@pafdenver , Tube output compared to SS output is apples to oranges. It’s a whole different world. I grew up with Dynaco my first being the SCA-35 integrated. It drove by JBL-L16’s just fine. But back to the thread , I too have a Had Inspire that was stated to produce 12 wpc per Dennis. What I found with that little amp was by dropping the voltage using a lower value rectifier tube even with KT-120 and KT-150 power tubes it produced less wattage but had huge bass dynamics. My favorite was using vintage GEC KT-66 , a Tekefunken driver tube and the lowest power nos rectifier tube I had. I’m guessing that it is about 6-7 wpc. The sound is sublime and it was still fairly powerful. To the OP at 1 1/2 watts with the more exotic power tubes mentioned it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING how good a couple watts sound. When I was a small child my grandfather had a low power tube system with 15” EV coaxial drivers in exotic mahogany cabinets. He’d play the old standards like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin ect. Then he’d put on something like Spanish Eyes and the room was filled with sound and emotion. I guess you just have to experience it to understand. For me it’s something that SS never could do. Thanks for triggering some pleasant memories. Respectfully, Mike B.
1-1/2 Watts?
A friend came over yesterday and brought a beautiful boutique 45 tube amp with only 1-1/2 watts, which was really built for 100+DB speakers. We hooked it up to my Audio Note AN-Ks, which are rated at 90 DB, just to see what would happen. I have a 1 Bedroom and sit about 8’ from the speakers, which are on the long wall and not in corners. I have to say, the amp drove the speakers much better than we both expected, even on tracks with a lot of bass like Eryika Badu. Not very loud, of course, but adequate for apartment listening. I wouldn’t say it was a perfect match, but the results surprised us both. It was an interesting experience.
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@buellrider97 I'll agree that SS circuitry is completely different than tube circuitry, but a Watt is a Watt is a Watt. If whatever circuit you have drives 1A at 1V it's producing a watt. And the sounds they produce are different because the circuits are different and the interactions with the rest of the components are therefore different. But it's still the same amount of power. As I read this thread it's discussing how powerful of an amp do you really need to drive speakers. My experience is that most of my listening (done at comfortable levels mainly acoustic material) doesn't require a hugely powerful amp. I'm listening to Springsteen's Nebraska right now and the output meter barely goes above 1/10th of a Watt. I don't think the type of circuitry affects this. |
@pafdenver , hi sorry to come across critical, not my intent. But my thought on the backside was based on gear I used to have. My thought was I had 50 wpc tube monos Vs 50 wpc SS gear , it SEEMED to me that with equal ratings the tube gear SEEMED more powerful. I also confess that I have no idea how accurate meters on amps are. Back in my days of old we used oscilloscopes and signal generators to measure stuff. Then you throw in modern high current amps and I am totally ignorant. Anyway no offense intended. One random question , do you think that unused SS power gives more authority to the 1 or 2 watts that are being used? BTW I’ll be in Wheat Ridge next month, nice area. Regards , Mike B. |
Also I missed the whole point of this thread. These flea powered amps have only 1-3 watts. There is no reserve power. That an amp and there are many flea watt tube amps can even do this and fill a fair sized room at moderate or louder listening levels is amazing. The one thing I’m not familiar with is trying to run speakers with a SS amp that only makes 1.5 watts. Are there any besides headphone amps ? Anyway I’ll quit messing up a good thread. |
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