Amp for Soliloquy 5.3i floor standing speaker?

The Soliloquy 5.3's do not like tubes in the power department. The preamp department will be fine with tubes but you have to have an amp that can control the woofers or bass. I read so many opinions of them sounding good with tubes. Not so! They were truly fat in the bottom end and bloated. The top end was rolled off no matter what tube amp I used under 50 watts. They sound better with good solid state. I had very good luck with a Odyssey Stratos power amp, Older PS Audio Elite integrated , Adcom 535 MkII, and Parasound ( I don't remember the model but it was 100 watts.) The Odyssey Stratos by Odyssey Audio was the best combination we got out of them. Be careful not to blow the woofers they are hard to find. They actually don't exist on the market. The gentleman I purchased mine from drove his with Rotel gear but I never heard it personally.
I suggest that you get as much power and quality that you can afford for them. There are some interesting hybrids with more power out there but you will pay through the nose for most of them. Good Luck

The Soliloquy 5.3's do not like tubes in the power department.

My experience would entirely contradict that statement. I've owned 5.3i's and have helped two friend's build systems around them. They're great speakers for the money and it's a shame they went out of business. If you wanted to stick with Jolida two of the friends who have had them used Jolida 502B amps and I thought that combination was very good. Another excellent choice I've heard extensively is with the Unison Unico hybrid integrated. I used mine with separates. The best combination I found with them was with Quicksilver Mini-mites and in a small room with Wright Mono 10's (they sounded astoundingly good with those amps - but I would not try that combo in a larger room where you may need more power).

PS The friend I sold my 5.3i's to had a Jolida 1501RC that he brought to my house to try them out with. I did not like that combination at all. I found it rather harsh and unrefined (in my room with the rest of my system and starting out from dead cold). I later heard the combo in his house with the amp a bit warmer and with more space around the speakers. Though it sounded better there, I'd still strongly point to the recommendations above for a big improvement in what I heard of that combination.

I'd start by looking at Cary amps as they were developed with them.

Kal

I just switched my 5.3i's to my Audio Refinement Complete integrated and they're singing quite well.
The 5.3's are well out from the back wall (4-5 ft) and are isolated from the floor with cork/rubber Isolpads. The pads warm up the speakers substantially vs the factory spikes.
I would definitely recommend this setup to anyone.

Its important to note that I'm using Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables that are fairly forgiving in the "harsh" department.

Chris

That you're asking for advice for alternatives without giving us any clue as to what you thought of the sound with your Jolida makes your post most unhelpful. Very common on this site and very frustrating for those who would really like to help.

That said, I had the 5.3s for many years and found that the two midwoofs working in tandem could cause bass/lower mid problems in some rooms if not controlled. If you experienced anything like this I'd recommend something like a Bryston integrated as I find their amps do a great job in that department, and I think that characteristic along with their excellent imaging capabilities and crystal clear treble would also work synergistically with the 5.3s. Of course, not knowing anything about what you're looking for makes this a complete shot in the dark and quite possibly a complete waste of my and your time.

Apparently the original designer of the speaker (Phil Jones I think) was in an accident before the speaker was finished and Dennis Had (of Cary) finished the crossover design, so if you're looking tubes I'd second exploring the Cary route.

Best of luck.

I could be wrong , the story that I heard was that Mr. Had wanted a speaker designed to work with his equipment . He later tired of the speaker buisness and sold that part of his empire .
The new owner ran it for a number of years then sold it to a guy that works for Monster cable . He had his family handling the day-to-day operations untill they finally went out of buisness .

I have not owned the 5.3i's but did have the 6.2i's and had pretty good success with an Audio Aero Prima Integrated amp . It is a hybrid with a mossfet output . I also ran a Cayin A88 T tubed integrated with good results as well . Both of these are 40w amps .

While they may not be SET friendly I don't believe they require copious amounts of power either . YMMV.

Good luck .

Saki70's recollection is close to mine. http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/459/index.html

Kal

Just wanted to mention a little tidbit about the 5.3's. The two woofers are wired out of phase from eachother. I heard that from the dealer who sold me my 5.0 monitors, as well as a guy who worked at Cary Audio in the late 90's.

fwiw.

Chris

I had a 6.3, and agree: no tubes! The amp will sound pretty fat. Tried AES Sixpacs with little luck. I ran my McCormack DNA-125 and it sounded very full, but still detailed. Probably either a lean tube sound, or a good SS amp is best. And, they need a bit of current to keep control of the woofers. I actually had great sound with a C-J MF2200 amp as well.

If looking at integrateds (your budget wasn't stated) then perhaps a fairly high current model like the Karan will bring out great things, or Simaudio I-7 perhaps.