Hybrid vs. Straight Tubes

07-26-09: Nick_sr
I live in an open concept condo, the room were my system is installed is 24' x 24' with 12'ceilings.

IMO, that's a medium size room, although because of the 12' ceiling, it's a pretty large volume to fill. I'm a little surprised that you find the 40wpc Marantz sufficient, but it's a good sign if you do.

I was under the impression that to get the most out of your speakers it is preferable to drive them and the top end of power range (120W for RS6).

64 wpc would produce 109db peaks on your speakers. Do you listen this loudly? It might be worthwhile for you to purchase a Radio Shack decibel meter and measure your peak listening volume (and your average listening volume).

Tvad,

I am on leave from work, I will be back next monday. I will borrow the decibel meter we have for measuring the sound level of machinery in industrial environments.

I will post a response then.

Cheers.

I've had ss,moved to all tube power and am now quite satisfied with a tube/ss hybrid amp designed and built by Space-Tech-Labs in Vancouver.It provides me with the best of both technologies,and pairs well with my stats.

I think Tvad's responses are dead nuts on;I also have heard changes by rolling tubes in a moscode 401HR friends system;I think George even encourages rolling in his products as well.
As for the power issue I would buy the most power you can afford within reason;probally other users will slam me on this but it has always been in my case a positive.

I think you should buy as much power as you need (which may be less than you think). Which is dependent on speaker, room, and loudness requirements. In almost every case I have experienced, lower powered amplification sounds better to me, IF, it is enough power to reach the volume level and dynamic you are looking for. I find you need a lot less power with tubes, because they simply sound much better at handling peak power demands without distortion. At the stereophile show a few years back, there was a side by side comparison between a 30 watt tube amp and a 200 watt SS amp - guess which sounded louder without distortion.