What speakers work well for low watt amps?

Duke · « **Reply #80 on:** 18 Oct 2015, 04:15 am »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 17 Oct 2015, 04:20 am

Thanks Duke for your honest reply.
The driver is this pro audio:
http://lsv-achenbach.de/daten/beyma/bey_12G125.pdf
The inductance is at the botton left.

Nice looking driver!

It's 8 ohms, but with a much longer x-max than most widerange drivers, and I suspect that's where the higher inductance comes in.

This is probably blasphemy, but I'd be tempted to experiment with a notch filter to bring down the emphasis between 2 and 3 kHz. This driver looks smoother than most I've seen, but imo there's room for improvement in that region, theoretically at least.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #81 on:** 18 Oct 2015, 10:21 am »

Its a old model I found in a 2002 catalog.
Its very smooth, better than Eminence Beta 12LTA.
Do you think that peak between 2-3Khz is audible?

Duke · « **Reply #82 on:** 21 Oct 2015, 02:03 am »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 18 Oct 2015, 10:21 am

Do you think that peak between 2-3Khz is audible?

Yes.

The ear's sensitivity peaks in the 2-4 kHz octave, so that's an important region to get right.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #83 on:** 21 Oct 2015, 02:05 am »

Thanks Duke.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #84 on:** 12 May 2016, 12:41 am »

On a scale of 1 - 10, how SET friendly would you say the above is?

planet10 · « **Reply #85 on:** 12 May 2016, 01:03 am »

The impedance peak at the XO is almost as high as at resonance. With a SET you will have a peak at 1k. IMO not a great impedance curve for a SET. The rise at resonance should extend the bass (but care, it may also get "fat").

dave

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #86 on:** 12 May 2016, 12:54 pm »

Thanks, Dave. The bass actually sounds pretty tight and detailed. But I suspect the peak around 900 is taxing the 8 watt power output. In addition to that, I just found out the manufacturer has overstated the sensitivity by about 3 db according to the measurements taken at the NRC. So the speakers I thought were 89 db @ 1 watt are really 86 db... I should have known better, oh well.

FireGuy · « **Reply #87 on:** 12 May 2016, 01:31 pm »

Quote from: Wind Chaser on 12 May 2016, 12:54 pm

Thanks, Dave. The bass actually sounds pretty tight and detailed. But I suspect the peak around 900 is taxing the 8 watt power output. In addition to that, I just found out the manufacturer has overstated the sensitivity by about 3 db according to the measurements taken at the NRC. So the speakers I thought were 89 db @ 1 watt are really 86 db... I should have known better, oh well.

Vendors overstating sensitivity is very real. "I should have known better." I suppose we can all relate to that.

JLM · « **Reply #88 on:** 14 May 2016, 12:20 pm »

No industry accepted standards for measuring audio specifications.

Speaker efficiency at what frequency (versus showing a graph across the entire stated response of the speaker)? Test bench (ideal) conditions or with some sort of real world amplifiers? Sine wave loading or using known samples of music?

Audiophiles should stand up and ask for our money back when stated specifications mislead.

JLM · « **Reply #89 on:** 23 May 2016, 12:30 pm »

Finally 8 of us got into the home of a new member of our audio club Saturday to hear his $50k system. The $10,000 USD speakers used (

4 inch Fostex FE126En drivers front and back in a truncated bipole vertical line array (32 drivers in all) with a front firing ribbon tweeter crossed very high and a pair of passive radiators. The drivers were in 4 paralleled groupings of 4 that were in series, resulting in a 101 dB/w/m at 16 ohm efficiency. Large subwoofers filled in the bottom. We listened in the side of a 26 ft x 22 ft x 8 ft space. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to hear familiar music during my time in the sweet spot so can only provide limited impressions. But as predictable the acoustic center was mid-height of the array (quite low - about 23 inches above the floor). Overall presentation was "soft" (not audiophile crisp). The member has been around audio for decades, likes the sound that way, and admittedly constantly tube swapping.

Individually the $60 FE126En is rated 93 dB/w/m at 8 ohms and 15 watts rms. Bass begins to roll off at 200 Hz. Using 16 per speaker does boost bass and output. But I'm not convinced that $960 worth of drivers couldn't have been better spent or that the speakers were competitive with other $10,000 speakers (Daedalus Audio comes immediately to mind).

planet10 · « **Reply #90 on:** 23 May 2016, 06:06 pm »

FE126En is not a driver i'd choose for an array, even if they were my own better EnABLed ones.

dave

MothAudio · « **Reply #91 on:** 1 Feb 2017, 01:51 am »

Silverline Sonatina

For the past 15 years I've been using the original Silverline Sonatina's. I pair these with a Moth s45 SET using Emission Labs 45 triodes. MothAudio s45 custom direct reactance drive - adjustable bias, zero feedback - 45 or 2a3 SET (1.8-6wpc output). Electra-Print BE5KB transformers 3k OPT / 13w plate disipation / Borne 10k pot / Jupiter Copper Foil 0.22uF 600VDC coupling caps / Kiwame carbon film resistors / CTC 'blowtorch' silver wire.

The tweeter and midrange drivers are soft domes from LPG and modified by Silverline, while the woofers are from SEAS and also modified to Silverline’s specifications. The speakers feature first-order crossover slopes, with crossover frequencies specified as 1500Hz and 3500Hz. Rated frequency response is 25Hz to 27kHz. Sensitivity is specified as 93dB and impedance as 8 ohms, making the speakers an easy load. The cabinet, which is ported out the back, is made out of MDF and has a separate compartment in the bottom for the crossover, which is wired almost directly to the speaker terminals, pairs for treble/midrange and bass.

My listener priorities are emotional expression coupled with a non-fatiguing presentation. My objective is to capture a delicate, airy, dimensional presentation that suggests music rather than mere sound while exploring both nuance and tone. I feel the Moth+Sonatina pairing pushed the whole replay thing to another level that just made the illusion more real. And this was the Moth with the EML 45's, I never felt the same thing with 2a3s which the amp also accepts. Funny how the smallest differences can have the most profound effect. Naturally, YMMV.

The listening room is 27x18x9. The speakers are basically diagonally positioned in one corner on a long wall. Spaced 11 feet apart, the listener position 8 feet back.

fortc · « **Reply #92 on:** 5 Feb 2017, 05:12 am »

I would like to know speakers that would work well with 2A3 SET amps. Something that is not in the astronomical price range.

AudioSoul · « **Reply #93 on:** 11 Jun 2017, 02:32 pm »

I have been reading this thread with interest. I just recently got into a low powered tube system. I have owned high powered tube amps and class A SS amps in the past so I am familiar with that sound. I recently replaced my equipment with a Chinese SEP EL34 8w tube amp and a Chinese tube preamp. I was looking to get a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls for speakers. These were above my affordability so I looked around and found some new high efficiency speakers from Tekton Designs. They are the Lore's. I can say I am very happy with this setup and can say the best sounds I have ever heard from my own system. I know the electronics are not top notch but I just want to post this for others, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get great music from low powered tube amps....

fredgarvin · « **Reply #94 on:** 11 Jun 2017, 09:10 pm »

Quote from: AudioSoul on 11 Jun 2017, 02:32 pm

I have been reading this thread with interest. I just recently got into a low powered tube system. I have owned high powered tube amps and class A SS amps in the past so I am familiar with that sound. I recently replaced my equipment with a Chinese SEP EL34 8w tube amp and a Chinese tube preamp. I was looking to get a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls for speakers. These were above my affordability so I looked around and found some new high efficiency speakers from Tekton Designs. They are the Lore's. I can say I am very happy with this setup and can say the best sounds I have ever heard from my own system. I know the electronics are not top notch but I just want to post this for others, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get great music from low powered tube amps....

The Klipsch Forte and Chorus both sound great to me with low powered amps. Especially with the titanium diaphragms. I'm looking to buy a pair but everybody is asking fantasy prices around here for them at the moment. Sooner or later someone will crack and a deal will appear.

I'll keep my big Coda Continuum with my VMPS speakers and find either a tube or tripath type for the Klipsch.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #95 on:** 11 Jun 2017, 09:24 pm »

The Forte II worth to buy used due the bass performance from the Passive Radiator;

fredgarvin · « **Reply #96 on:** 27 Jun 2017, 05:26 pm »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 11 Jun 2017, 09:24 pm

The Forte II worth to buy used due the bass performance from the Passive Radiator;

I just picked up some Quartets, the same drivers as the Forte II but with a 10" woofer and 12" passive radiator. They really surprised me how good they sound. I can't quit playing music. My wife fell in love with them immediately. The vocals are so natural sounding and the dynamics and live feel of these are spectacular. They really pump out the bass as well. The chest thump is back!

The tractix horns have none of the honk or harshness that the 'internet' is so certain about. The tweeters have the newer titanium diaphragms. After 15 years listening to panels and ribbons, this sounds so fresh.

Luckily, with my big amp I have I have a neutral sounding IRD pre with variable gain. On the lowest setting I can still get huge volume with a tiny twist of the knob.

I'm going to fix that pretty soon.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #97 on:** 27 Jun 2017, 06:37 pm »

When ForteII was tested by Audio(germany) in the 1990s they say it was unbeatable in solo clarinet, so I think you will like to hear Acker Bilk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L4C5hKRS48

fredgarvin · « **Reply #98 on:** 27 Jun 2017, 07:03 pm »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 27 Jun 2017, 06:37 pm

When ForteII was tested by Audio(germany) in the 1990s they say it was unbeatable in solo clarinet, so I think you will like to hear Acker Bilk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L4C5hKRS48

Nice, my parents used to listen to Acker Bilk, Al hirt.

richp4003 · « **Reply #99 on:** 12 Dec 2017, 02:05 pm »

I have some Zu Audio Druid (v5) and they are pretty fantastic and are very high sensitivity. Granted, I am running them with 40+ watt Luxman tube amps, but given how effortlessly they can get loud and clear, I think they would be fare pretty well with SET stuff.