SE Tube amps with electrostats?

ak_47_boy · 17th March 2007, 06:52 AM

I have recently heard that single ended tube amps don't work very good with esl's. Is this true?

Calvin · 17th March 2007, 07:48 AM

Hi,

I don´t see any reason why this should be so!
They are terribly inefficient, so You´d be generating loads of heat and it´ll be not easy to find good tubes, but apart from that, there should be not much of a prob.
Had one running (it was even a SE Triode) with the incredible KR845 running on 2kV plate voltage and it drove up to 1nF load without probs.

jauu
Calvin

ak_47_boy · 17th March 2007, 07:58 AM

Thats what i figured but i thought i had better make sure before i ordered any parts to start building a 304tl SE.

thanks

Pano · 17th March 2007, 08:52 AM

I ran a pair of 811SET (IIRC) monoblocks on a set of double stacked Quad panels for awhile. About 20WPC. Plenty of power. But I don't think they liked the load much. Very bright and forward sounding. But waaaay better than the Quad 405 that was there before.

Ended up with 20WPC Class-A solid state.

All amps are different.

moray james · 20th March 2007, 03:44 AM

http://w3.mit.edu/cheever/www/6c33amp.htm

willyCJ · 21st March 2007, 09:54 AM

So are you planning on building an amp where you don't go to an 8 ohm apperant load between the amp and ESL? I'm starting to read on ESLs after making my first tube amp from scratch about a year ago. I want to run a low current, high voltage setup. Since tubes expect a roughly 5kOhm load, ESLs seem like a good match.

I_Forgot · 21st March 2007, 03:46 PM

The idea of using a SET amp to drive an ESL baffles me as much as the guys who want to break an ESL up into 3 or 4 separate drivers and make a crossover to drive them. Why would you want to drive a speaker as nearly perfect as an ESL with a high distortion amp? What's the point of using an ESL?

I_F

Bazukaz · 21st March 2007, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by I_Forgot
The idea of using a SET amp to drive an ESL baffles me as much as the guys who want to break an ESL up into 3 or 4 separate drivers and make a crossover to drive them. Why would you want to drive a speaker as nearly perfect as an ESL with a high distortion amp? What's the point of using an ESL?

I_F

Its because tube amplifiers produce light

Audio_idiot · 22nd March 2007, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by I_Forgot
The idea of using a SET amp to drive an ESL baffles me as much as the guys who want to break an ESL up into 3 or 4 separate drivers and make a crossover to drive them. Why would you want to drive a speaker as nearly perfect as an ESL with a high distortion amp? What's the point of using an ESL?

Because he can?

Cheers

17th March 2007, 06:52 AM	#1
ak_47_boy diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2006	SE Tube amps with electrostats? I have recently heard that single ended tube amps don't work very good with esl's. Is this true?

17th March 2007, 08:52 AM	#4
Pano diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: North Carolina Blog Entries: 4	I ran a pair of 811SET (IIRC) monoblocks on a set of double stacked Quad panels for awhile. About 20WPC. Plenty of power. But I don't think they liked the load much. Very bright and forward sounding. But waaaay better than the Quad 405 that was there before. Ended up with 20WPC Class-A solid state. All amps are different. __________________ Take the Speaker Voltage Test!

20th March 2007, 03:44 AM	#5
moray james diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Calgary on the Bow	take a look at this page... http://w3.mit.edu/cheever/www/6c33amp.htm __________________ moray james

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17th March 2007, 07:48 AM	#2
Calvin diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: close to Basel	Hi, I don´t see any reason why this should be so! They are terribly inefficient, so You´d be generating loads of heat and it´ll be not easy to find good tubes, but apart from that, there should be not much of a prob. Had one running (it was even a SE Triode) with the incredible KR845 running on 2kV plate voltage and it drove up to 1nF load without probs. jauu Calvin

17th March 2007, 07:58 AM	#3
ak_47_boy diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2006	Thats what i figured but i thought i had better make sure before i ordered any parts to start building a 304tl SE. thanks

21st March 2007, 09:54 AM	#6
willyCJ diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Indiana	So are you planning on building an amp where you don't go to an 8 ohm apperant load between the amp and ESL? I'm starting to read on ESLs after making my first tube amp from scratch about a year ago. I want to run a low current, high voltage setup. Since tubes expect a roughly 5kOhm load, ESLs seem like a good match.

21st March 2007, 03:46 PM	#7
I_Forgot diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Phoenix, Az.	The idea of using a SET amp to drive an ESL baffles me as much as the guys who want to break an ESL up into 3 or 4 separate drivers and make a crossover to drive them. Why would you want to drive a speaker as nearly perfect as an ESL with a high distortion amp? What's the point of using an ESL? I_F

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