Zen Torii MkIII

LitoZacky

I have a pair of Lsi15, does the Zen Torii have enough power to feed the power hungry Lsi15? If it does then this will probably be the last amp I am ever going to get.

I enjoy the sound of Lsi15 extremely much and I want to maximize everything out to get the best performance out of it.

mhardy6647

I cannot imagine that it does.
PP EL34, right? 35 ish watts per channel in pentode/UL mode; something like 20 wpc if it's triode-mode. Ye cannae change the laws o'physics.

Might be OK depending on your room size and music listening tastes... If the speakers in question are of the modern type of power-hungry... I doubt it'll be a good match.

Joe08867

I have to agree with Mhardy on this. I don't think that amp will do what you think it will with Lsi15's. They are truly power hungry speakers and 35 watts isn't going to do much for them.

tonyb

While I agree with the above posters, can't help but wonder why you would choose that particular amp as your "last amp" ?

LitoZacky

tonyb wrote: »

While I agree with the above posters, can't help but wonder why you would choose that particular amp as your "last amp" ?

It's a very highly regarded tube amp. There are some nice amps with only 2 watts, I just thought 35 watts would be enough as long as it's good watts.

I guess most tube amps is out of the picture to power Lsi15s ?

mhardy6647

My daily driver is a snigle-ended 2A3 amp capable of 3.5 watts per channel. I use it with appropriate speakers and it is magnificent.



Steve Deckert's stuff is indeed OK (not quite up to the level of his hyperbole, though). I still own one of his little single-ended SV83/EL84 amps. According to Deckert's website, the Torii is 25 wpc triode mode (which sounds a tad hyperbolic for push-pull EL34). I don't doubt that it is a good sounding amp (although I have always found most amps using EL34s and their kin to be a bit "dry" sounding). It might be OK with the Lsi? I really don't know. What is their rated sensitivity, what does their impedance curve look like, and what is the amp's output impedance (i.e., what's its "damping factor")? Does it use any global negative feedback (I doubt it)? The combination of these parameters will likely determine whether you like or loathe the combination. The amp would be worth pairing with appropriate speakers ig the Lsi speakers don't work out with it.

LitoZacky

There's a 30-day moneyback return. I just wanna make better decision than to rely on the returning, it hurts the company and its bothersome for me as well.

tonyb

LitoZacky wrote: »

It's a very highly regarded tube amp. There are some nice amps with only 2 watts, I just thought 35 watts would be enough as long as it's good watts.

I guess most tube amps is out of the picture to power Lsi15s ?

Maybe it is a good amp, but you have to run appropriate speakers on it. The 15's come alive with some juice and the kind of juice you need in tubes may cost some coin. If you want to add some tubes to the 15's,get a tubed preamp with HT pass thru....and a better solid state amp.

LitoZacky

tonyb wrote: »

The 15's come alive with some juice and the kind of juice you need in tubes may cost some coin.

How much are we talking about?

inspiredsports

LitoZacky wrote: »

How much are we talking about?

Here you go . . . http://www.vtl.com/pages/stereo_amplifiers.html#ST150

LitoZacky

inspiredsports wrote: »

Here you go . . . http://www.vtl.com/pages/stereo_amplifiers.html#ST150

From what they are saying, those amps are still not enough. I guess I could crossover at 80hz on the preamp. Does either a tube preamp or a tube amp make the sound more tubey, or do they both contribute equally considering both are on pars.

inspiredsports

LitoZacky wrote: »

From what they are saying, those amps are still not enough. I guess I could crossover at 80hz on the preamp. Does either a tube preamp or a tube amp make the sound more tubey, or do they both contribute equally considering both are on pars.

In my humble opinion, the speaker (rated at 250W, 8 ohm) and the TL ST-150 (rated 150 W and stable into 1.65 ohm) would be a great match.

Those 150 tube watts would rival 300W SS gear.

Most feel a tube preamp makes the biggest contribution to creating the classic tube sound, but I've been experimenting with some stellar NOS tubes in both preamp and amp with major differences being apparent in both components.

mhardy6647

LitoZacky wrote: »

From what they are saying, those amps are still not enough. I guess I could crossover at 80hz on the preamp. Does either a tube preamp or a tube amp make the sound more tubey, or do they both contribute equally considering both are on pars.

For best results, you want the sound to be more like real music (in my hardly humble opinion of course). Don't be distracted by things like "tubey".

Joe08867

I love tubes but nice SS gear is also good in it's own way.

If I were tipping my toe into Tubes again I would get a Tube Pre and the best SS amp I could afford to go with it.

The VTL would be more than enough for your speakers. 150 watts in tube speak is like 350 watts in SS speak.

LitoZacky

Thank you all. It is now clear that a tube preamp + a solid state amp is the better path for me.