Altecs & tube amps......

**Panomaniac** · January 13th, 2012, 10:42 AM

Over on diyAudio I posted a test that will allow you to figure out how much power you actually need. It's pretty simple if you have a volt meter with a 20V AC scale.
FWIW, I use about 1/8th watt average when playing loud. At the very loudest volumes I ever use I got 4.5W peak. That's it. YMMV

I can post the test here along with instructions, if anyone is interested. It's easy to do.

**Nipper** · January 13th, 2012, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

Over on diyAudio I posted a test that will allow you to figure out how much power you actually need. It's pretty simple if you have a volt meter with a 20V AC scale.
FWIW, I use about 1/8th watt average when playing loud. At the very loudest volumes I ever use I got 4.5W peak. That's it. YMMV

I can post the test here along with instructions, if anyone is interested. It's easy to do.

PLEASE post that Pano!! I would be very interested in seeing that.

If there is one thing I ever had a hard time explaining to people, its how few watts they actually need with their VOTT's.

**Nipper** · January 13th, 2012, 11:06 AM

One more thing Pano...

I just checked all my VOMS including a Simpson 260 and none have a 20v scale.

The 260 has:

2.5
10
50
500

I dont recall ever seeing one with a 20v scale.

**Nipper** · January 13th, 2012, 11:49 AM

Note to Russ:

You can see how many watts you are using.
Your G-9000 has power meters. Says WATTS (8Ω) PEAK

You want to read the top scale. It starts at 0 and then .1 (one tenth of a watt), then 1 watt, then 10 watts and goes on.

Anything over 3 watts with those 19's should be ABUSIVE.

**Panomaniac** · January 13th, 2012, 06:14 PM

OK Nipper, I'll start a thread with the test and the test tone.
Your 10V AC scale will be fine. Most modern DVMs do a 20V AC scale. It's just that the cheaper ones usually don't have a low voltage scale for AC. As the voltage will be low, the low scale is needed for accuracy.

**Nipper** · January 13th, 2012, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

OK Nipper, I'll start a thread with the test and the test tone.
Your 10V AC scale will be fine. Most modern DVMs do a 20V AC scale. It's just that the cheaper ones usually don't have a low voltage scale for AC. As the voltage will be low, the low scale is needed for accuracy.

"Most modern DVM's"....?!?! Was that a dig? I LIKE MY 260!!!

Then I was thinking "DVM"???.... Hmmmmmmmmm. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine? Nah.
I had to look that up.

In my days we called em VOM's.

OMG!!!!... I'm a dinosaur.

Good grief... I'm changing my name to Barney since Old Guy is taken.

Sheesh, me and my old speakers and meters. Maybe I'm the one who needs a tube amp.

**Panomaniac** · January 13th, 2012, 08:22 PM

I have a vacuum tube VOM meter on the shelf. It's nice too look at but I prefer my DVMs, some of which are 20 years old, or more. Nothing wrong with the 260, as long as it works!

**VolvoHeretic** · January 13th, 2012, 09:51 PM

So that explains why my 150 wpc Crown DC300A never got even luke warm, even at ear shattering volume with my A7's?

**Panomaniac** · January 14th, 2012, 12:50 AM

Probably does. If you need to light up a stadium with your A7s, then your Crown would be getting a work out.

**VolvoHeretic** · January 14th, 2012, 02:15 AM

Thanks, Panomaniac, When I found my A7's back in '76, down the street from my house, they probably had been sitting at that shop for at least 5-6 years. I bought them for about the price of a pair of JBL 100's . Thank God, when I mentioned it to people that new, they steered this naive stupid kid to equipment that rocked! I have been a graced non-believing man.