"“The Stirlings are rated 91, which in my room should make the Zen sufficient on the wattage front.”
I would not recommend any amp with <30watts in pure class A. Bring in the Zen, you’ve got MC152 on hand for comparison. No doubt you would appreciate tube’s rich harmonics and intoxicating mid-range through Stirling’s but you may crave for more power in the low end region.
It’s a journey you will figure it out :-)"
Trent probably isn't still thinking about the Zen amp, but I'll chime in...
I came across this thread as a result of wanting to read about the Sterlings. I own the SE84UFO2 and have been looking at a "final" speaker choice. I've had four different sets of speakers connected to the little Zen, and I've done some tube rolling.
Currently the speakers are two pair of stacked Large Advents, wired in parallel. I'm in a pretty small room (~10'x11' w/ 9 foot ceiling) with the equipment along the long wall.
Depending on the gain of the source unit and/or preamp, the Zen can play the Advents plenty, plenty loud. DECware has a trial period.
The Sterlings are a bit more sensitive than the Advents and my *guess* is more efficient. I would be very surprised if it weren't a good match. The Zen is a great little amp and punches way above its output, weight and cost.
I would not recommend any amp with <30watts in pure class A. Bring in the Zen, you’ve got MC152 on hand for comparison. No doubt you would appreciate tube’s rich harmonics and intoxicating mid-range through Stirling’s but you may crave for more power in the low end region.
It’s a journey you will figure it out :-)"
Trent probably isn't still thinking about the Zen amp, but I'll chime in...
I came across this thread as a result of wanting to read about the Sterlings. I own the SE84UFO2 and have been looking at a "final" speaker choice. I've had four different sets of speakers connected to the little Zen, and I've done some tube rolling.
Currently the speakers are two pair of stacked Large Advents, wired in parallel. I'm in a pretty small room (~10'x11' w/ 9 foot ceiling) with the equipment along the long wall.
Depending on the gain of the source unit and/or preamp, the Zen can play the Advents plenty, plenty loud. DECware has a trial period.
The Sterlings are a bit more sensitive than the Advents and my *guess* is more efficient. I would be very surprised if it weren't a good match. The Zen is a great little amp and punches way above its output, weight and cost.