Crazy power question

[milton10]

I have a pair of Heresy's that have Dean's "Cat's Meow" crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels down about 3db. I am currently running about 25wpc solid state watts through them, but am considering getting some sort of low powered SET tubes (I was once considering a huge Kenwood but heard some tubes with my friends Cornwalls and fell in love).

Will a flea powered SET be enough to run my Heresy's? I don't know if the drop of 3db lowers the overall efficiency of the speakers or if it is just for the squalker & tweeter. I hope I am making sense.

The amps I am looking at are in the 3.5wpc to 10wpc range. What I would really like to get are a set of Paramours.

Thanks.

[wuzzzer]

You'll hit above 100dB with 10 watts. More than enough for most people's listening levels!

[meagain]

"crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels down about 3db"

[:|] ?????????? Dean????

[pauln]

I had my 1975 Heresys for 30 years and enjoyed every day of them, did the -3db drop on the tweets that made them sound more like the big Heritage. I used pedestrian SS (Yamaha), big SS (Carver m500t 250w/ch) etc., but the best thing I ever did was get Wright 3.5 SETs and the Wright preamp with phono. Plenty loud and wonderful beautiful realistic pleasing and profoundly moving sound. Heresys are an ideal speaker for SETs. Listening at a loud level (in my judgement low 90's ave dBs is loud) still gives you about 9dB of headroom with a 3.5 SET, maybe 12 dB with a more powerfull one. SETs are all about resolution, refinement, clearity, and beauty (pleased with everything from Beethoven to King Crimson).

A while back I got some new 2005 LaScalas, which really love the SETs and vinyl. They have a 'bigger' sound than the Heresys, but Heresys are no slouch... they sound great with SET. Some use a sub to provide a deeper bottom for some music but I never was unhappy with them just by themselves.

Let us know what you decide on an how it sounds to you.

Pauln

[NOSValves]

IMHO paramours will fall flat are their face with Heresy's

[smilin]

VRD'S[H]

[Speedball]

"crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels down about 3db"

[:|] ?????????? Dean????

Gee, he has done my RF-7's and many other speakers for people. You didn't know?

[SilverSport]

I knew he did the "big guns" I just didn't know he did anything for Heresys...

Bill

[meagain]

"crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels down about 3db"

[:|] ?????????? Dean????

Gee, he has done my RF-7's and many other speakers for people. You didn't know?

Uh - yea, but this sounds like a very specific target of the highs.

[Colin]

I heard the Paramours on La Scalas, Corns and Khorns, but NOT smaller Heresy speakers in average size, but generally open living rooms. I have also heard a few other tube amplifiers. I play mostly smooth jazz and low to moderate volumes. I heard the incredible VRDs on La Scalas in a open room. IMO, the Paramours do a wonderful job with the delicate mid-range almost as good as some of the best tubne and solid-state amplifiers I have heard. In the same price range however, I would consider a refurbished, vintage integrated tube amplifier, from somebody like NOSvalves. Like big ole horns, those are best audiophile bargain around.

[JohnA]

I have a pair of Heresy's that have Dean's

"Cat's Meow" crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels

down about 3db. I am currently running about 25wpc solid state

watts through them, but am considering getting some sort of low powered

SET tubes (I was once considering a huge Kenwood but heard some tubes

with my friends Cornwalls and fell in love).

Will a

flea powered SET be enough to run my Heresy's? I don't know if

the drop of 3db lowers the overall efficiency of the speakers or if it

is just for the squalker & tweeter. I hope I am making sense.

The amps I am looking at are in the 3.5wpc to 10wpc range. What I would really like to get are a set of Paramours.

Thanks.

You

should go for the higher powered versions. The modified

crossovers DO change the "average" efficiency by bringing the squawker

and tweeter more in line with the 94 dB woofer.

[milton10]

I have a pair of Heresy's that have Dean's

"Cat's Meow" crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels

down about 3db. I am currently running about 25wpc solid state

watts through them, but am considering getting some sort of low powered

SET tubes (I was once considering a huge Kenwood but heard some tubes

with my friends Cornwalls and fell in love).

Will a

flea powered SET be enough to run my Heresy's? I don't know if

the drop of 3db lowers the overall efficiency of the speakers or if it

is just for the squalker & tweeter. I hope I am making sense.

The amps I am looking at are in the 3.5wpc to 10wpc range. What I would really like to get are a set of Paramours.

Thanks.

You

should go for the higher powered versions. The modified

crossovers DO change the "average" efficiency by bringing the squawker

and tweeter more in line with the 94 dB woofer.

Thanks John. Thats what I was looking for.

I really want to get a SET amp for my Heresys. Any ideas on a good amp that is powerful enough? How about the ASL Wave 8's?

[tigerwoodKhorns]

I have a pair of Heresy's that have Dean's "Cat's Meow" crossover tweak that lowers the squalker/tweeter levels down about 3db. I am currently running about 25wpc solid state watts through them, but am considering getting some sort of low powered SET tubes (I was once considering a huge Kenwood but heard some tubes with my friends Cornwalls and fell in love).

Will a flea powered SET be enough to run my Heresy's? I don't know if the drop of 3db lowers the overall efficiency of the speakers or if it is just for the squalker & tweeter. I hope I am making sense.

The amps I am looking at are in the 3.5wpc to 10wpc range. What I would really like to get are a set of Paramours.

Thanks.

You should go for the higher powered versions. The modified crossovers DO change the "average" efficiency by bringing the squawker and tweeter more in line with the 94 dB woofer.

Thanks John. Thats what I was looking for.

I really want to get a SET amp for my Heresys. Any ideas on a good amp that is powerful enough? How about the ASL Wave 8's?

I had a pair of Wright 3.5 wpc SET's and used them with Heresys for a little while. They worked well for moderate to loud levels. I would say buy a pair of Wrights or others that keep their value in case you decide to sell them if it doesn't work out.

[pauln]

The Wright 3.5's are excellent. They need the correct type of preamp - I use the Wright preamp which is perfect for them. The 3.5's get the harmonic balance just right and sound very musical. They actually play louder than 3.5 watts with the Sovtek 2A3 tubes. The Wrights are designed to switch from class A1 to A2 on major loud peak passages which gives them a peak potential of 8 or more watts when needed. If you are listening loud at 1 watt this is 9dB of headroom. Even with the Heresys this would let you listen at average mid 90dBs (real loud) and still hit peaks up around 105dB (damn loud) which approaches the typical range spec for realistic levels of playback.

[oldbuckster]

You guys lose me most of the time...............Let me ask this, You think SET's would do a good job running Heresy's, even though the heresy's are almost -10 dbl.lower than say Khorns, or La Scala's? I think I understand why they run Khorns so well, it's the higher spl, it takes less power to make them LOUD...................but, wouldn't the lower spl make the Heresy's less responsive to the lower wattage? I am asking, because I don't know the answer. I think they wouldn't do a good job with Heresy's................your response

[pauln]

You guys lose me most of the time...............Let me ask this, You think SET's would do a good job running Heresy's, even though the heresy's are almost -10 dbl.lower than say Khorns, or La Scala's? I think I understand why they run Khorns so well, it's the higher spl, it takes less power to make them LOUD...................but, wouldn't the lower spl make the Heresy's less responsive to the lower wattage? I am asking, because I don't know the answer. I think they wouldn't do a good job with Heresy's................your response

OB, you're only half lost, your logic is correct, only your conclusion is incorrect.

It is true that the Heresys won't play as loud as the big Heritage. The thing is, "loud" is a wide range with the Heresys on the lower end and the big Heritage at the higher end. The Heresys playing at an average of one watt in the mid 90's dB range is quite loud. This still leaves plenty of headroom for dynamic peaks. The big Heritage will play this same average level of mid 90's dBs with about 1/8 watt. This leaves pleanty of headroom for dynamics.

The only question is really how loud does your music have to be to present what you think is an adequate and enjoyable level for you. That depends on taste, experience, expectations, and maybe whether you are seeking refinement vs concert realism. I never listen to over 90dB; the level for me that I call "full loud" is a level that floats around 87dB for dense music like classical orchestra, rock music, most others. 87dB with my LaScalas pulls about 0.008 watts from the amps. That's amazing - 8 thousanths of a watt. That means I have about 24dB of headroom of class A which is way more than any music source could ever saturate. So for me, the music is full loud, dynamic, uncompressed, and without distortion.

Someone else could play at their prefered "full loud" level of 105db with LaScalas and still have 16dB of headroom, which is still way more than ever needed.

With Heresys and SETs rated around 3-4 watts, an adequate headroom margin of 6db could be reserved by listening at about an average level of 1 watt 96dB (which is quite loud, and the 6dB headroom would allow up to 102dB for the peaks). This is really very loud, to the point where the inner ear begins to distort the signal.

So, what are people doing with their 300W amps?