However, it does seem that the amp runs out of steam before I’m even able to generate peaks of 80db at the listening position.
Hi Scott,
My suspicion is that what is mainly running out of steam is the speaker, not the amp. The speakers have specified power handling of "50 watts program." Which presumably refers to the maximum amount of power they are rated to handle on the peaks of what the designers consider to be typical musical material. And their continuous power handling capability, were it specified, would be considerably less than that.
Putting more power into a speaker than it can comfortably handle will result in some combination of increased distortion and thermal compression, which among other things would result in a perception of reduced dynamics.
Also, regarding the CJ integrated amp that was suggested, I would have some concern about the suitability of its 10K input impedance with the output impedance of your phono stage. I found an indication that the nominal output impedance of the phono stage may be 500 ohms. However since it is tube-based, and most likely uses a coupling capacitor at its output, its output impedance at deep bass frequencies could very conceivably rise to a few K, which would result in significant deep bass rolloff in conjunction with a 10K load. On the other hand, though, that might not be perceivable with these particular speakers, given their limited deep bass extension. But why risk compounding that limitation?
Best regards,
-- Al
