@laynes Hello, I had the PrimaLuna EVO 400 pre and amp, there is no comparison to the Sit-4 to the Lucera speakers. Tried about all the different tubes possible and went down that endless rabbit hole lol..I even tried the PrimaLuna Dac so all PrimaLuna …don’t miss it…just a little food for thought…
Amplifier for Volti Lucerna Speakers
Hi All,
My speakers are a new pair of Volti Lucernas that I purchased about a year ago and I am loving them. These may be my last pair of speakers.
My system is a PS Audio PWT, Mojo Mystique DAC, no vinyl yet due to placement logistics, Don Sachs DS2 pre, and a variety of amps:
FW F7 - Better with Fritz Carbons in 2nd system,
Quicksilver Horn Monos - like the separation and exactness but need more power,
FW F6 - sounds similar to QHM and also needs more power,
Don Sachs Kootenay - great amp, nuanced but lacks bit of powerful immediacy,
Van Alstine SET 120 - very powerful but misses some of the nuance.
I think nuance means inner detail and texture to me....
I have tried hard to like tube amps with the Lucernas but think I like may be more of a solid state guy due to the tighter, more powerful bass.
I could be happy, I think, with the FW F6 and Quicksilvers if they had more watts.
Seems like 60 WPC is a minimum. I could really like the 60 watts per channel of the SET 120 if it was more nuanced without sacrificing the clean sound and tight and powerful bass.
What would you suggest based on your listening experience with hybrid horn speakers?
Pass XA25?
Belles Aria monos?
Van Alstine monos?
Any class D? I tried LSA Warp 1 - pretty good bass and clean sounding but lacked nuance in my setup. Definitely want better.
What else?
Looking forward to your feedback!
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- 32 posts total
Hi Charles, I don't doubt that for one second but I do wonder if you were using the stock tubes or not? The difference between the stock tubes and what I have rolled is enormous and I think why my amp sounds so good - knowing that there is still a lot better out there. And you may have rolled them - but I'll say that my system sounds as good as Greg's did at the show with the $25k Border Patrol amp - also knowing that he was in a hotel room and my room is treated - plus the front end and other differences. At some point, the next thing for me to upgrade will be my amp but I'm pretty sure it will be something tubed and I have no idea what yet because I don't have a price range yet. So the Evo 300i serves me well for now... |
@laynes I had problems with the stock tubes, keep getting the red light off and on after a year and blowing fuses with the amp. I tried a lot of different tubes from all the old stock dealers, a matched set of EL34 Mullards from the 60s for the power amp very expensive…on and on with tubes…life really improved when I got off the tube deal…I have a friend who is exploring LTA gear with great results..he has Crowe speakers..where and what are the Rivals sitting on in your system? |
That's a bummer. I've only seen that red light once over the past 4.5 years. I have read more issues with Evo400s than 300s over the years - just what I have read it seems. That may not be the case but seems like it. I'm in Tampa now so good to have fewer tubes in the summer anyway. I need to update my system pics here, but they are on Townshend Podiums (which made an LOL difference, as I call them) which are on a concrete slab. Here is pic of my room it if this works here. Curtains are closed when listening and I have some diffusion panels I put up behind the plants. Sorry for the detour OP. I will add that I listen mostly to rock music and usually loud so I feel that my next amp will likely need at least what I have now which is about 45 per channel - but not 100% sure about that. I don't even know enough to be dangerous, but have somehow managed to put together a really good sounding system /room. I do think that getting the right tubes working together really helped - and took some experimenting to get there.
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- 32 posts total