recommended a tube amp for Celestron Studio Ditton 66's

[The G.O.A.T.145]

can anyone here recommended a tube amp for Celestron Studio Ditton 66's
I am new to tubes but am an audio engineer and would like something that will be sonically matched as well as possible.
Is e-bay a good place?
what brands, how much, how much work to keep running and anything else I should know would be appreciated.
thanks in advance and I hope to be vary active soon as right now I am in school for electrician and it is keeping me busy.

[Stuey]

I'm guessing you mean Celestion rather than Celestron?

Might help in getting a response.

[The G.O.A.T.145]

ya thats it sorry

[The G.O.A.T.145]

Is it ant good and what is it worth? Foe powering a pair of Celestion Ditton 66 Studio Monitors
thanks

[45]

Originally posted by The G.O.A.T.145
Is it ant good and what is it worth? Foe powering a pair of Celestion Ditton 66 Studio Monitors
thanks

Hi G.O.A.T.145,
it very much depends on your budget.
As line of guide I would stay on a minimum of 12-15W as I remember (from my past Ditton 33 experience) this line of speakers were a bit power hungry.
You can get that power from an EL84 PP run in ultralinear mode. This is by far the most common solution and if well made can give great satisfaction.

If you want to start from a bigger platform for experimentation, you can consider a parallel push-pull. Here you can go for pentode, ultralinear and triode connection and having a potential range from 10 to 35 watts and a lot of solutions for the front-end stages (given the modest requirements of the EL84's in comparison to most power tubes).

45

[The G.O.A.T.145]

What about maintenance tube life ect and initial cost
also where to buy?
remember I am a newbie

[kevinkr]

Sounds like you are asking someone to recommend a commercially built amplifier that would match your speakers, unfortunately as most of us here haven't owned Celestion Dittons and used them with a tube amp getting meaningful recommendations might be a bit difficult to come by.

You haven't mentioned what sort of budget you have so it is hard to know what to recommend given the above caveat.

I grew up overseas and remember the Dittons as being quite power hungry and they were designed in the interlude when tube amplifiers were considered anachronistic and probably integrate better with good solid state amplifiers, however higher powered PP designs with global feedback and relatively low output impedance would probably work fairly well with these speakers.

No local high end audio emporium with a good line of used ARC or Conrad Johnson power amplifiers you could borrow (with a hefty deposit I am sure) to try at home with these speakers? You would also need a decent source and pre-amplifier obviously if this is the route you choose to take.

I think you probably need something in the > 50W per channel class to achieve good performance with these speakers.

Boils down to budget, otherwise you are probably better off with a good vintage SS Kenwood or Pioneer integrated amplifier. Or an older Bryston amp and pre combo..(They have great customer service and fix any model they ever made still.) There is some very cool stuff on eBay these days for a song. I picked up a vintage Kenwood KT-6005 tuner for chump change a couple of weeks ago.

[audiopro]

You are going to need to try various amps with your speakers. Find a dealer (there should be several in Calgary) that will either give an in home or bring your speakers along.
With your being a newbie, I don't recommend Ebay. If you can't listen to it, don't buy it.

Tubes will drive your speakers, but room size, musical taste, and listening levels need to be considered. Also your budget.

AS suggested, CJ, ARC, McIntosh. Also Antique Sound Labs, Copland, VTL.

[The G.O.A.T.145]

as for room 100% le de room at least 24" ins walls barrel ceiling base traps ect that part no need to worry

[kevinkr]

Originally posted by The G.O.A.T.145
as for room 100% le de room at least 24" ins walls barrel ceiling base traps ect that part no need to worry

Nice, but the dimensions would help too.. Power required is determined by the size of your room, and just how loud you might want your music at times..