Ideal Tube Amp for Klipsch Heresy III - What is your setup?

[mdcrabbe]

I am new to the forum and have very little knowledge of audio equipment but am trying to piece together a quality system that will last a very long time and sound so good I won't want to change it up every year but I know that is very unlikely with this hobby. I have read so many outstanding reviews of the Heresy III that I am having trouble taking my eyes off of them. I know they are expensive and the Is and IIs can be rebuilt for much less but I don't have any experience rebuilding speakers and would rather have something I am confident will last the next 30 years. I would like to pair it with a nice tube amp but the Peachtree Audio Decco65 has caught my attention because of the new features that make streaming quality music to it very easy. I know it has one tube in it but am curious if anyone has run a pair of Heresy IIIs with this amp. It sounds promising but any feedback would be great.
The Jolida FX10 also sounds like it is a solid bet but it seems they have been discontinued so would have to find a nice used one.
The vintage amps are what I was originally after but these new tube amps seem to be real competitors in my mind. Can anyone give me some suggestions on tube amps that you have run with these speakers? This system will go in my office to double as a listening room so it won't be in a large room.

Here are some more details of what I'm looking for:
The dimensions of the room are 14 x 16 ft and will also serve as an office so my listening chair be positioned in front of my desk and will be 6-8 feet away from each speaker positioned in an equilateral triangle.

I listen to a very wide range of music (Classic Rock, Acoustic, Country, R&B, etc)

I don't like to listen to my music too loud and am not familiar enough to give you a decibel level but don't ever want to damage my hearing listening to music. I am not trying to blow any windows out, I am looking for a very clean, warm, live sound from this setup. I want to close my eyes and feel like I am listening to a live performance.

I would like to stay under $2,000 but if something came up that was a good deal and paired well with the speakers, I would consider going over it. I am looking for an integrated tube amp in the $600-800 range. I would like to stay away from buying a pre-amp if possible.

I have read the Heresy line of speakers are known for lacking in bass but I am not one who wants so much bass it rattles items in the room. I have a feeling the bass will be sufficient for my taste but I could always add a sub down the road if I'm wrong or my tastes change.

Anyone have any experience with the Peachtree Decco65 or Nova65SE? I don't think this is a full tube amp but do not know enough about tube buffer technology and if these amps would even be called a true tube amp like the other vintage tube amps I've been looking at.

I have found the Scott 299 is a popular choice and have been on the lookout for one.

 

[ldatlof]

I use a Dynaco SCA-35 integrated amp with my Heresys Is. It has the Dave Gillespie power supply/EFB and output modifications. Sounds great with the Heresys. The loudness button adds more bass without making it sound muddy. A big plus IMO.

With the mods this amp can be had for less than your budget if you are willing to do the work yourself. Right around your budget if you have someone else do the restoration.

AK vendor AEA has a restored one listed here. I have no affiliation with AEA and I have never done business with them.

In addition the SCA-35 is not very large so it may be a good fit for your office. Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[moray james]

normally my first set of Heresy3 is vertically bi amped with a stereo block per speaker I use a set of modified Quad 405 (totally rebuilt). The Quads have been out of the system for too many months now being rebuilt for the second time in close to 40 years. This rebuild is a total redesign of the circuit. The Quad is capable of 100 watts per channel so that 100x2 for each loudspeaker. In the interim period as I wait for the Quads I using a totally modified Museatex amplifier from the Meitner company which is actually very closely based upon a Luxman L68a amplifire this is a mosfet amp with 100 watts per channel with numerous upgrades and circuit tweaks. The Museatex uses Meitner STR55 boards with the Melior output stage. The next amp to make its way into my system is likely to be the very last and is the Susan Parker transformer Mosfet design. This is an amazingly simple design but on the expensive side to build properly. I have not had the opportunity to hear one but my expectations are very high for this design from all the information I have gathered.

to condense all this a good solid and stable 35 -50 watt per channel amp will satisfy most Heresy users but if you want to run at close to live levels you will require a solid and stable amp capable of 75 to 100 watts per channel (or more). This said I could get by with my ASL Tulip which is a SET 2A3 stereo block amplifier which has only 3.5 watts per channel, it sounds very good it just won't play as loud as my other amplifiers. Sound quality and bass extension are factors of the amplifier design not the number of watts that an amplifier has.

http://www.susan-parker.co.uk/zeus.htm

 

[derekva]

I have a rotating stable. I really like the Fisher 660A (it's a PP 7591 design) as a general workhorse as well as the Dynaco Stereo 35. I've also tried a DIYTube modified Stereo 70, which was also a good match, but I'm not as into EL34 / KT77 amps in general so it's getting sold soon. Lately I've been playing with a Dave Gillespie SE-1 amplifier (SEP EL84) which sounds frickin' amazing, although it's a little (lot) shy on power. However, the power it has is beautiful, even with chintzy $15 output transformers.

In the past I've used a Fisher 800C as well as a Millett DCPP with the Heresy IIIs (Heresy X since I've gone a bit whackjob with mine) which also sounded pretty dang good. It's hard to go wrong tube-wise with Heresies.

-D