Eminent Technology 8b Speakers - Amp/wattage Recommendations
I recently purchased a nearly new pair of 8bs. I am now looking for an amplifier.
My preference is tubes over SS.
The room is 23x15x10 feet dedicated for music.
I like to play music fairly loud at times.
I will likely biamp, meaning whatever tube amp I end up using will receive a high-pass filtered signal and drive only the mid and high freq panel drivers.
I am aware that Bruce T recommends 75-200 watts.
I am considering two options, (a) Quicksilver KT monos with KT150 tubes (100 watts) and (b) another amp by a boutique builder using 4 KT 120 per side and 120 watts.
My preference is option (a), but worry that 100 watts is not sufficient.
I would appreciate any real-world experience on how many watts is practically needed with the 8bs. Are they as power hungry as I think they are, or is 100 watts more than enough?
Does bi-amping make a difference, meaning one can get away with using less watts since you are driving only the mids/high drivers and not the subs?
Any feedback or suggestions from 8b users would be appricated.
Thanks much!
No worries at all ledoux1238 about discussing the 8c woofer upgrade in the context of this thread.
Unfortunately in my case, the 8c woofer upgrade was released by ET well after I invested money and a whole lot of labor into building my subs. So the 8c upgrade is a bit late for me. That said, if the 8bs have a weak link, it was the bass. I can only assume Bruce has addressed this issue with the 8c upgrade. |
There is a new listing on USAM for a Music Reference RM-200 MK.2, asking price $3,000. The amp has been Michael Fremer's "reasonably-priced" reference tube amp for about 20 years. Roger Modjeski's engineering brilliance allowed him to produce 100 watts out of a pair of KT88 tubes, and without sacrificing tube life. The amp has Classic written all over it. |
@jwr159 I have tried to get a pair of OB dipole subs' from Danny Richie; however, there have been shortages of one items or another for the past year and a half. An integrated woofer solution such as the 8c seems to fit my situation. However, there are comments from another forum regarding the DSP room correction software and the introduction of A/D and D/ A signal conversions. Apparently, Martin Logan uses similar DSP in their woofers albeit in maybe a higher quality plate amp? It is this DSP stuff that I would appreciate comments on. Your subwoofer design is all analog, I presume? |
There are many ways to integrate your subs. None of them, however are ideal. I am not a fan of using a L & R of mini DSP units as active cross overs between the subs and the mid LFTs. As you indicate, that requires A/D and D/A conversions. I will probably do a mix of analog and digital. My preamp has RCA and balanced outputs. The RCA outs will be fed through an analog HP filter and then to my main amp. The balanced outputs will go to a QSC amp with DSP and LP filter. A plate amp can be used as well. Although I have not tried it yet, my understanding is the A/D and D/A conversions really do not matter at the lower frequencies. I will probably call Bruce T tomorrow. Besides discussing amps, I would like to learn more on how he implements the 8c subs, crossover frequencies, etc. Now that the 8c is available, I would be inclined to use Bruce's solution over the GR Research subs, assuming you can bi-amp and avoid the A/D and D/A conversions for the mid and high LFT drivers. |
ledoux1238 can you talk a bit more about your experiences of using a 20 watt amp with the 8bs? Are you bi-amping. Is the Mactone driving only the mid & high LFTs or also the sub drivers as well? Are you hearing any noise or distortion of the amp at 95 dB? Are their any compromises in your view of using a lower watt amp with these speakers? Do the 100 watt amps do some things better? |
