Posted by LeroyC33 (A) on February 21, 2008 at 15:54:20

Hello everyone. I just bought a pair of Emerald Physics CS2 speakers, I know that these speakers need to be bi-amped, and I am now looking for the amps with which to drive them. I spoke to Clayton, (the designer of these speakers), on the phone, and he said that for the lower frequencies, that the CS2s need at least 100 watts to be driven effectively on the low end, and so then he recommended that I use a solid-state amp in order to drive the low frequency woofers, and so I will look for a good solid-state amp to drive the woofers of the CS2s on the lower frequencies. I also asked him about what type of amp I should use for the higher frequencies, but he would not give me a recommendation as to whether or not I should use tube amps or solid-state amps on the high frequency tweeters, saying that he had customers who were doing both and were happy with them. And so, I am asking my questions to and referring my questions to you guys who already own these speakers and who have had experience with them: can you tell me which would sound better driving the high frequency tweeters of the CS2s--tube amps or solid-state amps? Has anyone actually tried driving the tweeters of these speakers with a tube amp, and did it sound good and was the sound to your liking? And also, has anyone actually tried driving these speakers with SET tube amps, and did you think the speakers sounded good driving them with those amps, and was the sound to your liking? I was also looking at a specific tube amp to pair with the upper frequency tweeters of these speakers, and that is the Art Audio Carissa Signature 845 SET tube amp. I was told by Clayton that the power output of this SET amp would be enough to drive the upper frequency tweeters of these speakers due to the use of the 845 tube, but he had never heard of the amp before, and so he could not say whether or not he thought that this amp would be a good match with the CS2 tweeters or not. Has anyone had any experience pairing this particular 845 SET amp with the CS2 tweeters? Has anyone had any experience trying to pair another 845 SET tube amp with the high frequency tweeters of the CS2s? And if you did, did it sound good, did you like the sound, and did it sound musical? Everyone’s input is appreciated, and all are welcome to reply, but I would especially like to hear from CS2 owners and those whom have either tried to use tube amplification in order to drive the upper frequency tweeters of these speakers and who have had experience with using tube amps with these speakers, or those who have heard the speakers before being driven separately by both solid-state amps and tube amps.

Thanks in advance to everyone who replies.