Cayin vs. Antique Sound Labs


I am lucky enough to have a Cayin ta-30 and ASL AQ1003DT. I have challenged them both by running them through Thiel 3.5s (inefficient). The ASL ran the Theils with depth and great imaging. The speakers were loud enough to fill a 18' x 28' room (but not to concert levels). Voice and instrumentals were stunning. On the other hand, the Cayin lost it's depth and I had a hard time seperating Norah Jones from her band. The Cayin also began to become one dimensional after 10:00 on the vol. knob. I ran the same JJ E34Ls through both to try and be fair. Has anyone else had an issue with the Cayin not opening up the soundstage with inefficient speakers?

I know these amps were not designed for these speakers but it says a lot for the ASL to clearly outperform one of the most positively reviewed tube amps the last few months. One thing the Cayin does have is build quality and looks (even with the tube cage on). It was an easy sell to the wife! The ASL looks nice but not thrilling. I was really hoping to use the Cayin in my main system. Does anyone have a suggestion for efficient speakers for the Cayin that will really show what this amp can do? FYI - Paul from Bizzy Bee is outstanding to work with and answered all of my Cayin questions (even though I didn't buy the amp from him)!
buda
Another here with the TA-30 and Europas. Great combination. My TA-30 came from Paul, but is not modded.
Rwbadley,

The unit I have only has the external bias mod and I am running off a CD (NAD542).

I love the clarity and approachable sound of a tube amp! I have had many responses on how good my system sounds and I also don't go pass the 10:00 position very often. I have noticed that by taking the Thiel equaliser that came with the speakers off the signal path I loose bass but gain spacial quality. The Cayin makes the Thiels sound so sweet at low to moderate levels I just wish I could push it farther. Again, I know this amp and speaker combination is not ideal but it gives me 90% of what I need.

Is the focus control something worth getting. What does it add?
Buda,
I have a fully modded Cayin TA-30 and the focus control gives you great control of your unit. I recommend it.
Have you considered modifying your ASL 1003DT with better caps, resistors, wire etc. The parts in there are pretty crappy and the soldering job is probably horrible and needs to be cleaned up. I did it to mine and the results were stunning. This amp all tricked up holds its own against some of the mega buck amps that are similar to it.

Also dump the JJ and go with the EH or EI fat bottles not the the slim ones. You will be presently surprised.
Buda-

When I had a Cayin TA-30 I noticed exactly the same thing. It was a wonderful amp at low levels, but right around 10 o'clock things would start to go south. This wasn't too much of a problem for me since my speakers were only relatively inefficient (Onix Ref 1's @ ~88dB/W). Anything less than that though and it would have been a big issue.

Gary