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What are your "unexpectedly good" loudspeaker-amplifier combos?

onemug said:
Magnepan 3.6's + 8 wpc 300b SET = exquisite.
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SET amp? Driving a pair of electrostats? Now that's unexpected.

A23gt said:
93db 1 watt/meter on axis, and will take all the power you can give them (within reason few hundred watts) I used my Citation 22 with them and they handled the power easily.

Bass was a bit tighter with the 22 than the Sherwood, but the top end opened up more with the tubes
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Highly sensitive, yet power-hungry speakers? Sounds like B&W DM302.
 
McCormack DNA 0.5 Deluxe driving Celestion SL6S speakers. All the well reported negatives of these speakers disappear when driven by this muscle amp.

The 1970’s vintage Marantz 250 driving Apogee Slant 6 speakers. Zowee! What a combo! Who’d a thunk it?!
 
For me, after trying different amps, monoblocks and bi-amping:

a Proton AA-1150 powering Vandersteen 2C speakers. It's the best synergy I've had since powering B&W Matrix 805's with an EL-84 single-ended Magnavox console pull amp.
 
Kreshna said:
SET amp? Driving a pair of electrostats? Now that's unexpected.
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I wouldn't recommend anyone trying an SET with electrostats with their huge impedance variation. Maggies are planars and my 3.6's have a pretty flat curve... SET's like that, then it's just a matter of how loud you can go with available wattage.

Nice thread btw. Nice to see people experimenting instead of repeating mass opinions.
 
BIC DV64 Speakers. I heard these on an acquaintance’s system and liked them so much I bought a pair. Still pleased.
 
onemug said:
I wouldn't recommend anyone trying an SET with electrostats with their huge impedance variation. Maggies are planars and my 3.6's have a pretty flat curve... SET's like that, then it's just a matter of how loud you can go with available wattage.

Nice thread btw. Nice to see people experimenting instead of repeating mass opinions.
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Thanks.

Samokan said:
I also have the DM302 and is currently with my son that is being pushed by an SET and it is surprisingly good.
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Indeed. And my DM302s sound surprisingly good when driven by TPA3116.

I don't understand. I really don't understand. I thought low-impedance speakers like B&W DM302 need powerful, high current amplifiers to sound good. I have tried Yamaha RX-V663 AVR and Rotel RB-985 power amplifier to drive my DM302s, and both amps sound strained when played out loud (albeit the Rotel, being more powerful, is much less susceptible to strain than the Yamaha). And yet the DM302s are completely strain-free when driven by TPA3116. Okay, they are also strain-free when driven by Sansui AU-7900, but that's Sansui.

Why does TPA3116 drives B&W DM302 with such effortlessness? Perhaps chip amps are more powerful than I thought?
 
Marantz receivers like my 2325 have very good synergy with their HD and DS series of speakers like my HD-880’s. Also, my Polk SDA SRS 1.2’s love the Sunfire Signature 600 amp and Carver C-16 preamp.
 
Luxman MB3045 sporting the KT88 mod and Dahlquist DQ-10s.

McCormack DNA-1 with NHT SB3.

Both most excellent. 50 watts of quality tube power is plenty for the DQ-10s. I know transistor amps need to have 4 times as much balls as a tube amp for those speakers.
 
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