Tannoy Everyone?! with Leben CS600 or Pass XA25/30.5?


Wow. 200 hours and the Stirling are sounding really great!

My Leben cs600 seems to run out of juice though - especially on the digital side. The gain from my phonostage leaves some room, but the 2mV output from my DAC not so much.

I'm thinking Pass Labs w/a tube pre and am curious if an XA25 will drive them? Or an XA30.5 might be better? Any experience would be helpful. Gracias, amigos.

budburma

@sandthemall @audioguy85  My buddy with the PL/Stirlings runs a Linn Sondek, too, with a modded EAR834P which all adds up to sweet tunes. He put a BMI Oceanic Statement pc on his PL and said "I doubled my fidelity." It was definitely an impressive upgrade to his system....

@sandthemall I don't own a Lp12, not yet. I do however own the Ear 834P. I bought it used with the original tube (JJ I believe) installed. I have some replacement tubes for it put aside for some tube rolling. 

I use and really enjoy a Music Reference RM-10 Mk II, 35 wpc w/my Stirling GR's since 2019 driven by a Cary 303/300 cdp w/internal volume control and it's plenty of power in a medium size room w/vaulted ceiling.  I normally listen around 75-85 dB and I play up to 90-95 db when ears are deadened by ethyl:)  The Cary is 3V RMS using RCA outputs which I use and 6V using XLR's.  The RM10 sensitivity is perfect for passive preamps or running direct.  Good luck w/your search.

@pdreher I feel you. I used a Cary 306/200 for many years - the BurrBrowns were hard to beat! A good friend uses the same DAC and loves it too. The 3V may have been all I needed, but I'm skeptical. Bass and dynamics loss, congestion/breakdown with "busy" passages - particularly around the top edge of female  vocals and no room to move after 1100 on your dial - HEY don't touch that dial! Commercial free zone. JK. Anyway, I'm excited to find something new and reengage with happy, happy listening. It's a big drag with nothing to power the Stirlings...even for a day!

@budburma 

The triode mode works well on the Evo 400 for even less efficient speakers but does well with the 93db Tannoys. This wasn't the case for the Dialogue Premium I had before. I use triode for a few harsh LPs but tend to keep it in UL.