Speaker Impedance, Tenor OTLs, and Watt Puppies


Generally, is it better to match Tenor OTLs, or any low wattage tube amp, with 8 ohm speakers, rather than say, 4 ohm speakers? I do not clearly understand the impedance factor concept, but have been told that 8 ohm speakers are easier to drive, and also that speaker ohm stability is important. Are Watt Puppies a poor match for the Tenors? I know they will sound good, but are the Watt Puppies performance being maximized?
haydn_josef

Showing 4 responses by tekunda

Let me give you my two cents form what I learned about Tenor OTLs, or OTLs in general, when it comes to speakers.
OTL amps like an easy load, so an 8 Ohm speaker is easier to drive than a 4 Ohm, but what is more important is the impedance behaviour.
They like a rather linear impedance curve, so if a speaker has huge impedance spikes, say up to 30 Ohm or more and dipping down to 2 Ohm, like my Martin Logan Prodigy´do, they are not a good match and hard to drive for OTLs
I am also looking into these amps and next to the Piega P10, whci a friend drives with Tenor, I am interested in a German made speaker which has an Air Motion Transformer for the treble (I saw it for the first time at the High end show in Frankfurt/Germany)and it is an 8 Ohm speaker, whose impedance varies between 6 Ohm and 10 Ohm, with a 93 dB sensitivity. So this speaker would be a very easy load for any OTL amp like the Tenor.
I would also look into the von Schweikert DB 100 speakers if I were you. I have discussed this speaker with Mr. von Schweikert and according to him, it would be a wonderful match for any OTL.
Mikelavigne, you state: "..this case is that for the closest to the musical event an OTL is the best amplifier... "
I would totally agree with you, was it not for the Kron Double Kronzilla SET amps. I have heard from very two reliable people, that the Double Kronzilla Monoblocks ($35000,00) are even better than the Tenor. And if you read here how the tubes are made (it takes about 120 man hours for one tube and Bohemian artisan glass blowers make the glass shell) I tend to believe these audiophiles. Read here if you like, it is in English
http://www.blackforestaudio.de/KR_Verstarker/Presse_uber_KR/presse_uber_kr.html
I was almost 100% set on Tenor amps, but since I heard of the Double Kronzilla and an audiophile using two pairs to drive his ML Prodigy, I am going to audition this set up first, before I will decide which amps to buy. He and another auduiophile who knows both amps as well, the Tenor and the Kronzilla told me that the Kronzilla will beat the Tenor by quite a margin, when it comes to reproducing music life like.
Had you ever had a chance to audition Kronzilla amps, or have you heard from people about these amps? As you know I always value your opinion.
Mikelavigne, I agree, the name Kronzilla is silly at the first look, but what else can you name your products if your last name is Dr. Kron and you design the biggest, baddest audio tubes in the world? I have not yet seen a Kronzilla tube in real life, but I was told it is monstrously tall. So Gonzilla-Kronzilla, its not toooo far fetched.
I know that the Prodigy is not a good match for the Tenor at all and the guy in Germany has auditioned the Tenors on different speakers (if I am not mistaken on a new desgin called the Ascendo, www.ascendo.de)
But you are right, there will always be something better eventually. I was only intrigued by the idea of Bohemian artisan glass blowers and 120 man hours to build one tube.
So for me, it is more a piece of art and once Dr. Kron, who is not a young man anymore, will die, his designs might die with him.
My brother, whom I help to build a system, might indeed buy the Ascendo speakers with a apir of DoubleKronzilla
(he opted for Tenor and Piega at first, but he now could get an good deal on the Kronzilla and since the Ascendo are very OTL and SET friendly speakers, 8 Ohm, between 6 and 10 Ohm impedance swings and 91dB sensitivity, it would be a good match to test the Tenors.
The problem is only what to do with the pair of amps, which looses the audition. It is kind of tough to sell these kind of amps on the used market.
Anyway, I just bought two Wolcott amps for my Prodigy. That made a huge improvement. Especially the soundstage and transperency has greatly improved now.
So now I have time to look into analogue stuff, since my system is now at a point, where I would benefit from a nice turntable.
Mikelavigne, you are absolutely right, art is art and sound is sound, but wouldn't it be wondeful, if you could combine both?
If you had the choice of two equal performing amps, wouldn't you go for the visually more appealing?
And by saying biggest, baddest, I did not mean that I need muscle amps, the Knrozilly "only" have 80 watt, which is still a lot for a SET amp.
But with biggest, baddest I strictly meant the size of the tubes. These tubes are really stunning looking monsters and will visually impress anybody and if the sound is also very impressive, it would make the Kronzilla a very good amp indeed. But do not worry, I have not taken on a dealership for the Kronzilla amps now, my cables are giving me enough trouble already (-: ) Just kidding of course.