Help me choose a speaker match for my Line Magnetic 805ia tube amp under $10K
I'm chiming in late on this topic. Curious if OP or others on this thread can opine as to the power characteristics of this amp compared to my LM 518ia, which is an earlier LM integrated producing 22wpc from a pair of 845s. I'm wondering if in the real world those 26 watts are a huge difference. Thanks! |
Here is a link for you that compares 5 of the current Line Magnetic Amps. Its incredibly useful. https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/amplifier-reviews/integrated-amplifier-reviews/line-magnetic-part1/ |
Imo,,of the speakers,suggested Tekton is the worst.When i heard the impact monitor it sounded horrible,we pulled a driver to see what was inside,what a piece of crap.A big part of a speakers magic is the cabinet,bracing and xover...joke joke joke..The double impact was even worse so i would dismiss the clown Tekton shill fan boys.Obviously you should of bought your speakers first and then matched the power to it but having said the couple of times ive auditioned Devore they were powered with LM gear...thats where id start. |
I have heard Devore speakers at Don Better Audio in Cleveland OH. Very nice for SET amps. Beautiful, musical and organic sound. He also sold me my Line Magnetic amp when he first got them several years ago.My LM audio map is low powered with Vandersteen 2CE Sig II. But I never play at high volume and I am adding a nice subwoofer... in the near future to supplement mid-to low bass. If you win the lottery look at these https://voltiaudio.com/vittora/. In fact the Volti Rival is within your budget and would be another great audition. |
I have been very happy with various Vandersteen's and top 50w amps as long as they have plenty of current. As we know you may as well add another 25-40% to the power rating when looking at good tube amps over SS ones. It all depends on you room and listening volume. As long as the speaker is easy to drive as a Vandersteen is, the sensitivity won't matter much. IF you pair said speaker with the Vandersteen sub 3, the main amp is only running in the 100hz on up range so it frees up the bass which is a big drag for most amps. I wouldn't discount any easy to drive speaker and yes, bring your amp with you if you are able to for auditions. |
If your in Seattle and do not have a local dealer your happy with i'd suggest a trip ( when covid is done with us) to Vancouver there is a few good dealers there. I also know in Victoria, Sound Hounds has a few Devore / AudioNote AN speakers on sale right now. I'd also suggest you consider Living Voice speakers out of the UK with the British Pound so low right now buying British is not a bad idea. I replaced a set of AudioNote ANE's with the Avatar2's a few years ago and have to say they are some of the most enjoyable, musical, speakers I've owned, drove them with 300B amps at 8wpc. They do not advertise that much so they are not that visible to us here in NA but they make speakers in the million dollar range so they know what they are doing. Auditorium Range | Reflex MTM Loudspeakers | Living Voice |
For the past year I’ve been driving my O/96’s with a LM805ia via the 16 ohm taps. Wonderful out of the box, I have it dialed in so magically right now by rolling all tubes I can’t imagine making a gear change for the foreseeable future. Wonderful synergy and I agree with the previous poster who indicated you will get the most from this amp with a speaker possessing high and flat impedance (O/96 is nominal 10 ohms and never dips below 8 ohms). The LM805ia replaced a Pass XA30.8 and the pairing isn’t even close compared to the LM. It’s all about amp/speaker synergy and LM + Devore O/ is a great formula. |
