Tube Amp for GR Research LS-6

wonder if you can help.Live in phila,would love to hear the GR line array speakers

Hi There, I ran across your old thread here on Audiogon and I just finished an LS-6 kit last week and want a new amp. Did you find a nice amp pairing? I am looking at a Digital Amplifier Company Cherry amp which is considered to be a highly regarded tube sounding Class D amp, a Butler Audio Tube/SS hybrid, and Emotiva XP-2 or Monoblocks. Would be interested to hear what you ended up with.

Todd

Liquidity can be found in the MFA products. The M-200 monoblocks should do very well. They also are easy maintenance in case of an output tube failure as they just blow an easy to change plate fuse. The AR VT-200 could do well, but with Audio Research a tube failure can require resistor replacement or even trace repair on the boards. The Rogue Zeus may be a best bet in the $4k budget too. With any tube amp, trying some NOS tubes in the front end can pay big benefits in dialing in just what you are seeking. I recently tried that on my AR VTM-200's and was amazed. If, low maintenance is a top priority, by all means try some lush tube preamps first (MFA Luminesence, Thor, Tube Research. AR Reference 2) and see if all the blame is really your SS amps. Even your cabling can play a role, so if you just need a slight change, that may do enough if you like the basic characteristics of your current set-up. JAY

Kingdeezie,

I am sorry I did not read the title to your post.

The reason I mention specs is that when I owned Reynaud Trente speakers I was able to drive them with 18 wpc easily to loud levels, they were easy to drive despite an average rating.

good luck with your search.

here is some info regarding your speakers

http://www.gr-research.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=126

for those that dont want to read the whole thing, this is said ( and might be useful information ):

Sensitivity level of these speakers is high, but the 1 watt/1 meter level can be misleading. They are 93db with 1 watt/1 meter, but a line source does not lose sensitivity with doubling of distance like a typical point source. With a 1 watt input at 2 meters they are equal to a point source that is 96db at 1 meter. At 4 meters with a 1 watt input they are equal to a point source that is 99db at 1 meter/1 watt

These speakers are easy to drive and can be driven with low powered SET amps, but an amp with a high dampening factor and good driver control is recommended.

My speakers are GR Research LS-6s. They are a 14 driver per side, two way, line source.

Each speaker houses 6 BG Neo 8 planars, and 8 peerless india 6.5 inch woofers.

My current preamp is a custom Response Audio BellaMax "Ultramax."

Right now I am using an Emotiva XPA-5 (Yuck), because there was a compatability issue with my Odyssey Stratos Mono Extremes Glass Ceilings (largely why I am having to search out for something else.)

What speakers are you using? Specs can be very misleading so it is better to know firsthand what we are dealing with.

Something from VTL or Audio Research or even Rogue should fit your needs

fwiw the last few hi fi shows I went to I never really enjoyed any room that was driven with SS, I always preferred tubes, even when I did not know beforehand what I was listening to. That just confirms what I discovered at home....

what amp and preamp are you currently using ?

Maybe glare is the wrong word for it, but in the end, I crave a little bit more liquidity from my setup that I don't think I can obtain with a SS amplifier.

That calculator for how loud will it get is only flawed because a Line Source speaker drops off differently then a point source, apparently 3 DB per doubling as opposed to 6 DB per doubling.

So, it assumes that at my 11 feet distance away from the speaker, I am losing 10 DBs of volume, where, in actuality, its only 5 DBs or so.

In that instance I am looking at peaks of 112 DBS, which I think is sufficient.

I was just hoping to gather some suggestions.

Class A amps may work better. The normal listening will all be in class A with peaks handled a/b. That will keep you out of tubes?

My calculations:
90db 1 watt
93db 2 watts
96db 4 watts
99db 8 watts
102db 16 watts
105db 32 watts
108db 64 watts
Perceived volume will double every 10db

Crossovers should also be considered when looking at tube amps. I'm unfamiliar with the LS-6, but in general, first order crossovers are recommended for most tube Wild impedance swings are also a concern with tube amps and you may be disappointed with the bass frequencies as most tube amps don't produce the current of a solid-state design.

I have found that high db level listening often leads to "glare" ,to a certain extent,even with tube amps.If you have just started to notice this "glare",it's possible your hearing is changing.I hate to say "damaged" but,this could be the case.Just a thought.Good Luck.

Here is something that might be helpful in trying to decide how much power you really need.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html