^It’s not always about ultimate volume but rather about operating in the realm of the load of the particular speaker.
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@pgastone IMO some of the best tube monos for the 3.7s are the VAC Signature 200iQ.http://www.vac-amps.com/productPages/Signature200.html I don't know if that's within your budget ? |
it would be a very far stretch- used single units range around $4k (give or take $200)- and there’s the matter of finding 2 of similar age and tube usage. I was originally looking to spend some $5k for solid state- i realize tubes would be more but 8 really do not want to go much beyong $6k. Quicksilvers V4’s have a very good reputation - i know of several audiogoners that swear by them- and are hand wired for much less (mono’s) but of course the transformers are key. |
And FYI I just spoke to Mike Sanders- it was a pleasure and he in fact discouraged using the V4 with the Thiel 3.7's (which he seemed quite familiar with). The source impedance of the amp is too high and would not match with the speaker's fairly impedance dips. This is something that unsound had been mentioning. On the other hand he explained that the mono 120's are specifically designed for more difficult loads and should handle the Thiels well. One of the problems of course is that this kind of information rarely readily available unless the amplifiers have been reviewed and appropriately tested. I want to look more into this- very interesting. I just wonder what kind of output impedance would then be considered a good match- yes obviously the lower the better but that is just a relative comparison. I would like to know about the matching in more absolute terms. |
Keep in mind that the Thiel 3.7's don't just dip into sub 4 Ohm loads, they live there over most of their operating conditions. That's why I caution those to be wary of amps that merely claim to be "Stable for musical transients". Thiel's recommended power was 100-600 Watts per channel, but that was for a standard 8 ohm load with the understanding that the amp would double down as needed into the actual load. Into a nice, safe rounded 2 Ohms that would be closer to 400-2400 Watts. Keep in mind that as the impedance drops so does the sensitivity. So that 400 Watts minimum might seem like an awful lot, but, for adjusted sensitivity; it's about the same as 100 Watts into 8 Ohms. Some of the amps you previously mentioned are indeed robust, sturdy amps with most speakers and then some, just perhaps not ideal into your particular Thiel 3.7's. I couldn't find more recent independent measurements of Pass Labs current offerings. While I suspect the more recent ones might be better in this regard, I also suspect that these older ones are not irrelevant. As much as I like some of their gear, their independent measurements have been somewhat disappointing of late. I tried to include this before but for some reason it wouldn't take.: https://www.stereophile.com/content/pass-labs-int-150-integrated-amplifier-measurements |
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