Can OTL's drive ribbons well?


Seeking comment on ability of OTL's to drive mids/highs ribbons, specifically on Genesis II.5/300/350.Prefer to consider without zero autoformers as they have a reputation of bleaching sound(?).Can they do it without losing their special sonic ability of speed and organic liquidity? I guess I am really asking this question of the more affordable OTL's, ie.Transcendant, Atmasphere MA1 etc. If OTL's cant do it, which tubes can provide fast organic liquidity with dynamics at around $4000 and hopefully much less(new or used)-- again specifically driving ribbon mids and highs?

Finally does anyone use Cello duet 350 to drive ribbons?If so how do vocals sound?
Thanks and appreciate your comments
aer

Showing 1 response by ngjockey

Genesis ribbons are fairly stable 4 ohm loads with a bit of trouble in the 85 to 200 Hz area that is taken care of by the crossover. OTL's might not be the best choice because they are designed for 8 to 16 ohms, usually. Some of the bigger Atma-spheres have no problem with 4 ohms. One thing to consider on the OTL's is the cost of retubing every few years. There are tube amps, like Manley that are designed for low ohm loads.

I have heard people swear by both SS and tube amps for the Gennies but they all say they like lots of power. Not sure if speed is an issue but tubes usually have a slew rate much slower than SS. Edge and Monarchy make some of the fastest nowadays.

http://www.atma-sphere.com/papers/myth.html