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Hi. I am looking for some speakers to match with my Conrad Johnson CAV-50 intregrated amplifier. This is a tube integrated amp powered at just 45 w/ch, so I would imagine that I need something that is fairly sensitive. I know very little about matching speakers and amps (though, of course, the most important thing is to hear the combo and gather subjective listening impressions). Yet I'd like to have some basis to narrow down my choices, come up with a list of a few candidates, and then give them a try.
I am looking for something that excels at imaging and neutrality but is not overly dry or analytical in its sound, and that is suitable for all genres of music. I've heard very good things about the Vandersteen 2CE and its progeny, particularly in terms of their synergy with my CJ amp, but I have some doubts about whether an 86db speaker could be driven adequately by a 45w/ch tube amplifier. My listening area is medium sized, about 10 ft wide x 25 ft in length with 9ft ceilings. What are some principles I should use in narrowing down my list of speaker options?
Thanks,
Mike Todd
Follow Ups:
It's a close call whether your amp will work with Vandersteen 2ce's. Vandersteens sound great with tubes but your room is not small and the 2ce's like some power.
I drove 2c's with a 30 watt Berning tube amp in a 10x12 room and it worked fine. Then I moved to a 12x25 room and the amp frequently ran out of power. I then got Quicksilver Monos which were 60 watt tube amps and they worked much better.
Very nice suggestions. Thank you! Does anyone know anything about Zu Audio speakers? They seem reasonably priced and high sensitivity. Maybe they would be overkill (in terms of sensitivity) for the CJ amp?
These speakers love tubes
...musical speakers with 8ohm load and easy to drive.
I think you'll be OK. Read the review. Theses speakers were being driven by an 18W Lamm tube amp and the reviewer says that this worked well on 98% of the music listened to. Unfortunately, no mention of the music, but they played a Mahler symphony with glowing praise. If you listen to a lot of jazz, acoustic and chamber music, and most classical music (that is not too dynamic) you will certainly be OK.
"What did the Romans ever do for us?"
And as rules of thumb or starting points for research the comments here tend to be decent enough. You should be able to search in Speakers for "easy" and "load" or "drive."I would start with:
Devore, Reynaud, Coincident, although many of their models tend to cost more than 2Ce.
Then I might think of the $1500 or so Revel floorstander or the PSB Imagine T floorstander.
I might also look at the soon to be discontinued (?) Martin Logan Source.
All these options even close to $2000 give up a little on the low end compared to the 2Ce, although the Revel would be closest.
In general if you get the sensitivity addressed, and the min. impedance appropriate for the taps, then your CJ should be adequate to handle any difficulty in speaker reactance, imo. Unlike some budget tube products, which can struggle in such cases.
Edits: 11/25/10
The Vandy 2CE would need about 100 tube watts( or more) to get things going unless you listen to fairly simple music at lower levels. I've found tube amps in the power range of the CAV 50 like an impedance friendly 2-way in the 88db or above range.
How do I know if a speaker is impedance friendly, as you put it? Perhaps the Vandersteen 1C speakers would be a better choice, since their sensitivity is 90db? Also, since when is 250 square feet a "huge" room? My listening space is the floor-thru ground level of a small row house.
except sensitivity and lowest ohm rating. You'll really just have to listen to determine what appeals to you. With the 2CE's you have minimum 4ohm's which will (imo)only allow low/mod level listening before taxing the CJ amp. Joseph Audio is one mfg, out of many, that seem more tube friendly.
Edits: 11/25/10
And remember: to increase the SPL by 3 dB, you need to double the power. There is also a lot going on that isn't reflected in measurements: an old cj MV75 of mine made a friend's Vandy 3's sound positively gigantic, compared with the 100-watt Muse amps he had on them before.
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All that said, I suspect you might be pushing it in that huge room. Underpowered speakers are the first ones to fry, when you push the amps into clipping... even the relatively soft clipping of "old school" tube amps.
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Got money? Get the Quatros. Really wonderful speakers that don't need much power, thanks to the built-in amps for the woofers.
WW
There is NO substitute for the live performance.
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