Hi all.
We see so many thread questions asking about how much power one needs to drive a pair of Theos effectively. So, after spending two days revamping my room from the short wall to the long wall, big job, I took the liberty of setting up the ML Theos with the following audio chain:
Dennis Had Inspire Fire Bottle KT88 SET amp - 12 watt SET amp
Dennis Had Inspire LP2 preamp
Martin Logan Theos
Martin Logan Depth i
PS Audio PerfectWave DAC II, sampling music via iTunes attended to by Channel D's Pure Music 3
As you can observe, preamp volume setting is only at 10 o'clock, and even at that there's far more volume than I'm accustomed to for my normal listening level.
Before trying this experiment today I suspected the amp would drive the Theos adequately, as years ago I did a similar experiment driving a pair of CLSiiz's with an 8 watt SET integrated. Crazy I know. But it works.
Small watt tube amps and ML's work for jazz...I've never conducted a sampling of rock...so ymmv...same goes for demands presented by home theater listening...but keep an open mind. Tubes and 'stats have always been a match made in heaven.
By the way...Dennis Had, former originator of Cary Audio fame, retired a few years ago and Dennis has been creating these small chassis Inspire "fire bottle" KT88 amps in retirement. He lists them for sell on ebay. I bought this pre/amp combo 2 years ago and they've been collecting dust as I'd only bought them to drive a pair of Cain&Cain Abby speakers, which has its own sub, known as a "Bailey."
Dennis has an Inspire model that utilizes the KT120, KT150, and pair of monoblocks as well...for those of you who think you need more "power."
Any questions, fire away.
My apologies for the messy room...between Xmas, and revamping a wall full of gear from one wall to another it's been a big job...The video was quickly done via an iPhone.
We see so many thread questions asking about how much power one needs to drive a pair of Theos effectively. So, after spending two days revamping my room from the short wall to the long wall, big job, I took the liberty of setting up the ML Theos with the following audio chain:
Dennis Had Inspire Fire Bottle KT88 SET amp - 12 watt SET amp
Dennis Had Inspire LP2 preamp
Martin Logan Theos
Martin Logan Depth i
PS Audio PerfectWave DAC II, sampling music via iTunes attended to by Channel D's Pure Music 3
As you can observe, preamp volume setting is only at 10 o'clock, and even at that there's far more volume than I'm accustomed to for my normal listening level.
Before trying this experiment today I suspected the amp would drive the Theos adequately, as years ago I did a similar experiment driving a pair of CLSiiz's with an 8 watt SET integrated. Crazy I know. But it works.
Small watt tube amps and ML's work for jazz...I've never conducted a sampling of rock...so ymmv...same goes for demands presented by home theater listening...but keep an open mind. Tubes and 'stats have always been a match made in heaven.
By the way...Dennis Had, former originator of Cary Audio fame, retired a few years ago and Dennis has been creating these small chassis Inspire "fire bottle" KT88 amps in retirement. He lists them for sell on ebay. I bought this pre/amp combo 2 years ago and they've been collecting dust as I'd only bought them to drive a pair of Cain&Cain Abby speakers, which has its own sub, known as a "Bailey."
Dennis has an Inspire model that utilizes the KT120, KT150, and pair of monoblocks as well...for those of you who think you need more "power."
Any questions, fire away.
My apologies for the messy room...between Xmas, and revamping a wall full of gear from one wall to another it's been a big job...The video was quickly done via an iPhone.
