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Speakers for Tube Amp

971 views 38 replies 12 participants last post by  18Hurts 
#1 ·
I am currently looking for speakers to pair with a 20-30 watt tube amp that I recently acquired for a cheap at a pawn shop.

At the same time I want to upgrade my current system which consists of Polk Monitor 60s two 40s and cs2 center. For now I want to go with just a two channel system.

The way we listen the 20 watts seems to be enough power for the polks and we are never maxed out. We do 50/50 music to movies. I also have a midrange yamaha rxv 875 receiver, but want something that can be ran off of the tube amp also.

My budget is around 1,000 but is pretty flexible.

My room is 21 x 17 ft but then opens up to the kitchen dining etc.

A couple days ago we listened to some Martin Logan 40s which I enjoyed but I believe would be quite the handful for my tube amp. Any recommendations would be great. I am just in the research stage for now.

Tower and Bookshelf recommendations will be great. One limiting factor I do have is the WAF needs to be high! ;)
 
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#6 · (Edited)
I am quite happy with my Klipsch RB-81ii's, put in service with my Onkyo C-7030 CDP and Emotiva Flex-X A-100 50 Wpc stereo amp in November for 100% music. You'll appreciate their 97dB SPL. They are my favorite speakers! Amazon still has a few of the discontinued model ($250/ea). Large (8" LF driver!) - you'll need a lot of vertical space on a strong shelf as they weigh ~28 lb> Front-ported BR means they can be mounted near a wall - or, like mine, in a bookcase. They can be bi-amped, too. They are pretty decent for PRC-made speakers.

Of course, I'd love a pair of Heresy iii's - but I don't have the floor space (... or the $!,500 one dealer quoted! Shop around.)
 
#7 ·
I am currently looking for speakers to pair with a 20-30 watt tube amp that I recently acquired for a cheap at a pawn shop.
You have it bassackwards. Choose the speakers, as they and the room are 95%+ of the sound. Then choose the amp.
 
#8 ·
Ha this I do understand. The whole story comes about that I found an Mid 2012 i7 Macbook Pro at a goodwill for $80 which would not boot. I bought a charger for $15 and a hdd cable (known issue on these) for another $15. Everything on the computer worked. I went into a pawn shop a few days later and they had a Jolida vacuum tube amp for $550. I always wanted to try a tube amp but never wanted to fork over the money. Long story shortened I ended up trading the Macbook Pro $110 total for the Jolida amp.

Two weeks later I moved from NE to TX and now have a larger room to fill. I also would like to get rid of my Polks (never been too fond) and find a sweet two channel that can handle movies and music so began the dilemma in needing speakers post amp purchase.
 
#9 ·
So, sell the Jolida for a profit, and put that into speakers you like and a SS amp to drive them. Much better sound and value than using an underpowered tube amp to drive speakers which may not be your favourites but were bought simply because you needed the efficiency.
 
#14 ·
20-30 w is not that limiting. YOu can basically go with any speaker you like of moderate sensitivity. Your room is pretty big but you indicate the polks reach a good listening level for your use, just look up their sensitivity and shoot for that number or higher. Does the amp have 4 ohm taps as well? If not you may want to pick a 6-8 ohm nominal speaker.

Really you have to decide what you dont like about your polks and find a speaker that is better in the areas where you desire it. 1000$ buys alot of very good speakers so you have bunches of options. Personally I would be looking in to a pair of second hand dynaudios of some flavor, but my taste may not be the same as yours.
 
#15 ·
:)
20-30 w is not that limiting. YOu can basically go with any speaker you like of moderate sensitivity. Your room is pretty big but you indicate the polks reach a good listening level for your use, just look up their sensitivity and shoot for that number or higher. Does the amp have 4 ohm taps as well? If not you may want to pick a 6-8 ohm nominal speaker.

Really you have to decide what you dont like about your polks and find a speaker that is better in the areas where you desire it. 1000$ buys alot of very good speakers so you have bunches of options. Personally I would be looking in to a pair of second hand dynaudios of some flavor, but my taste may not be the same as yours.

I do have 4 ohm tap. The polks dont seem to have the clarity throughout the range that I have noticed on other speakers. I also have the whole five channel setup which for now I do not need/can use, so I figured sell those off and upgrade the front two for now. I will use the new setup with a phantom center and slowly add abudget allows.
 
#24 ·
I've owned Heresys and wouldn't recommend them. Shrieky and bass shy. Omega and Zu use guitar speakers: evidence has been offered on the poor performance from the Zu and the Omega will likely be no better.
 
#26 ·
Pi-4's or something from diysoundgroup. But you'll need to build them yourself.

I've used nothing but high efficiency speakers for many years. There are very few good commercial ones out there. There is a sticky thread on this subject at the top of the forum.
 
#29 ·
Pi-4's or something from diysoundgroup.
sticky thread on this subject at the top of the forum.
Believe it or not I have looked into the Pi and SEOS speakers. I just do not trust my finishing skills to make them look nice. These are going into a living room so the aesthetics have to be pleasing! (Not saying that DIY speakers cant look pleasing, just stating that I doubt my abilities to make them look that way.)
 
#27 ·
Why would speakers sound different from a tube amp versus regular electronic amp? Isn't the job of the amp to power the speaker to reproduce a particular sound (source material)? If a tube amp produces a different sound than the electronic amp, one of them ain't be faithful to the source...and wouldn't you want the amp that is most faithful to the source? Just asking....
 
#28 ·
Who is to say which amp is more faithful a lot more plays into the sound being reproduced other than amplification. I believe there is a place for each amplification depending on the source. Like I said I am no tube fanatic just that I have come across a decent deal on one and decided to test it out because I have read multiple threads about tubes and "their" sound.

Regardless of amp selection, say you only have 20-30 amps which speaker is then recommended?
 
#30 ·
Is this really where y'all want to have the tube vs solid state debate or the objective vs subjective evaluation of speakers debate?


You are under no obligation to answer the OPs questions as asked. However, why even bother otherwise?


OP like I said, you have a target efficiency to shoot for. Really any speaker in that range will work for you. You need to figure out what you want really. If you want to stick with your theme of vintage and bargain type system, I would recommend looking at audiogon for some 5-15 year old speakers. Audiokarma is a good forum to read for this type of gear hunting as well.
 
#34 ·
One thing often recommended with tube amps is speakers with an efficiency of 93dB or higher. You also mentioned that you want a 2 channel system so look for a full range speaker. I would take a look at the Klipsch Chorus ll's or Forte !!'s. Both are nearly full range and can be found quite easily on the used market and people have used these speakers with tube amps for decades. I have used 3 different tube amps on my Klipsch Epic CF3's and have enjoyed them all.
 
#38 ·
I'ce not heard them, but I have some Eminence B102 which is the 10" driver almost used full range in the Lores. I'd not bother because of the use of a bass guitar speaker, but also because of the lie about sensitivity: the B102 is rated at 92.4dB, not 98. This is almost Klipsch levels of lying.

For any speaker, YOU should hear them at home wherever possible before buying.
 
#39 ·
Shoot me if I'm wrong,

I think there is a High Efficiency Forum that deals with pairing speakers (generally DIY) to tube amps along with the fun and thrills involved. My dad ran glass amps 40 years ago and I remember the Altec horn was 16 ohms, seems that type of speaker has vanished for the most part.

The tube VS solid state battle was over decades ago--no worries. I'd love to have a set of tubes, open baffle speakers and a collection of 78's just because....a popular one for that is the Eminence Beta12 LTA (whizzer cone model) throw a phase plug in place of the dust cover, throw in a Fostex super tweeter and a 1mF capacitor...done! The Beta12 LTA runs 80 bucks, the Fostex around 50 bucks and a poly cap is 2 bucks. They can be configured 2 cubic foot sealed, 3 to 4 cubic feet ported or IB if you like. Figure around 350 to 400 for the pair of them and they work well with tube amps.

Good luck!
 
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