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RE: Any sense of tube amp for 4Ohm medium speakers

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In Reply to: RE: Any sense of tube amp for 4Ohm medium speakers posted by avsBuddy on April 13, 2010 at 12:26:41

Hi,
As Eli said, a fully restored "McShaned" Citation II would drive them easily. If they don't dip below maybe 3 ohms then most any decent tube amp with a 4 ohm tap and 60+ watts per channel will probably drive them. I'd be wary of any dealer who thinks that tubes are too much hassle. He clearly doesn't know much about them and probably shouldn't be carrying them if that is the case. Go to the polk audio site and look up the impedance curve for your speaker and see what they specify the lowest point to be. As long as it is 3 ohms or more then a tube amp can drive them. Eli is pointing out the worst case scenario. As he said, a Citation II can drive them very nicely as it is stable into a 1 ohm load. And better than most any other tube amp you are likely to encounter.

don

Follow Ups:

RE: Any sense of tube amp for 4Ohm medium speakers - Jim McShane 06:25:55 04/14/10 (2)
FWIW, my 1980 vintage AR-9s are 87 db efficient (that's at one watt), meaning 87db with 1 watt input at 1 meter on axis.

A "McShaned" Citation II will drive them to uncomfortably loud levels in a moderately sized room. And do so without sweat and strain.

One of my most memorable experiences was when a gentleman (Terry - I can't recall your last name if you are reading this) came by in person to pick up some Citation parts. It turns out that his business was restoring pipe organs! So of course it was a mix of dread and anticipation occurring when I played him the finale from the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. Afterwards I asked him if what he'd just heard sounded anything like a real pipe organ - he immediately replied "oh yes, that was remarkably good".

Believe me, that takes STONES from the amp.

And a small correction on Eli's statement - I routinely see 150 watts plus of peak power from a "McShaned" amp.

I can't recommend a Citation II more highly for your system.
- How about Manley? - avsBuddy 07:42:31 04/14/10 (1)
  Guys, thanks you all for great help. I guess I should be able to explore tubes as a viable option for my setup then. What is the opinion about Manley Snappers - they are 100 Watt monobloks. They have been making them since 2002 and seeing how they have updated every other model, is it possible Snappers are due to update as well? Maybe even more power?
  
  By the way. What is the biggest difference in sound when going from solid state to tube amp? My B&K is pretty smooth sounding solid state amp.
  - RE: How about Manley? - Eli Duttman 17:12:48 04/14/10 (0)
    "What is the biggest difference in sound when going from solid state to tube amp?"
    
    Better midrange.
    
    "What is the opinion about Manley Snappers - they are 100 Watt monobloks."
    
    I know nada about those Manley units. However, it is a fact that O/P trafos make or break a tube amp. The "iron" used in the H/K Cit. 2 is a prime contender for the best ever wound. Open loop bandwidth is well above 100 KHz. :> D
    
    Eli D.

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