Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Tube amp for M22's

Chris, the main point is the power requirement, which doesn't vary with the amplifier technology. He wants to know how many watts are necessary.

Bob, you may want to contact some local audio shops which carry tube amps. They may have a used one and could demo it for you. If you go used, you should make sure the transformers are in good shape - absence of hum.

Although some disagree, in my opinion, a good tube amp, especially a Single End Triode type, just sound beautiful with the right speakers. The M3s are an easy load for a low power tube amp. I do not know why the M22s should present a more difficult load (their sensitivity rating is about the same) but they just do, or at least the pair I had did.

Tubes not only sound great, they also glow in the dark.

Some tube amps which I've heard and like very much:

Jolida, Antique Sound Labs, Prima Luna, Cary, Hafler, some older ones: Dynaco, The Fisher, H. H. Scott, Harman Kardon.

Good luck!!

I'll take a guess and say the reason the M22s like a little more power might be due to the ~2ohm reading in the impedance curve around 4khz at least there was that dip on the older M22Ti's and I believe on the v2s as well..

Jason, of course the effect of a lower impedance at certain frequencies is to require less, not more, power at those frequencies.

Yes, but due to this ease of power flow it would be easier to hit max output with a low power amp and there is usually more distortion at max output. I think for for most people this would be viewed as the speakers require more power to avoid this situation.

Audiogon listing

You might want to look at this amp listed on Audiogon. Cayin has a pretty decent reputation but I have not heard this model. I am not affiliated with this seller.

Cayin amp

Fixed the link.

I have heard that Cayin's are good too. One thing about buying amps. Are parts and service going to be available?

Posted this elsewhere too. If you are looking for a tube sound, you can get it if you have a tube preamp instead of a tube amplifier. That way you don't have to worry about finding tubes with the power to drive speakers to their full potential.

I have a DAC with an optional tube preamp output and it adds some of the tube "magic" I like hearing. Always an option to look down that route. Plus, getting a tube preamp/DAC means you can use it for almost any setup, including headphones

For example a headphone amp like this above can also act as a tube preamp in a stereo speaker setup.