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A change in efficiency to the final sound

I have a p/p tube amp running a pair of 6Ca7's for about 30 watts per channel .
I have read here that p/p tube amps sound their best when they have to work a bit harder , as opposed to a SET amp that sounds best near idle .
My present speakers are claimed to be 92 db. eff.
If this amp is driving a pair of speakers rated at 85 db. efficiency , should it sound a bit better due to working a little harder or closer to its optimum level ?
Conversely , would the same amp sound a bit worse driving a more efficient speaker of 99 db. due to it working less hard or further away from its optimum level ?


Thank you

saki70
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cleeds
5,647 posts
 
millercarbon
Yeah, you will hear a lot of stuff like that. Consider the source: audiophiles. No greater propensity for overthinking, shooting own foot, not seeing forest for the trees, etc, exists. Anywhere.
What is with the recent spate of anti-audiophile rhetoric on this site? In another thread, we’re called "morons" and "fanatics."

Why the anger and bitterness? Who is served by this? If we’re such morons, why are these apparent adversaries so inclined to post here?

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,418 posts
 

It is my understanding (correct me if I’m mistaken ;-) that ALL tubes produce less distortion as power output decreases (at least, above say a watt). What IS true is that tubes have to be run at their optimum plate and heater voltages, etc. to perform their best. Also true is that the higher the speaker impedance, the lower the distortion.

And yes, lower distortion = better sound. Ultra-low distortion figures got a bad name in solid state amps in the 1970’s, with good reason. The means employed to achieve lower measured static distortion specs (excessive negative feedback, etc.) resulted in worse sound. That is not the necessarily and automatically the case in well-designed tube amps., as tube amp designers know that good sound is the result of a well-balanced design, not distortion specs alone.

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Why the anger and bitterness?

Not angry. Not bitter. Not even all that insulting. Read it again: "overthinking, shooting own foot, not seeing forest for the trees"
These are all symptoms of a lack of perspective.

A pretty common fault, when you think about it. Alex Honnold, the only man to free solo El Capitan, when his fiancee asks about furniture looks at the bare floor and says, "I could sleep right there." Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize in Economics, says breaking windows adds to the economy. Its just awful hard to get real close to one subject and yet still maintain a healthy broad perspective.

That being the case, to the extent you draw attention to it, how's that anything but good?

tube amp designers know that good sound is the result of a well-balanced design, not distortion specs alone.

Well-balanced. That is indeed the key.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,393 posts
 
Also true is that the higher the speaker impedance, the lower the distortion.
Your speakers have 92dB sensitivity. That's good but more importantly is what is the nominal impedance? 
And no way to know how your amp will perform with 85dB speakers without knowing the impedance. And the impedance curve will help determine how the amp will respond to the load of said speakers.





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