tube amps and electrostatics


What kinds of experiences have people had mating tube amps to electrostatic speakers (full range and/or hybrids)? I love the sound of both separately, but am concerned about the reactance of electrostats with tube power. I already own the CJ CAV-50 and am looking to upgrade my speakers with something in the $2500 range. Thanx, Dave
dabble
Just checked with two experienced sources. Your amp will work fine with Original Quads - use the 4-ohm tap.
With stats you have to be careful because the impedence curve varies a lot. You may have some trouble in the bass since some tubes cannot drive very low impedences. If you do not want to change your amp, which by the way is a very good one, you should try the Maggie 1.6. These are different from stats since they have a very flat 4 ohm impedence. I have the Maggie 3.6R and am driving them with OTL tubes with great success. The web site is www.magnepan.com.
I do not have experience with your amp, but I run my Martin-Logan Aerius i speakers with tubes by choice. I use 130W monoblocks and they made the Plinius SA250 (and several solid state others even more so) sound sick. A well constructed tube amp can sound much more lively than solid state amps provided you do not push them too hard. Friends with more experience of Martin-Logans believe tubes are preferable. If you are thinking of spending $2,500 on electrostatics then your musical tastes do probably not include playing drum and bass at 120dB, right? So what you lose by not using solid state will not be very important. If you are buying an electrostatic its probably because you want the transparency, purity, grainlessness, lack of cabinet resonance etc that the electrostatic can offer. Why spoil this with the electronic nature of solid state sound? You will probably just love the sound of your tubes when you hear them through some 'stats (preferably a hybrid for reasons stated in previous posts). The only problems you might encounter will occur because you want to play them louder than your amps can deliver. Try it.
ESL 63 and US monitors have an intentionally benign impedance curve that is nominally 8 ohms an is rather flat compared to other electrostats. The lower the output impedance of the amp, the better.
Sound lab speakers have chosen Wolcott amps to drive their speakers. these amps can handle the most difficult load