[A_shah]

I am thinking of getting a Lower powered  2.3 watt amp SUE84UFO from Decware anyone having experience  with low powered amps with Daedalus Speakers ?
how do they sound ?

Asghar

[Bones13]

I don’t have anything that low, but the spec sheet for my Muse says 3-300 watts.

And, I’m sure the room, pre-amp, and listening preferences, will matter a lot.

[kingdeezie]

When I had my Muse Studios, I ran them for a while with a Pass XA30.8. Eventually I moved "up" to a 350.8. I preferred the sound of the 350 to the 30.

Now, that may have been because of differences in voicing. I never went out of Class A with either of them on the Studios.

With the 350.8, I felt the sound was more lively, less constrained, and more transparent. YMMV.

[rodrigaj]

I power my Athena's with a scratch build Lance Cochrane push pull amp rated about 26 watts. I listen mostly to classical music in a large room that is open to other rooms. The Athena's have no problem with that but I would not want to go lower than 26 watts. With 70's rock music (mostly stuff like CSNY) the 26 watts begins to strain when played loudly.

Every other month I switch back to my Modwright KWA150SE and of course things change - the soundstage in particular is much larger.

As someone else commented, your taste in music, how loud you operate your system and room size are the key.

[Bones13]

I have ~25 watt DIY Pass Amplifiers - I end up -0db to -25db with my pre-amp. So I would agree with the 25/26 watts as a good start. With the speakers purchased this year, it will be another few years to save up for a new amp. Of course considering the LTA Ultralinear (20watt), recommended by Lou, but I will also be looking class AB speakers with XLR inputs. I feel my Pre-Amp (Bricasti M12) works a bit better when run in differential mode. $ will depend on how the next few years go.

[audiotom]

My friend is getting a 12 watt SET for his horns that we are Very interested in hearing with the Apollo 11s.

I probably will swap in the Ulysses V2s from my home theatre to see how they respond.

We did run a  6 watt SET amp on the Ulysses
It sounded wonderful but became a little closed in on strong peaks at ~ 85 db crescendos.


one set of my tube amps at 40 watts have all the power and more and the dynamics are to kill for with my Apollo 11s

can't wait to try a 12 watt SET

[Gopher]

My item Apollos sounded nice with sub 50wpc tube amps, but I've gotta say they came alive when given more power.  I have a large room ~29*26*8 and since throwing a stiff 200wpc at them they've really scaled up wonderfully.

[mresseguie]

So I'm curious about using flea watt amps with my Apollos. Has anyone tried a 1.5w or 2.5w/ch tube amp with any of the Daedalus speakers?

It's safe to assume I do not expect to play above 75dB in a medium sized room.

[cheech]

I have Argos V2s in my main system which resides in my 28x20x10 living room. I listen to a mix of smooth jazz, classic R&b/Soul, classic Rock, and Blues. Two of the amps in that system are 22wpc tube integrated amps , Line Magnetic 518IA - 845 power tube, Finale Audio 7189MK2 -7189A/EL84M power tube. Both drive the Argos easily, but the Line Magnetic plays with more authority, similar to my Modwright KWA100SE while the Finale is more polite. I chalk up the differences in presentation to the tubes inherent sonic signature as both have quality transformers. I have entertained trying a 2A3 amp but wonder like others if even with the relatively high sensitivity and flat impedance of Daedalus speakers if the 3 or so watts will really give the speakers what they need. Frankly, I keep going back in forth in my mind if a 6-8 watt SET 300B amp is really sufficient given my room size, or if a 20wpc PSET or PP 300B is what is really needed.  Looking forward to reading if anyone is using to good effect either the 2A3 or 300B SET

[ketcham]

7.5W PX25 SET have no issues driving Daedalus Zeus at 99 dB, 6 Ohms.  Why that model got no love is beyond me.  They do well in medium sized rooms and large rooms.  Easy to move around and, if necessary, relocate.  The dynamics and overall presence was no different than a PP at 20W and 30W.  Ran 100W KT150 PP and the speakers did not benefit from the extra power. 

I thought this was in part because of a high current output preamp (Allnic L-10,000 OTL/OCL).  Trialed other preamps and the PX25 perform, with tight lower frequency focus.  No issue filling a room of 23' cubed with a sublime presence.  I was never left wanting.  I think in part, Lou's speakers have a very flat impedance curve that remains true to spec.

I would be curious to trial a pair of AD1 at 4W but those tubes are rare and cost the earth.

There are a ton of amazing SET amps and I would bet Lou's speakers pair almost universally.

[mresseguie]

Thanks, guys.

I already knew that Lou had paired his speakers with Modwright tube amps (9 watts - I think) to great effect. My Don Sachs Kootenay 120 (KT88) amp sounds marvelous with my Apollos.

I check here, US AudioMart, and Agon regularly, so every so often a low watt amp pops up that looks mighty interesting, but I get nervous when it only puts out 1.5, 2.5 or 3 watts.  Dunno. Maybe I'll try one someday.

Michael

[GregC]

Thanks, guys.

I already knew that Lou had paired his speakers with Modwright tube amps (9 watts - I think) to great effect. My Don Sachs Kootenay 120 (KT88) amp sounds marvelous with my Apollos.

I check here, US AudioMart, and Agon regularly, so every so often a low watt amp pops up that looks mighty interesting, but I get nervous when it only puts out 1.5, 2.5 or 3 watts.  Dunno. Maybe I'll try one someday.

Michael

If you buy a quality used amp for a good price you can always try and sell it if it for what you paid (or close) if it does not work out for you.