Tube amps and speaker ohms

No 40 watts will not drive a 89 db speaker. Push pull or single ended. I have a speaker at 96 db and 200 watts push pull is just enough. Anything less its clippsville.

05-25-07: Hiend2
No 40 watts will not drive a 89 db speaker. Push pull or single ended. I have a speaker at 96 db and 200 watts push pull is just enough. Anything less its clippsville.

Perhaps the room size is a significant factor.

I recently took delivery of an integrated amplifer rated at 32 wpc that I am auditioning with 89db/1w/1m loudspeakers. The 30wpc is more than sufficient to drive the speakers to levels into the high 90db range without clipping. I suspect I could go higher.

Transformer quality is everything in a tube amp.

Hiend2: I use 45 watts a side from a CJ CAV50 to drive my 86 dB Vandy 2Ce Sigs in a moderately sized room and I have very little trouble hitting my comfort zone of 80 dB in my listening position about 10 ft from them.

I don't know where you get that opinion unless you listen to Metallica at concert levels (120 dB), then it all makes sense.

>>No 40 watts will not drive a 89 db speaker<<

Not true.

Depends on the speaker and the amplifier.

My JOR is,, well the one I sold...is rated 40 watts "conservatively" as they say...does "manage" to drive the 89 db speakers. However since i never biaed the unit, I am not sure there was more highs it could have achieved. On jazz, pop, R7B there was authority. In big complex orch I was always looking for more authority. So the 40 watts was never enough to make the orch "bloom". This is the only reason I sold the amp and looked for more power. I was say a "normal" 40 watt tube amp is not going to deliver the goods on a 89 db speaker. I always felt there was more in the orch that was not comming through.