Tubes or Solid State

[tom101davies]

hello all, wondering if anybody else is driving their speakers (Quest) with a tube setup, I was told by my Amp company tubes are not meant to drive electrostatic speakers, however, I've been driving them for the last 10 years this way until a tube burnt out. Is this true should I consider a Solid State System?

 

[twich54]

Tom, it 'depends' , lots of discussion on here regarding that. Do a search

 

[Lightloopy]

Sounds like you have your own answer right there. You were clearly satisfied with your capable tube amp for 10 yrs without the need to hunt for a replacement.
Certain tube amps are definitely not meant to be paired with stats but others are more than capable and handle a stat just fine.

Like Dave says, wealth of information and well respected opinions here.

 

[tom101davies]

Im driving them with Cary Ive been happy, but was not getting the punch I wanted. and then a tube burnt out, so I asked around and and got advise that I shouldn't be using that combination

 

[Lightloopy]

Which Cary model are you using? It may be adequate but not up to the task of really showing what your Quest are capable of. Also, how old are your Quest panels? If >20 yrs, they may be on their way out too.

 

[tom101davies]

Which Cary model are you using? It may be adequate but not up to the task of really showing what your Quest are capable of. Also, how old are your Quest panels? If >20 yrs, they may be on their way out too.

CAD120s MKii and SP03, and no don't say they are on their way out I love them

 

[Russr]

CAD120s MKii and SP03, and no don't say they are on their way out I love them

"On their way out" might mean the panels require washing (yeah, "washing"... there is a dedicated thread to it here, and mentioned all over the place), or, worst case, replacement.

Before considering that, do you know if your Quest panels have already been replaced? You can look up the serial numbers of the Speakers AND separately, the panels, and look them up for approximate manufacture dates. If you have original panels on them, then it IS quite likely they need replacement (~30 years = not bad!).

Not sure how much replacement panels are for your speakers.. probably between $2K and $3K, which will get them generating sweeter sounds than they did when new (after burn-in)! Not bad value assuming they last another 20 years!

 

[Lightloopy]

The Cary is a respectable amp and should be up to the task of driving your Quest. Age is definitely a factor to consider re your panels and your tubes. Worn out tubes can sound wooly and lifeless. If your tubes are 10 yrs old then it might be time to retube. Sounds like a great system and with a modest investment and TLC will return to it's original glory.
Good luck

 

[thomasmasi]

CAD120s MKii and SP03, and no don't say they are on their way out I love them

Hello Tom, I use to drive my prodigy, monolith's and odyssey's with cary slam 100 monoblocks and never had an issue. I did read that the original Cary cad 120s had an issue driving low impedance speakers but cary corrected that with the upgraded mkii. Honestly I believe that any martin logan speaker no matter what the model is can be an issue because they all dip down to around 1 ohm or less. Do your research on the web especially with other user experiences and on here as well.