Floor standing speakers for valve amp

[sherlock]

Looking for a pair of floor standers that will work well with a valve amp maybe a Unison Research Simply Italy or something from icon audio. I am looking to spend 1k tops.

What would you suggest?

Do some speakers lend themselves better to a valve source?

 

[Al ears]

Looking for a pair of floor standers that will work well with a valve amp maybe a Unison Research Simply Italy or something from icon audio. I am looking to spend 1k tops.What would you suggest?

Do some speakers lend themselves better to a valve source?

Simple answer is yes, and no....

Most valve amps are low powered and require the most efficient speakers and easy to drive ones that you can get, say 89dB and up. Some manufacturers make speakers specifically for valve amps but they are not usually cheap even second-hand.

The main problem as ever is to find a speaker that works well in your room. How big is it?

Also it will depend on the valve amp you actually get. Although mine is nominally 25wpc you wouldn't believe it and it's quite happy driving 88dB speakers that don't dip too low in the ohm department (mine are nominally 8 ohm).

There are some Icon Audio FMV3's Signatures on eBay at the moment but they are currently asking £1500, you might be able to knock them down a bit.

 

[CnoEvil]

Adding to what Alears has said, you could also look at Audio Note AZ1 or 2...which are designed to work better near walls/corners.

 

[busb]

Speakers that are easy to drive usually have a fairly flat impedance of no lower than 6 Ohms for a nominal 8 Ohm load. I would avoid 4 Ohm nominal loads than can dip down to 2 Ohms or lower. As has been mentioned - fairly high sensitivity of 88 to 91dB would also be benificial for a valve amp though some have a tapped output suitable for 4 Ohm loads.

 

[lindsayt]

Sherlock, yes there are genres of speakers that are more suited to valves than solid state.

Check out Arthur Salvatore's Hi-end audio website where he discusses this at length.

The best floorstanders for valves available for £1000 tend to be large to huge classic vintage horns / horn hybrids. The better examples offer first class sound quality for the money. You just need to be able to put up with the large to huge size and the unfashionable looks.

 

[Infiniteloop]

ProAcs work well with valves as they're an 'easy' load for the Amp.

I've had a Unison Research Preludio 14 watter drive Sonus Faber Concerto's back in the day with great results. I also had the same Amp drive ProAc D18's for a while.

My current 24 Watt Unison Research drives both my Focal 1008Be's and Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor M's very well.

Whilst high efficiency is desirable, it's more about how easy the load is for the Amp to drive.

I think most people would be shocked at how loud and how well a 12 watt Amp can play through fairly 'ordinary' speakers.

 

[Al ears]

Sherlock, yes there are genres of speakers that are more suited to valves than solid state.

Check out Arthur Salvatore's Hi-end audio website where he discusses this at length.

The best floorstanders for valves available for £1000 tend to be large to huge classic vintage horns / horn hybrids. The better examples offer first class sound quality for the money. You just need to be able to put up with the large to huge size and the unfashionable looks.

Personally I would say that those sort of speakers are unacceptable in most modern homes and rooms and the idea that you have to use them is pretty poor.

These were the sort of speakers you had to use years ago with old valve amps.... because there was nothing else.

Modern valve amps with their vastly improved internals and power transformers will drive quite awkward loads. People like Icon Audio have perfectly acceptable floorstanders in thre FV range as do many others.

I know people that swear by ProAcs., you're not so restricted in speaker design these days.

 

[lindsayt]

Personally I would say that those sort of speakers are unacceptable in most modern homes and rooms and the idea that you have to use them is pretty poor.

These were the sort of speakers you had to use years ago with old valve amps.... because there was nothing else.

Modern valve amps with their vastly improved internals and power transformers will drive quite awkward loads. People like Icon Audio have perfectly acceptable floorstanders in thre FV range as do many others.

I know people that swear by ProAcs., you're not so restricted in speaker design these days.

Al ears

1 You're making the assumption that Sherlock lives in a modern house.

2. Just because your taste in speakers in a modern house does not extend to classic horns / horn hybrids, doesn't mean to say Sherlock feels the same way.

3. You are incorrect in saying there was nothing else. There were plenty of conventional coned and domed speakers around from the 1960's onwards. There were also electrostatics from 1957 onwards.

4. Modern valve amps might drive quite awkward speakers in terms of how loud they will go. No modern valve amplifier that I've heard, can produce bass as good as a high damping factor solid state amplifier with these awkward speakers.

5. You might find Icon Audio FV speakers acceptable. I don't. I find them pants compared to good classic horns / horn hybrids.

6. Some people might swear by Proacs. I'd swear at them.

7. If you want the best sound quality from £1000 speakers with valve amplification, there is no valid alternative to classic horns / horn hybrids. You might call that pretty poor. I wouldn't. It's just the way things are. For anyone not wanting such speakers in their home there are other alternatives. They just won't sound as good.

8. There is a price to pay in the sound quality of modern high powered valve amps. They don't sound as good as low powered SET valve amps.