Tubes for SDA's

Lord Vader

Hello to everyone...


I am new here and come seeking advice with regards to the use of tube amplifiers with SDA speakers. I should first state that I will be running a set of SDA-SRS that have not beenn modded in any way, nor do I have intent of doing so. I am looking for something that will bring out the character of the speaker without being overly warm. Currently I am running a Krell KSA300 and thoug I am happy with the amp, I feel I am missing detail and depth from the speakers.

Any help would be nice.

Face

What's your budget?

I've used a Manley Stingray with SRS2's with good results.

Lord Vader

I like the sound of them. I have thought about some vintage Mcintosh or Conrads. Any specs on the Manleys? how can I find more info?

Face

http://www.manleylabs.com/hifimain99.html

Vintage Mac's are a little more colored and would definitely need to be recently refreshed to handle any of the larger SDA's.

Lord Vader

Thanks

heiney9

Lord,

I know you mentioned you're not wanting to mod them. I don't suggest this as a mod but as a way of getting better performance which in my experience will give you the attributes you feel you are missing. The inexpensive Mexican sourced electrolytic caps in the now 20+ year old speakers are probably worn out.

Replacing the caps with current film caps like Sonic Caps or Solen caps or Clarity caps will make a HUGE difference. My SDA's have Sonic Caps and I also have a pair of vintage Monitor 5B's in my office rig that have Solen caps. The difference was huge in both cases gaining much of the attributes you feel are missing. Krell is very nice gear if not a bit on the dark side. You can certainly search for another amp but refreshing 20+ year old x-overs really, really give these speakers new life.

Something to consider

H9

NJPOLKER

H9 is absolutely correct, as usual. For the Capacitor manufactures to say there is a life span on caps around 20 years means something. You will be thanking H9 after you do the x-overs.
BTW welcome to the forum.

heiney9

If you want to try tubes..................then I suggest BAT!

Ricardo

Vader, one more vote to update the crossovers. This is NOT a mod, since you will be replacing caps with the same values, just newer caps. While you are at it, you should also replace the resistors for better ones (still same values here).

This is not a difficult task. If you search the forum (use the tag search "crossover upgrades") you will find some threads with step by step instructions. If I could do it, you can do it.

Welcome!

Systems

I liked a pair of Antique Sond Labs AQ1008dt mono amps. Running KT88's. You just have to tie the two together to get a commnon ground. @ 105wpc they were more than enough.

reeltrouble1

If you can find a set of Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes they are quite nice and powerful.

If it were for my speakers I would seriously consider the Balanced Audio Technology tubed amplifiers, the Manely products, the VTL products, the Dodd Audio products. The Vincent products are well reviewed but I never owned one and if I have not owned it, I dont recommend it, but just because I don't personally recommend something it does not mean its not nice stuff, I have owned all the others with Polk SDA and they are all rather grand but my favorite is BAT, great company, great service, great minds, the guys there all drink Vodka around a fireplace and throw old tubes into it, everytime one explodes they celebrate with another shot.

Just one thing, if you have original SDA-SRS the kind with a blade/blade interconnect you cannot use mono-blocks you must use a common ground amplifier, if you have the pin/blade you can use the mono-blocks but you must use the Polk AI-1 interconnect.

RT1

Lord Vader

Thanks for the input RT. I was leaning towards vintage Mcintosh but now I have more stuff to think about... I have found some stuff at Pacific Valve, but am leary of Chinese made gear. I will check out BAT and Dodd... I am grateful for your assistance.

sucks2beme

ARC vs115. Nice neutral tube sound.

heiney9

Lord Vader wrote: »

Thanks for the input RT. I was leaning towards vintage Mcintosh but now I have more stuff to think about... I have found some stuff at Pacific Valve, but am leary of Chinese made gear. I will check out BAT and Dodd... I am grateful for your assistance.

Chinese gear can be excellent when properly purchased and researched. Pacific Valve is in my neck of the woods and they do a pretty good job. Dollar for dollar some Chinese gear is as good as other more established US companies. But do be leary.

I would however strongly recommend US sourced stuff mentioned like BAT, Dodd, VTL, Manley, ASL, etc. they are all several steps above the typical Chinese gear. I sense your looking for Creme de la Creme rather than just a nice sounding unit.

It's a shame more people don't take a chance on the Chinese gear because some of it looks really, really well built. But lack of service, high shipping prices and in general never knowing exactly what you're going to get when it arrives makes it more hassle than it's worth in the end.

H9

madmax

You didn't ask but... I've run 35, 50, 60, 100 and 200 watts per channel of tube power to the SDA-SRS. More is better. 35 and 50 really didn't cut it for me, I kept wanting just a little more output and I don't even listen very loud. Really didn't notice much difference between 100 and 200 watts. 60 seemed fine but the 100 and 200 really kicked ****. I tend to like the sound of Manley gear although Jolida kept me quit happy too.
madmax

Lord Vader

Manley is looking good, and I mean that strictly as a comment on amps and nothing else...

TroyD

I used a CJ MV75 for awhile on my SDA's and liked it immensely.

BDT

dorokusai

sucks2beme wrote: »

ARC vs115. Nice neutral tube sound.

The best tube amp I've owned so far was that one.

W WALDECKER

I agree with the tube amp recommendations here so far.there is a BAT VK60SE on Audiogon that i would seriously consider if i were you.I you find it is not to your taste it would be very easy to resell because they rarely seem to come up for sale good luck ....WCW III

[Deleted User]

Hello LV,
One thing to remember when matching SDA speakers and vacuum tube amplifiers is the amp's output impedance. In order for the SDA technology to sound it's best the output impedance, of the amplifier, needs to be as low as possible. This is because the SDA circuit path includes the amplifier's ouput section, usually the output transformer. The higher this is the less SDA information is produced. I suppose the higher the damping factor (the ratio of output impedance versus load) the better, in terms of SDA information produced.
Regards, Ken

Lord Vader

I am grateful for the assistance gentlemen. I have not yet decided, but am still leaning towards a tube Mcintosh Mc275 or even going after a BAT vk75


edited... the ML red is unobtanium

dorokusai

I'd go with the manufacturer with better resale value.....McIntosh.

reeltrouble1

Thats because alot of folks end up selling there Mc., wonder why??

I would buy a piece of gear you can be happy with and use for a while, if you interested in flipping then get the lowest price you can on something. Either company makes great stuff so get the one that makes you happy.

personally I think BAT is better than Mc. but that is my preference.

of course just to stir the pot, although no longer available except in the used market the Wolcott Presence tube amps I now use have an adjustable damping factor that would fit the ticket.

RT1