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new to tubes

i have never had any tube equipment and am thinking about trying it out. i am learning slowly about it and thinking about taking a leap with a lower priced piece. i currently have a Cambridge Audio 840v2 integrated amp and a pair of Fritz Grove monitors. my only source is a Squeezebox Touch. i already plan to get an Eastern Electric Dac. my only concern is how much power is enough to drive the groves as they are only 86db efficient. my room is only 13'x 11' treated,and i dont listen past 92 db. i'm thinking on the lines of a Jolida 502b to start. trying to stay under $1000 used. any thoughts?
rayray8
rayray8 OP
51 posts
 
i fully understand what you are talking about. bottom line is i spoke with fritz who has used tubes with the speakers and recommended me several amps in my price range that he actually has. i also know there are others who use tubes with these speakers and all is well. i'd rather take the advice of the speaker builder and of those that actually have these speakers then that of people just speculating. i appreciate the opinions and yes, i am learning and new to tubes, so im sure there might be some trial and error associated.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
If you do some research, e.g. reading something like Robert Harley's "The Complete Guide to High End Audio" (especially the chapter about amplification), then there will be no trial and error (nor speculation) regarding proper speaker/amplifier matching.

FWIW.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
i spoke with fritz who has used tubes with the speakers and recommended me several amps in my price range that he actually has.
Rayray8 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
Specifically, which tube amps did Fritz recommend? It'd be helpful to have this posted for future owners to research in these threads.
rleff
1,065 posts
 
Tvad that was the reason for asking my earlier question as well;it would be very helpful to have the the information of what the maker said would be a match for his speakers and which are not.
timlub
1,649 posts
 
I know I'm chiming in on a 3 month old thread. I assume RayRay8 has his amp and all is well, but for what its worth. I've built with the same woofer on the Fritz Grove. It is also the same driver used in the Totem Forest. It does not have any crazy impedance dips, and the real question is phase angles. This woofer does occasionally go reactive in phase angles, but overall is a capacitive load. MOST, not all tube amps will drive this speaker fine as long as you have enough power. Also RayRay8, This woofer really takes along time to break in, I would recommend to not take anything that you hear to heart until you have 200 hours on them. They will still get better up to 300 hours, but at 200, you'll have a good idea.
Good Listening, Tim
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