[flavo]

I'm putting my Emerald Physic 4.7s back in the main listening position and my Jolida 6802 integrated isn't set up to properly run the bi-amping of the upper frequencies.
Since the lower frequencies are being handled by the SS amp to the lower woofer, do I need to concern myself with the amount of "slam and lower extension that
gets talked about when reviewing lower powered tube amps?
The EP4.7s have a 95db sensitivity so I'm assuming just about any tube amp will work for them. My Jolida is ~50w per ch and only about 1/3 of the volume pot is useable.
I'm guessing I'd like to go with an SET as I'd like like plenty of air and beautiful midrange?  Correct me if I'm wrong here. I'm mostly guessing with a little bit of knowledge sprinkled in.
I'm also guessing I'd be fine with 4w per channel??

There is a cost issue here though. I'm not certain I want to make this work. So whatever I buy, most likely used, has to be sort of easy to resell.
But also has to be good enough for me to realize if I should keep these speakers long term or not.
I'm hoping to keep it under $1500 and could double that if there was an excellent reason to.
If you're willing to help with examples, it needs to be a power amp or the ability to bypass the built in volume pot.

Gracias 
Mike

 

[OldScott]

Flavo,  I have a pair of VMPS RM V-60 tower bass units. These are about six feet tall and have four 12 inch woofers with staggered resonate frequencies as well as two passive 15 inch radiators. Sensitivity is 94 db. I am driving them with two Wavac MD 805 60 watt monoblocks. This set up is capable of damaging ones hearing. So you don't need megawatts, but 4 watts might be on the skimpy side. 

[Unison845]

My experiment with all out effort putting together an active  Quad-amp Horn system.

[opnly bafld]

95dB and 4 watts would work for me since I don't "rock out" even with rock.

[OldScott]

Pretty impressive system opnluy bfld . Given 4 watts being  sufficient a good 300B SET with their magnificent mid range sound sound fabulous.

[flavo]

I've been wondering about sensitivity for a while now. Does 95db sensitivity always mean the same thing in terms of wattage needed for power?
If I have a single driver speaker with 95db sensitivity
And Scott has a 6' stack with 4 or 6 large woofers at 95db sensitivity
Will both pairs of speakers require the same power to play at equal levels?

[flavo]

There are a couple of 300b Canary  mono block amps on USaudiomart that are in the 20w range.
The review I read on them called them basically wonderful but also as completely neutral. I think I want something with a little color to it
and I can't swing the price of them just for a quick experiment.

[Escott1377]

Can you DIY w/ a kit?  A lot of SET’s use big bottle tubes and they can get pretty pricey.

I read your original and looked at Tube Depot, didn’t see much, but getting something on EBay that will be Chinese more than likely get you into your budget.

You’re not going to get any return on those.

I do have a bi amp system with tubes up top and SS on the bottom and it sounds very good to my ears.

My pre uses a pair of 300B’s and a pair of 12AU7’s to add the wide image from a big bottle tube.

[OldScott]

Flavio, maybe I have what you are looking for. I have in air conditioned storage a Canary CA-306 with less than 50 hours on it. Shortly after purchasing it I found the buy of a lifetime on a nice used pair of Wavac 805 monoblocks.  I had bought the Canary new at a msrp of $5,800 and Canary's come without tubes  It is a stereo amplifier with two 300B's on each side with an output of 24 watts per channel. The tubes are premium Russian made EH's. The Wavac new had a msrp of over $20K and obviously had a better sound quality than the tubed $5,800 Canary -  but not by much! I can send pictures and we can correspond privately off circle if you are interested.

[OldScott]

Ooops, my email is pmonroe73150@aol.com

[flavo]

Email sent Scott

[knotscott]

I am currently bi-amping with tube amps on the main speakers full range, and a SS powered sub-woofer....successfully I might add.  I'm using two Dynaco ST-70s with the VTA mods in a vertical bi-amp configuration in triode mode....not the SET you're looking for, but I'll make no excuses for them...they sound wonderful.

One amp on each side like monoblocks, but one channel for the 8" woofer in a transmission line (also feeds the high level input of the powered sub), the other channel for mid/tweeter.  ~20 watts per channel triode into average efficiency speakers (~89 db/1w).   I run the sub below 40-50hz, and keep it set relatively low so that it's barely noticeable most of the time. 

This setup allows me to tailor the output tubes to their respective strengths....matched pairs for sure, but different pairs for the woofer and the mid/tweeters...a bit unconventional, but effective. The T-line does tend to give deeper tighter bass from the same driver than other box configurations, and tailoring the tubes to a set that has tighter bass helps the tube amps sound pretty respectable even in the low end.  Then a different set tubes with sweet open mids and highs, and it's like a breath of fresh air. The separate amp per channel gives excellent separation and spacial characteristics.