EmilC Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) New guy here Should have my Cornscalas in about two weeks but no amp to drive them. My room is 12 by 21 dedicated room. Listen to all types of music except classical. Do like to drop in some Led Zep from time to time. I know the the CW/CS are efficient but can and 8 watt SET amp really control that big woofer? Please share your thoughts and experiences. Other amps on my list are the Quicksilvers and First Watt Thanks for your help Edited January 15, 2014 by EmilC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Welcome to the forum Emil. HarleySG and Ozzy here from two other forums you frequent. Good luck with your amp search, you and I have conversed on this subject already. And congrats on the speaker purchase, you will be in heaven..... Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 HarleySG and Ozzy here from two other forums you frequent. aha! ..connecting the dots.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 HarleySG and Ozzy here from two other forums you frequent. aha! ..connecting the dots. There certainly are a few dots out there to connect...... Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilC Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hey Ozzy I know your feelings on the issue but I believe your room is much bigger than mine. My Cornscalas will be on the short wall. I know this a hard question to answer as its all subjective but thats what these forums are for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 at what distance is your listening position? at what level do you typically listen (dB's)? 8 watts is plenty of power for me @ 6ft and 85dB ..but that may not be the case for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilC Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thad Its further than 6 feet. I would have to raise my voice if I was to speak to you during a listening session if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPower Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hey Emil, My room is in the basement and is just a little larger than yours, at 15' x 20', speakers on the long wall, appox. 10'-11' apart forming an equilateral triangle to the main listening spot. I run my Cornscalas with 2 different amplifiers. For extended, non critical listening sessions while I am doing other things I usually use my HK930 receiver which is vintage 60wpc SS power. There is no shortage of power with the HK and can fill the main floor of my side split house from the basement, great while doing other chores through out the house! For serious listening, I use my Almarro A205a mkII amp which is an EL84, 4.8 watt SEP integrated. This amp sounds better to my ears that the Vintage SS and has surprising output. It will not quite fill the whole house (but very close) like the HK930 does but has more than enough to look after the times that I get the "Led out" IMHO, a 8wpc 300B would have more than enough output for any situation! When I first got into Klipsch, my 1st pair where a nice pair of 86 Cornwalls and I drove them with a pair of Quicksilver Mid Monos (EL34 @ 40wpc). This was a fantastic combo that I have thought about revisiting with my CSs... tons of power and I think you can roll in KT88s for a different tube flavor. I briefly tried a Rawson F3 clone with a pair of KHorns, it was not bad but did not blow me away. I would like to try another First Watt (a real one this time) but would probable lean towards a F5, J2, Aleph J, or maybe an older Pass Aleph amp. Congrats on the new speaks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon string Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Im driving my 88 cornwall II's with a 12w class A SET El 34 amp and had the same concerns as you. I couldn't be happier with the combination, my room is a little larger than yours. Im about to purchase another amp for some tannoy super red monitors I have at my place of work. These are less efficient, than the CW's, rated at 94db and have 15" woofers so I am considering a 18w version of the amp driving my CW's, this amp uses kt88's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilC Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Thanksk guys for your input. The consensus here is that 8 watts should be enough. What are your thoughts on the 300B tube if I may ask? Edited January 15, 2014 by EmilC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I heard a pair of 300B monoblocks on a pair of Cornwalls and Lascalas and I thought it was magical. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilC Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 I heard a pair of 300B monoblocks on a pair of Cornwalls and Lascalas and I thought it was magical. Shakey You wouldnt call the tube warmish or soft would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) I use 2A3 tubes on my La Scalas and wouldn't call them warmish or soft at all. Crummy recordings or masterings sound bad to nearly unlistenable, but the good stuff is, as Shakey says, magical. As Chris has pointed out, checking out CDs listed on the DR database let's me know what will probably be good. If it isn't listed, you can download their utility and check them for yourself. Quite a revelation. http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/ Bruce Edited January 15, 2014 by Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Of course it depends on the amp, but a good tube amp doesn't have to sound warm and mushy like some would have you believe. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I love my 300B with Cornwalls, My room is a bit smaller than yours 12X17, but I can certainly shake the walls with 8 watts. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Don't have it anymore, but my old 8.5 watt 300B paired with K-horns 24 feet apart could chase me out of the house if turned up much past 40%. Tube watts seems to pack more punch than SS watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilC Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 \Have my eye on this amp. http://www.stereophile.com/content/cayin-300b-integrated-amplifier Any experiences with Cayin in general? Any recommendation on brands of 300Bs tubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 No experience with Cayin, but I have tried several 300B tubes. EH-300B's were good overall, but my lease favorite in the line up. JJ big bottle is a nice sounding tube overall and inpressive to look at, I prefered it slightly to over the Valve Art 300B The Sophia princess Carbon plates excellent but $$$$ and speaker seemed speaker dependent. Great highs. My overall favorite is the Sophia Electric 300B mesh plate globes, same as the TJ 300B tube I believe. All of these tubes were quite good. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I still have my globe TJ 2.5 volt (pseudo) 300Bs. A little low on emission, but they still work. I recall the lush sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 disco no...jazz, country, pop, etc, 8 watts is plenty depending on where you fit within those spl calculators. I used a 1.5 watt se amp numerous times to demo klipsch speakers and had the listener stand 21 feet away. so yes, the 1.5 watt surprised me. using an 18 watt PP tube amp now, not so much for the power but because the 18 watt amp has an amazingly high sgnal to noise ratio of 95 db. I'm still not using more than a watt of power even with the 18 watt amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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