[brotherbob]

Hello
New guy here. I dropped out of the hobby about 5 years ago, and now I'm ready to drop back in. At the time, I was into SET's and horns, and that is where I'm starting. I recently acquired a pair of Avantgarde Duo 2.2 speakers (103db) and planned on looking for 300B SET  amps to go with them. In my travels around the internet, I found a review of the Tom Evans Linear A amp (25 watts) by Jeff Day on 6moons. He revim the amp using the same model Avantgardes I have, and he seemed to think that the marriage was blessed by the Audiophile gods themselves. Lots of superlatives. I was intrigued despite the fact that they aren't SET. I'd like to know if anyone here has any experience with or opinions about this amp. I'd also like any suggestions for any other amps you think would be a good match with the Duos. Musical preferences are 60's and 70's classic rock, classical symphony, and solo pipe organ.

[brotherbob]

Meant to say,  He "reviewed" the amp, not "revim." Sorry!

[JLM]

Recently ran across a review of active Avantgardes.  Surprisingly they used 100's of watts of solid state in a relatively compact enclosure.

My impression of Avantgardes was a need for lots of room to back away from the forward presentation, but the real challenge was finding fast enough bass to keep up with the horns.

[SteveS]

brotherbob,
Have a look here, post the same question.
http://www.transcendentsound.com/Transcendent/Home.html

[Triode Pete]

I just picked up a 300B SET amp (S10 EXD) from Gary Dews of BorderPatrol Audio... http://www.borderpatrol.net/amplifiers.htm for my Volti K-horns.

Best SET amp I've ever heard... tremendous, accurate deep bass response & effortless extended highs, and of course, the midrange SET magic is there...

I would say the key is the power supplies (tube rectified, tons of iron, including choke transformers)...

My $0.02,
Pete

[JoshK]

Having studied tube amp design for more than a decade I will agree with Triode Pete that power supply in a SET is ultra critical, and maybe even more so they what DHT it has in the output section.  This is something many audiophiles overlook.   BorderPatrol looks good. 

My personal favorite designer is Thomas Mayer (blogspot.vinylsavor.de).   His 10Y drives 300B would be amazing if you have the right preamp.   In a 300B amp, the driver is supercritical and what better than another superb DHT?   He uses chokes galore and interstages in the aforementioned amp to avoid caps.

What kind of music do you listen to?   How large of a room?  How loud do you listen? 

The reason I ask is I once listened to a friend's Avantgarde Duos (not sure which model) at a large get together.   We compared a whole bunch of SET amps that day.   The room was moderately size and fairly open.   At these raves the volume usually goes up and we were playing some large scale orchestral often as the test music.    I have a strong preference for 45 amps, but it wasn't enough juice under said condition even given the high sensitivity of the speakers.   In that setting, 300B seems minimum.     I am pretty sure in my own room, 45 would be fine.

 

[brotherbob]

First off, I want to thank everyone who has responded to my search for amps for my Avantgarde Duo's. At this point, I'm thinking Tom Evans Linear A or Wavelength Tritons or Cardinals. I'm still open to and hoping for more suggestions.

JoshK--I'm not technically savvy about electronics, but I checked out Thomas Mayer's site and found it very interesting. He seems to be an uberman of audio electronics. If I go the 300B route, I'm going to try to get some of his Elrog ER300B's. I haven't had time yet, but I'm going to see what he has in the way of 300B amps and if they aren't out of my price range, I'll add them to my short list. Thanks for the heads up on Thomas.
    Also, you asked, "What kind of music do you listen to? How large of a room? How loud do you listen?"
Answer: I have a finished, open room in the basement that measures 33' long by 27' wide with a very low ceiling of 6'8" Half of the room contains the audio system, the other half has a pool table and a bar area. Musical preferences and listening levels are: 60's and 70's classic rock music- medium to concert level loud; classical symphony orchestra- not so loud (serious listening and I don't want complex passages to smear); solo pipe organ- sort of loud up to shake the foundation loud. It all depends on if I got a buzz on or not, and what kind of buzz. I may be 65 years old but I'll be rockin' on 'til the final cut. God bless music!

[JoshK]

Yeah I'd stick to 300B or more power then for that room and volume levels.  That is me.  45 amps sound sweet but would leave you hanging sometimes wanting more power. 

I own Thomas's 211 monos and I can speak to his work/parts quality/design and execution.   I think his amps will equal (or better?) the other amps on your list.   I don't know what his 10Y drives 300B costs, but that would be the one I inquired about.   He builds amps to all levels of affordability. 

[mrderrick]

I am a bit late to your thread.
Owning Avantgarde Duo Omegas I would like to suggest that you consider an OTL.
I have Atma Sphere M60's mated to my Omegas.
I only run 1 pair of tubes in each amp, output is about 20 watts with no feedback.
What is really magical is that those tubes are directly connected to the mid/bass horn with no crossover.

[Srajan Ebaen]

At 109dB sensitivity, the Avantgardes will be ultra critical of noise.

And, many amp designers have never ever tested their amps into such loads.

If I were you, I'd only *consider* amps which actual Avantgarde owners recommend as also passing this test.  Having speakers sit there humming or buzzing when no signal is playing is not my (or probably your) idea of a good time. And merely shopping on the usual specs, or on recommendation from people with 94dB speakers, will tell you nothing about whether those amps will ace your noise test