tube matching with palladiums P38

[apostolos]

hello to everybody!.iwould be very much pleased with some advice on buying tube amplification for myP38 s.i very much like the sound of single ended, but on the other hand there is not so big power.dealers here in athens can not provide any equipment to hear at home with my speakers, so i have to make up my mind by what i hear at their place with other speakers or by what i read on several reviews.i really wonder if P38 would be ok with for example 35 watts of a single ended or more power of a push pull would make them sound incredibly.what are really the needs of P38?their sensitivity is at 98 db, but they go under 4 ohm and with triple 8-inch woofers.some solutions i have in mind:unison s9, ayon spark delta or mercury and VTL ST150, audioresearch VS115 or Mcintosh 275. i am truly in a confusion .. thank you in advance

[bkrop]

I have no idea if they are still active but you may find help here, there were posts from members in the past few years

http://www.aca.gr/

[mustang guy]

The recomended amp is 50-750 watts.

The McIntosh MC2102 is the biggest stereo tube amp they currently make. It's not as attractive as the 275, though.

[artto]

It depends on a lot of factors such as room size and if its acoustically treated or what's in it, the kind of music you listen to and how loud you like it. If its a small room and you listen to nothing more demading than a string quartet a SET amp might be fine. If you listen to Aerosmith at concert levels and you have a large room a SET amp isn't going to cut it.

If you need the power and can afford it I'd go with something with more long lasting demand and reputation like maybe a pair of McIntosh MC2301 or Audio Research Reference 250 or 750.

BTW, I thought you guys in Greece are having a financial crisis, no?

[Danzo]

Not everybody apparently..

In which case maybe you could get Carver's Black Beauties, that's one huge power valve amp i would like to hear other than maybe custom VRDs.

No experience with either so treat this rambling accordingly.

[apostolos]

thank you all for your advice, really useful.i have to think of everything before buying.i already look at some second hand gear but have to be real careful when with used valve amps..

[Chris A]

See the following thread on the effects of speaker sensitivity. In your case, that P-38F is 98dB/(Watt-m) - which is like a Heresy, and is approximately 1% efficient: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/55655/538134.aspx

Two more references:

http://community.klipsch.com/forums/storage/5/1019989/HowMuchAmplifierPowerDoINeed.pdf

http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/amp_info/how_much_power.htm

and the embedded reference to the Crown "amplifier calculator" site: http://www.crownaudio.com/apps_htm/designtools/elect-pwr-req.htm

If I were in your shoes, I'd biamp and use a low power higher quality amp for the highs (much lower power is required - probably something like 10-25 W/channel for the highs), and something like a quality SS amp for the lows. I personally like the First Watt JFET and MOSFET amps since they do not have reliability and required maintenance issues, microphonics, and tube noise found in tube-type designs. However, it is true that there are a lot of used tube amplifiers out there, some for reasonable prices.

Chris

[Boxx]

If I was not using my 275's in a dedicated tube setup, I would not hesitate to use them with my P-39's.

[apostolos]

In fact I have found a pair of mono block Cary cad 805 for 4500 euros.it has one 6sL7 valve as input.does anybody know if there is current product of 805 with one input valve on chassis?I know of course that the current anniversary edition has two 6sL7 as input. I suspect that models with one are much older.the guy selling the monos assures me they are almost brand new..

[sheltie dave]

The Cary 805s are a darn good set of monoblocs. If the amps are almost brand new, then the owner should have no problem showing you the receipt for the purchase.