How different?
xsmi
Posts: 1,798
I was wondering this last night and I searched this site a lot for an answer and did not get an answer that would let me come to any real conclusions. Last night I looked up the sensitivity levels on my SRS-2's versus my Klipsch KG4's.
The specs on the SRS-2's are 4ohms 92dbs @ 1 Watt, the KG4's are 6ohms 94dbs @ 1 Watt.
Klipsch are said to be tube friendly and any SDA's are said to be power hungry, why? These numbers don't seem THAT different. I have heard people say that smaller SDA's work great with tubes but I don't remember anyone running tubes (except me, home made tube amp) on SDA's this large.
The tube amp I used did not seemed strained at all to get the speakers to play at levels I would need.
I'm asking this because I have a line on an inexpensive tube amp which I am going to have to live with the stock tubes for a while. I have the Klipsch in my HT and the SRS's are for 2CH. I'd sorta like to keep it that way.
Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Or is there legitimate concern?
The specs on the SRS-2's are 4ohms 92dbs @ 1 Watt, the KG4's are 6ohms 94dbs @ 1 Watt.
Klipsch are said to be tube friendly and any SDA's are said to be power hungry, why? These numbers don't seem THAT different. I have heard people say that smaller SDA's work great with tubes but I don't remember anyone running tubes (except me, home made tube amp) on SDA's this large.
The tube amp I used did not seemed strained at all to get the speakers to play at levels I would need.
I'm asking this because I have a line on an inexpensive tube amp which I am going to have to live with the stock tubes for a while. I have the Klipsch in my HT and the SRS's are for 2CH. I'd sorta like to keep it that way.
Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Or is there legitimate concern?
2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
Post edited by xsmi on
Comments
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My experience is Horns and Tubes go together very well. I had Klipschorns and they loved tube amplification. It was a super soothing and well rounded sound. I have not heard KG4's but my guess is they sound similar to Heresy's and Heresy's like tubes also.
I have not heard SRS-2's on tubes but have heard SDA2's and SDA1's and can tell you they sound awesome. Extremely warm and full sound.
The real question is what do you want. The two speakers you are speaking of are completely different animals from one another. I prefer the sound of the SDA effect to standard stereo. But horns have there place in music too.
As far as driving either speaker goes. I would probably give the easier to drive award to Klipsch over Polk in this instance. It doesn't take much to get the full sound of a Klipsch Speaker. Were Polks can be a little more demanding on the volume front. That said I give the win for powerful dynamics to the Polk's. The harder you drive them with clean power the better they sound to me. -
I guess I was most concerned if a 20 Watt tube amp is going to be enough to drive the SRS-2's and give that warm tube sound I experienced with the home made tube amp.2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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The Polks nominal impedance is lower than the Klipsch; and the actual impedance dips lower still depending on frequency. The sensitivity is a bit lower, too, but still reasonably good.
So, yeah, the Polks are going to be unhappy with an amplifier that is severely current-limited. No properly-designed amplifier is that current limited aside from the SET crowd...but cheap junk abounds; and pretty much always has. The Chinese just make MORE improperly-designed amps/receivers/etc; and those who are buying "Hi Fi" at Sears or Wal-Mart or Rat Shack or Best Buy will wind up with dreck.
If you've got four-ohm taps on that 20-watt tube amp, have at it. Don't expect thunderous volume levels; but within the volume capacity of the amp, it'll probably sound just fine.
