rbtwsp Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I am considering running my CF3's on 8 watts SET. I listen to classical with some large orchestral, will this be enough power? I previously used a Yamaha solid state with 100 wpc. My other option would be a hybrid integrated. Please tell me what you think. Thanks Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Chi-town Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 INMHO, not enough juice. Not as efficient as the Heritage lineup. Hey, couldnt hurt to try, but I do not think you will get optimal performance with an 8 watt SET. Best regards, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 near field moderate levels... probably okay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinpan Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I don't think you will be very happy. I had those speakers for almost 20 years. I sold them last year. They really want power to open up. I have several 300b tube amps and they just didn't sound good on any of my Klipsch speakers. The hot set up I had for the CF3 was a Sunfire tube preamp and the 2 x 600 Signature amp. This amp will let you hook up both the current output and the voltage output with 300wpc each. I ran the current to the tweeters and the voltage output to the woofers and the sound was unbelievable, kind of a bi wire set up. When I didn't biwire or bi amp these speakers it seemed like the mi range was missing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Wow, someone I recognize! Nice to see you here Tinpan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinpan Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Hi Jesse!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I've got a Stromberg Carlson ASR-120 hooked to my CF-3's right now and it's driving the crap out of them. I'm maybe 10 feet away but they do get damn loud. Sure, my Carver M-1.0t MkII at 400+ watts a side does play louder but the tubes sure do sound nice on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinpan Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I am sure your Stromberg Carlson sounds very nice. The OP was looking for suggestions so I shared my observations. I personally haven't had much success with SET amps and Klipsch speakers, just speaking from my experience. I think the Klipsch line is better suited to EL84 and KT88 push pull type tube amps. I had a Carver Cherry 260 with the KT 120 tubes in it. They sounded very nice on my hereseys and Cornwalls but I wasn't able to bi-amp them on the CF-3's. I had a buddy come over, TNRabbit, who is also Carver and Klipsch aficionado and listen to them with the Cherry 260 amps. I left him alone for about a half hour and while they did play loud he walked out of the room and wanted to know what happened to the mid range. He heard them on the Sunfire so he knew what to expect. I've also had a plethora of Carver amps and they sound nice but it's not about the loudness, but the quality of the sound. The Sunfire amp is a completely different sound which is why I suggest it. If you really want to hear what your CF3's sing. Try bi-amping or bi-wiring them. I think you will be surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) I was a Sunfire rep for about 8 years (till 7/09) and was able to use a lot of the equipment that we offered. My biggest mistake was not buying one of the Symphonic Reference preamps for $150 when they were closing them out. :-/ My 1.0t sounds amazing as well as having the extra volume, too. Bob signed mine during one of our "A Night With Bob Carver" get togethers we held at our Dallas office and he went on for abiut an hour about the 1.0t and how much more potential it had but the "bean counters" told him to tune it back. So it's definitely an amp I'll keep since my name is on the front of it along with his. Ha. Bob is a great guy for sure. Maybe not loved by all with his ideas and implementations but he is an innovator in his field without a doubt. Edited December 31, 2014 by avguytx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) I also have a fully rebuilt M200t that I may add in for the top end and biamp them. Always wanted to do that to the CF-3's and eventually the KLF-30's when I get them here. I know there are better amps than the Carvers but they are paid for and it's my homage to Bob I guess. Lol. I've also got a signed DTL-200 CD player I use occasionally for nostalgic purposes (that Bob worked on too) but I use my media server and vinyl more than anything. CD's get ripped and put away for the most part. Edited December 31, 2014 by avguytx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexg5775 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I tried my cf4 with a fisher 500c, 35 watts tube power and they sounded ok. I now have them passively by amp with 52 watts to the tweets and 300 watts to the woofers, solid state power, and they sound much much better. I plan on putting some tubes behind the tweets in the future. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinpan Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 "I also have a fully rebuilt M200t that I may add in for the top end and biamp them." Now we're cooking. Here's an old video when I was playing around with my CF-3s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Nice video Robin! I love the Klipsch / Sunfire combo, very smooth and enjoyable. Plus its nice having good, clean, solid, solid state power to shake things up whenever the need arises.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbtwsp Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 Hi, Sorry for the delay in responding. I am close to making a decision. The SET I was thinking about was the Wright Audio Lolita a EL34 based, but I think I will be going to try a the Rogue Audio Sphinx which is a hybrid getting good reviews and would have nice power. There is also a Rogue dealer near me so I demo the piece. I might also consider their Cronus Magnum, but for the price the Sphinx is tempting. I appreciate hearing from fellow CF-3 owners Thanks Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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