Most tube friendly speakers?
- Thread starter Jailtime
- Start date
PR Audio
Super Member
Real quality never goes out of style. Good stuff is good stuff, whether made today or a century ago. These go with a nice tube amp like champagne and caviar...
If you've never heard a good WE speaker, you'll never believe how magical they can sound...
Hold on...The good thing about good vintage drivers, like the WE shown by analogue, is that they can be used in a modern looking enclosure and get the best of both worlds. IMO, any comment about this Century shouldn't include loose drivers.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Personally, I prefer the look of the old, furniture-style enclosures, but I do realize that's not everybody's kettle of fish. Either way, as long as it's tube-friendly and well-suited to a 30wpc Fisher (Boy, I could sure have some fun with a 400C).
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Rapidan
Well-Known Member
I'll throw in a vote for the Klipsch heritage line, Heresy/Cornwall/LaScala/K-horn series. Paul K was a fanatic about efficiency and overall sound, and the first designs of all of them were done in the tube era. My Heresys will fill the room quite well with a 20wpc T-amp at 1/6th volume. Your 30wpc is a titan with the K-line powered up.
QEMaster
QEMaster
Vintage emi's if you can find them. I was able to a+b a pair of heresys with a pair of emi's (dls529's) that I still have. The heresys went away and I'm listening to the emi's on tubed gear right now
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.Ive really been enjoying my Bozak 302s lately. They can be had fairly cheap.Ive been using my Heathkit UA-1s I got from Dan055 last year (12-14 watts). They seem to do well with all my different flavors of music that I listen to. They also play well with my Sansui 7000. They do however take up alot of room. Eric
SPEC2man
Are we there yet?
Klipsch
Several and mentioned Klipsch Heritage series, I have to agree. I'd look for a good set of Heresy's and a small sub. The Klipsch heritage seem to benefit from a sub if you like a good Rush jam session. I was running a set with a little Jolida tube amp (50 WPC) and a Velodyne 8" SPL. I could do quite a bit of damage with that little setup and yet at low volume it does Miles and JC justice. Had a great tube sound without lacking bass. The sub can be brought in when and where needed. I have since upgraded to Altec Model 14's and the Jolida wasn't quite enough. I sold it, switched to SS and now I want to go back to tubes.
Several and mentioned Klipsch Heritage series, I have to agree. I'd look for a good set of Heresy's and a small sub. The Klipsch heritage seem to benefit from a sub if you like a good Rush jam session. I was running a set with a little Jolida tube amp (50 WPC) and a Velodyne 8" SPL. I could do quite a bit of damage with that little setup and yet at low volume it does Miles and JC justice. Had a great tube sound without lacking bass. The sub can be brought in when and where needed. I have since upgraded to Altec Model 14's and the Jolida wasn't quite enough. I sold it, switched to SS and now I want to go back to tubes.
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
Vintage, look for a pair of Frazier speakers (Monte Carlo bookshelf to MK IV-V-VI and Seven floor-standers). All the efficiency of vintage Klipsch, but a more forgiving balance. If you can find some Frazier Monte Carlo D speakers (a bit larger than a BBC LS3/5a... about the size of an EPI 100), GRAB 'EM!
New in-the-store-today speakers? Klipsch. The Heresy III is greatly superior to the previous models, as are the Cornwall III and the La Scala II models, without loosing efficiency.
New in-the-store-today speakers? Klipsch. The Heresy III is greatly superior to the previous models, as are the Cornwall III and the La Scala II models, without loosing efficiency.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Not speaking for the OP here, but I'd love to have a pair of the bigger Bozaks myself. The big, Rudy-designed models sound amazing and look beautiful (To me, Rudy Bozak was a speaker-designer who truly "got it"... His speakers are king at tapping into the soul/mining the emotional paydirt... They're the essence of "musical"). Top-notch build-quality/driver-quality. I'd probably still pull the trigger on a pair of 302a;s or one of the bigger models if the right deal came along, but like you said, the cabs are big on those (Plus, I've been enjoying the hell out of my W90's, which have a very-similar sonic-signature).
And yes, I've heard many people mention Bozaks sounding great with solid-state (One AK'er mentioned his big Bozaks sounding best with an early '70's Sherwood solid-state amp he had... Still an amp with a tube-like voicing though... I really don't know how Bozaks respond to neutral-sounding amps/receivers, but they definitely like the tube-voiced stuff). Nice to hear that the 302a's sound good with the 7000. I have a 4000 as well as a 2000x. I'd like to put the 4000 in use with something really, really-nice (It's too-much power for my W90's).
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Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
What kind of sound-signature do the old Fraziers have? In other words, what speakers do they remind you of when you hear them? I've heard all kinds of great things about them, but I don't know much about them, except that they have a very-devoted fan-base a' la Bozak (When I hear someone mention Frazier, I instantly think of "Brazier's" and Dairy Queen... I love Dairy Queen
).
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
What kind of sound-signature do the old Fraziers have? In other words, what speakers do they remind you of when you hear them? I've heard all kinds of great things about them, but I don't know much about them, except that they have a very-devoted fan-base a' la Bozak (When I hear someone mention Frazier, I instantly think of "Brazier's" and Dairy Queen... I love Dairy Queen
Well, I'd put their sound in-between Klipsch and Bozak. More efficient than the Bozaks, but less "sharp" than the Klipschs (even when Frazier uses the Motorola Piezo tweeter... which Jack seemed to master by not wiring it into a crossover).
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
BTW: The speaker company that now owns the "Frazier" name has NOTHING in common with Jack Frazier's company, even though both were/are based in Dallas. Very different philosophies that look similar at first. The current "Frazier" is really another long-time P.A. speaker maker, J.W. Davis.
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njcanuck
aka: MacGyver
Up to a couple of weeks ago, I would have recommended Klipsch heritage - well, I guess I still do. I have run all of mine very successfully with Scott integrateds. A great match!
However, I just started playing with some Hornshoppe horns and am very impressed. They also are effecient and work well with low power tube amps.
However, I just started playing with some Hornshoppe horns and am very impressed. They also are effecient and work well with low power tube amps.
pmsummer
simul justus et peccator
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Between Klipsch and Bozak? That's a pretty-big margin. :scratch2: I would guess they're a lot closer to one side or the other though, right?
Wow, that kinda' threw me for a loop, but oddly-enough, I think I understand what you mean (Would somewhere between Bozak and Stephens Tru-Sonic be accurate? Or perhaps Bozak and EV? I think I see where you're going with that, but not 100% sure).
By the way, I like the look of that Manhattan you posted above. Looking at their speakers, I've always imagined that someone on the design team must have worked for a guitar-amplifier company at some point. Some of them do have that look, kinda' like the old tube-powered guitar amps of the 60's and early '70's (Not so-much the Manhattans, but I've seen others that look like old amp-heads)..
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