Hi Forum. . .

After reviewing and evaluating a number of stereo speakers, I'm about ready to purchase the Triton 5s. Very excited about this. My question: I read another forum thread about integrated amps that would be good matches with the Triton 5s. Many of the responses suggested amps in the 120-300 watt arena. My problem. . .and maybe it's not a problem. . .is that I have very limited income and am going to have to run the Triton 5s with my current classic integrated amp, which is an 80 wpc Kenwood High Speed DC Integrated Amp, the KA-701. Great specs: 0.02% THD, S/N ratio of 89 dB for MM cartridge, etc. But having read the previous forum question and responses, I wonder if I'm going to be able to enjoy all the Triton 5s have to offer. . .or at least a large part of the great sound and ambience that everyone talks about. Sure, I'd love to get the Peachtree Audio Nova 220SE (even though I don't think it has input for phono. . and I am very much into vinyl as well as digital), but you know, it's all about the sound. I think I'll be okay digitally with my OPPO BDP-105D (and my Pioneer PL-550 Direct Drive Quartz Locked turntable with Denon DL-110 MC cartridge and Shure m97xe MM cartridge), but now I'm worried about having enough power with the Kenwood to ensure I can really enjoy the Triton 5s. What are your guys' thoughts about all this? Could really use your input. Thank you. Mark

Hello Markinrockford. Welcome to the forum and best of luck with the T5s. In answer to your questions the Kenwood you have probably would be enough power. Based on the speaker sensitivity (90db) and your amp (80wpc) you're likely to get a solid 108db out of the Tritons before your amp is looking at clipping (and that you do not want as that would be harmful to the speaker). Whether or not that db level is acceptable to you also has something to do with the type of music you listen to. If your a classical guru it would likely be fine, but if heavy metal is your preference probably not.

Assuming you opt for (significantly) more power and taking your budget into consideration, I would recommend you look at Emotiva equipment. Specifically the XPA-200 amp and XSP-1 preamp. That would set you back around $1300. If you must go integrated I'm not sure offhand what products are available that are both over say 125wpc and under $2K, but I'm sure some others on this forum can offer alternatives there. If you are okay staying in the 80wpc range for an integrated and simply want to beef up the quality and again stay reasonably priced, I would consider a Musical Fidelity M3si.

Hi Mark and welcome to the forum!!!!
First off, the T 5s are awesome speakers and are a GREAT choice!!!!
I feel sure they will play fine with the Kenwood, and at some point down the line, when you have had time
to save up (sounds like you are just like me and LOTS of us here) you can upgrade and the T 5s will reward you
with even greater sound!!!
I was reading what you posted though and wondered if the Kenwood phono section has enough gain for your
MC cartridge? The MM should be fine. IF both are fine and you are happy with the sound, and IF it has pre-outs,
you can always add external amps to get more volume and possibly better sound.
The Oppo is excellent, you are going to have a SUPER system!!!
Please let us know what you decide, if you have any more questions, and how it all comes out.
I hope this helps. GHDAL had great suggestions, and probably others will as well.
Have fun with it.
God Bless, Wayne

Markinrockford,

Welcome to the forum, Mark. GDHAL and Wayne offer great advice. I'm sure th T5s will sound great with your current equipment and if you want to improve things down the road, you can save up for upgrades. The Oppo 105D sure is a great unit and will serve you extremely well for digital play back!

I second GDHAL's recommendation on Emotiva. I have the XSP-1 and am extremely happy. It would pair very well with your Oppo and it has a very good phono section from what I've read. I just received a Pioneer PLX-1000 and plan to get it up and running by next weekend. I can let you know then how it sounds. If you're in Rockford, Illinois, Audio Emporium in Milwaukee carries Emotiva and GoldenEar. You should be able to take a short drive and listen to the XSP-1 first hand. I also have the XPA-1L amps and the ERC-3 CD player and couldn't imagine a better setup for $2,500. You already have a leg up with the Oppo! The XSP-1 also has home theater bypass if you use your setup for more than music which I suspect you may since you purchased the Darbee edition of the Oppo.

Anyways, get your T5s and enjoy the great sound! They are an efficient speaker and should sound great with your current setup. In a sense, you have a future proof setup as any upgrades you make will reward you with even better sound. That's a great position to be in.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Mark, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this. I assumed you are looking for new equipment. If you are open to used that could present other options. I have a Carver MXR-130 receiver for sale. This wouldn't be the forum for you and I to have a back-and-forth about it so I sent you a personal message (on this forum). Please have a look.

I have to share this true story as it relates to both the Carver and the Tritons (and is forum worthy and topic related). I just purchased my T1s in December (2015). When I was at the dealer in November I was shopping for an amp only, not speakers. They insisted my Carver couldn't even be used in the same sentence as the equipment I was considering (Musical Fidelity M6si and Krell Vanguard). While I understand that is true on some level, as that debate went on, the rep invited me to bring in the Carver to do a side-by-side comparison. Two weeks later I obliged. The speakers the dealer was using to demo their equipment was a pair of Triton Twos. Upon doing the side-by-side of their equipment and my Carver, while he and I could hear a difference between the Carver and higher-end equipment, it was subtle enough that the dealer got a bit flustered and swapped out the T2s for - you guessed it - a pair of Triton Ones! This was how I came to hear the Tritons for the first time. After doing some more homework, I made the decision to buy the Triton Ones, which I did about 2 weeks after buying the M6si.

dB scale is logarithmic. Every 10dB is twice as loud. With respect to amps it takes 2x the power to gain 3dB. You get room gain and coupling when 2 speakers play the same content, but your speakers sensitivity is measured at 1 meter. If you're sitting 12 feet away you're not getting 108dB from 80 watts, you're getting maybe 105dB etc.

The point of all of this is you need GOBS of power to make significant difference. To go from 105dB to 115dB at you listening position you need to go from 80 watts to around 800 watts. Check this calculator, its simple physics.

myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

I guess my main point is, you get the most out of the first 100 watts. Getting more volume above 100 watts requires a LOT more power. The difference between 200 and 300 watts gets you 2dB more.