Pairing new speakers with vintage amplifiers

Hi All,

I am looking at trying out some older vintage amplifiers to see if I like their presentations. There seems to be good deals on Ebay and the likes. a lot of the amps I am looking at are rated in the 30 wat per channel up to 40 wat per channel. My current speakers have a sensitivity of 88db. would these amplifiers be able to drive these speakers?

Cheers.

 

Definitely will be sufficient but not at rock concert levels. Definately above moderate levels. Again, it depends how large your listening area is and what sort of music you listen to.

 

You should have no trouble.

I've had a couple of vintage Pioneer receivers, driving different pairs of speakers. It has never been a problem.



Here is a Pioneer SX-550, producing only around ~25 wpc, driving my Wharfedale Diamond bookshelf speakers, which are only rated at 86dB sensitivity. I have no problem filling my home office with them.

 

Should be fine. I used to run a pair of Mission 752s (which I think were around the 88/89db mark) with a 30w Sansui AU-217 about ten years or so back. Brilliant pairing and they could go loud. 88db is not a difficult push for a 30w amp.

 

Completely dependent upon room size and SPL needs. For me, would not work for a main system. Background music, music you can talk during, yep would work fine for me there. I think for most will work just fine.

 

Thanks for all the reply's so far; The room I currently use is quite small. I will be moving soon and not sure of the size the new room will be, but I don't listen at very loud volumes as music travels through the entire house at present.

I'll continue my search online or old amps and see what I can come up with. I'm really curious to hear the difference in sound signatures that were associated with older amps compared to today.

 

Many older amps have low damping factors compared to modern designs and so exert less control over the drivers. In some cases, the bass may seem a little less controlled than it would with modern amplification. This isn’t too big a deal in many cases, though, particularly if you have a good room and good speaker placement, but it’s something to be aware of.

The old amps and receivers always *look* better than their modern equivalents, even if they don’t always sound better!

 

It'll work fine with 8 ohm speakers. Some older amps struggle a bit with 4 ohm designs. The big issue with old amps is their age. You'll get different presentations, not entirely due to their differing designs but rather due to their different points of failure. As components age, they can change in value and cause distortions. The biggest issue is failure of electrolytic capacitors. There are many other trouble spots with contacts, resistors, circuit traces and connections, as well as with transistors. All of these points can effect the resulting sound from the unit.
-Bill

 

Old amps and Receivers (you are looking at the 70s I suppose) need a recap. That’s a must.
The lower damping factor was already mentioned- they might sound warmer to your ears
Try to get top models or the runner up, that’s where it really sounds good.
Later you can upgrade Receivers by separating the Pre- and Power stage and putting a very good
preamp in the loop - generally the power amps in them were better than the Pres.
Old Amps do not benefit much from that, only Receivers

Recommendation are old Tandberg of the 10xx or 20xx series, they sound very joyful and
the FM Tuner inside is to die for. I personally have a TR1055, heavily restored, and it sounds
breathtakingly good. I use it with LS3/5a.
Google Tandberg Service Germany, that guy offers completely revamped ones, pays off
Even the smaller models of Tandberg sound great.
Get a Huldra 10 if you find one - the Rolls Royce of Receivers
But: some have DIN connectors only ... check before buying

If no Tandberg, then get a Pioneer SX 1010 if you find one, very beautiful in looks and sound.
Or an SX 939 ...
SX 1250 is the one of, if not the best Receiver of all, but beware of weight and size.
Pioneers are easy to repair and not so hard to get parts

Sansui sound very nice, but can be unreliable and are quite expensive

Can’t say much about Marantz, never owned one.

The only good German Receivers were made by Saba, they sound a bit colder though.
The FM Tuners are also great. Looks is fantastic, look at Saba 9240, xx50 or xx60
Quite solidly built

 

Room size?
Proximity to speakers?
Is room 'soft' (carpeted, etc) or hard (wood floors, etc)?

 

I currently run my Mission 752s with a Quad 33/303 combo, and they sound great, and go way louder than I need.

 

That's a good pairing for sure too!

 

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Ever heard a Tandberg? They competed with McIntosh - bit higher than normal consumer stuff.

 

To really get the most out of vintage gear a more efficient speaker is a good idea. Power was a lot harder to make back in the 1950, 60s and 70s. During this time semiconductors that made high power really didn't exist and tube amps for the most part didn't make much more than 60 watts. It was a huge deal when Pioneer came out with the first 100watt/channel receiver, about 1975 or so. A speaker with only 88dB sensitivity needs about 200 watts to really work right, unless you are in a small room. One thing about sensitivity as a spec: its less useful for vintage gear- the efficiency spec is much handier. This is because amps that could double power as impedance is halved were a bit rare in those days. Low impedance loads often meant smoke, and often a loss of bandwidth in the bass region. If your speaker is 4 ohms, because the sensitivity spec is a voltage measurement rather than a power measurement, you have to convert to deal with the impedance. The spec is 2.83volts at 1 meter; if its a 4 ohm load that means its 2 watts rather than 1 watt if an 8 ohm load. That means the efficiency would only be 85dB, which is close to criminally inefficient as its so difficult to find an amp that simultaneously sounds like music and makes that sort of power (400 watts or more) at the same time. So let's hope your speaker is 8 ohms, that will work a lot better.

 

The Pioneer was a 1974 (probably offered end of 73) SX1010 with 2x110Watts at 8 Ohms. The Monster Receiver was born.
Very shortly after Marantz launched the 2325, a veritable competitor

I wonder that you guys (and a friend of mine as well) always need so many Watts.
At normal listening level you use 1-2Watts, not more

 

My speakers are 98dB 1 watt/1 meter and 16 ohms. They go down to 20Hz flat (woofers have Fs of 22Hz) and the first breakup is at 35KHz. I find that all amps, tube, solid state, class D sound better when they are not asked to work hard and drive a higher impedance. They also measure with lower distortion as well. So I don't use that kind of power, although I did back when I had Snell Bs 25 years ago. They were 88dB and my room wasn't all that big but to really get them to strut their stuff you needed 200 watts. My speakers now are more dynamic (less thermal compression) and more transparent in every way. I don't miss the Snells for a second!

 

and what speakers do you have now?

 

Classic Audio Loudspeakers model T-3.3

 

Yes they will drive them. You’ll love it.