couldn't be more satisfied....I think. |
