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Recommended speakers for tube amps

kjack48230

kjack48230

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Hello all. I'm in the process of acquiring a Harman Kardon A500 with tuner. This would be my very first tube amp purchase and would like to know what would be an acceptable level of speakers to hook up. The amp is a 25 watt into 8 ohms although hifiengine indicates it'll handle a 4 ohm. Looking for some suggestions. Thank you in advance!
 
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the higher efficiency the better. 90 db spl and greater. I run 96db spkrs.
hi 80s ok depending on amp.
IMO U should have no trouble running most spkrs with decent eff. levels with that amp.
get 8ohm for best power transfer and proper amp loading..
bass reflex pop to mind. acoustic suspension want lotta power.
 
Any decent pair of speakers with a 90dB or better efficiency rating should be perfectly fine with a 25W/ch amp. I agree that you should pick speakers with the correct impedance rating for the amp. What kind of setting do you intend to use it in, and at what sorts of listening levels?
 
With that kind of power you actually have quite a bit of flexability/choice,

2 that come to mind first are Polk monitor 10's, and ADS L880, but many JBL/Altec are great to.

Also depends on the room to fill/setup/headbanging loudness, ;)
In a small room/moderate level a nice pair medium efficient bookshelves could do the trick even.
 
Great point about bookshelf speakers... I have a pair of Klipsch Reference RB-61 IIs that do a fantastic job of filling a medium-sized room with music of all sorts, connected to an amp rated 14W/ch (and the volume is never turned up anywhere near 100%). Those are rated at 95dB @ 1W/1m.

Really, the efficiency rating is the key. Practically every modern speaker can handle the power levels of the typical tube amp. The RB-61s are rated at 100Wrms continuous power, and I can't even fathom driving them that hard. It's just what they can handle before you have to worry about the voice coils melting.
 
Thank you all, that's great to know. There are a number of speakers out there so just wanted some feedback to narrow the list. Now it's time to do more research. Thanks again. I'll update when I make a choice and grab them.
 
I have a pair of old Marantz Imperial 6's that I recapped and i really like them. Built to take on the original Advent 1's they are so very close. Usually can be had pretty cheap and they just play everything well. At 93db efficiently even my smaller amps drive them nicely. A lot of folks who have them tend to keep them.
 
Paradigm 7SE at 92dB (Room) 90dB (Anechoic) @ 1w or 2.83V / 1m for mid-sized room is sometimes undervalued and goes for cheaper of what they worth, when they have the original vinyl like tweeters dome, not tissue replacements.

I replaced the Vifa D25TG-58 tweeters for Vifa D25TG-85 (Chambered version)

I made some mods like removed the crossover replacing with 6 or 7uf soon of PIO caps for tweeter only, woofer directly to amplifier output , BUT that gives 4 ohms or less, in my setup it's ok.

If 8 ohms is the lower impedance tap of your amplifier, the original crossovers must be ok, keep them 8 ohms compatible (for optimal performance).

There is two woofers versions, Steel basket and Alloy basket.

Replaced the dustcaps when i bought them and repaired them for some similar but smaller dustcaps coming from faultly Wharfedale 8"

I inverted the vinyl rubber like surround of the woofers ( alloy basket version) and glued them behind the cones, look:
Paradigm 7se mod ).jpg

I really like the sound :trebon:
 
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kjack48230 said:
Hello all. I'm in the process of acquiring a Harman Kardon A500 with tuner. This would be my very first tube amp purchase and would like to know what would be an acceptable level of speakers to hook up. The amp is a 25 watt into 8 ohms although hifiengine indicates it'll handle a 4 ohm. Looking for some suggestions. Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
W70-W90's
 
keeping an eye open for any vintage single point source drivers in large cabinets will get you a long way as far as getting some of the best sound out of you HK.There pricey especially the more reconized top co-/triails but you will be in a situation where upgradeing down the line wont become a reality for you.Brands to look for are Altec/Stephens/Tannoy/University/Jensen ect looking for their big 15 inch models I find the most satifiying.All are very efficient and can be drive with few wpc.

hunter
 
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