Balanced Low Power Tube Monoblocks?

09-05-09: Sbank
Can't you just as easily place a stereo amp between the speakers with short
speaker cables, and run the long interconnect around the room to your rack
containing the pre and sources?

Yes, I can, but it's not the installation that we prefer from a standpoint of
aesthetics.

You can get long runs of Mogami custom-terminated with XLR on one end and RCA on the others.

I've made these myself in the past. Yes, it's a possibility. Frankly, though, I hear little difference between XLR>RCA interconnects, and XLR>XLR cables using adapters. I have never detected the sound degradation that so many others comment on. Sometimes I wonder if the so-called sound degradation when using adapters has grown into a myth through a version of "telephone" where readers simply repeat what they've read without actually trying it for themselves.

In any case, I believe there's a benefit to running balanced if it's possible to do so.

... the VAC rens, the Quicksilver Triodes, or the
Dehavilland Aries 845G all make sense, as well as the Atma
M60s...

Yes, these are all heavy contenders. I'm also considering Rogue M-150
monoblocks.

My present speakers dip to about 4.5 ohms. The Atma-Sphere M-60 do not
work with these, and the Dehavilland are probably underpowered.

Ultimately, different speakers are in the future, but how far into the future is
unclear. In fact, the amplifier purchase might be deferred until the new
speakers are acquired, but I was thinking that I might be able to find an amp
that I could use with my present speakers until new speakers are purchased.

I realize I may be asking too much.

There's always autoformers. On the M-60s the Speltz Zeros are not entirely sonically neutral (a bit more neutral on the higher wattage A-S amps) but the small trade off might be an alternate route. On the other hand, I've always liked Mike Sanders gear (still have a pair of the original 8417 monos).

Tim
 

I tried Speltz Zeroformers with the M-60 amps. I didn't care for the sound.

Thanks everyone for some excellent suggestions.

At this point, I'm going to wait a few months and revisit a speaker change
before purchasing a different amp.

Tvad, You might be surprised at how apparently powerful the Dehavillands are. My Alon V's supposedly recommend 200w/channel according to the manual, but I was impressed hearing Nolas & Dehavillands @ CES a few years ago, called Kara, who agreed that it was a great match. I don't listen at ear-splitting levels, but they go pretty loud >95db without running out of gas. These are 4ohm loads we are talking about, too. I think you would be fine, certainly on an interim basis. You might consider calling Kara Chafee; very helpful and not at all salesy. Good luck and keep us posted,
Spencer

Tvad, FWIW, a 'dip' to 4 ohms is not a problem for the M-60! OTOH, having the bass frequencies be 4 ohms (while the mids and highs are 8) is, and is a problem for **any** zero feedback tube amplifier.

When you see speakers that are 4 ohms in the bass and 8 ohms in the mids and highs, quite often the speaker designer is using woofers that are 3 db less efficient, and expecting that the amplifier will double power with the 4 ohm load. This brings the woofer output up to the level that the mids and highs operate at, but you need transistors to do that properly.

No tube amp will sound right with a load like that since no tube amp can double power as you cut the impedance in half! You can make a speaker like that work (sort of) if the tube amp has lots of feedback in its design. The problem is that the negative feedback will foreshorten the soundstage and impart a sheen to the mids and highs- IOW it will not sound natural.

That is why our amps have little or no feedback- why bother try to drive a speaker that will always sound electronic? I agree it has limited our market, but limited to the speakers that can sound like music (work properly with tubes), and that is not a bad thing :)