Hi,

I'm a serious music-lover (mainly jazz, classical, and world music) who's fortunate enough to have been given a pair of Triton Sevens. However, I know very little about audio equipment and I need help selecting an amp. The speakers were given to me with a TEAC AI-501DA (www.teac.com/product/ai-501da/). Here are the relevant specs:

Maximum Output Power 90W + 90W (4ohms, 20-20kHz) / 45W + 45W (8 ohms, 20-20kHz)/td>
Rated Output Power 60W + 60W (4ohms, 20-20kHz) / 30W + 30W (8 ohms, 20-20kHz)
Supported Impedance 4 – 8ohms

Am I right in thinking that this amp is underpowered for my speakers? If so, how much of a problem is this? And if it's a big problem, can anyone point me in the direction of a decent approprriate amp in roughly the same price range ($600-$800)?

Thanks very much!

Hi Jpled,
Well, Santa Claus was certainly VERY good to you this year, and early too!!!!! WOW!!!!!
You must have been a very good boy!!!! Or girl!!!!!
Wish someone would give me great kit like T 7s and that amp.
The speakers are wonderful!!!!! The amp, probably not so much, I am sure there are a LOT better ways to power the 7s out there, BUT that is not what I would look at first, IF it was me. (you might already have looked at the following) AND, that amp looks good, might well be quite alright. I am a little concerned with any amp that rates it's output power into 4 ohms, as this will be twice what the amp will usually put out at "normal" 8 ohm value, in most cases. That looks suspicious to me.
IMHO, the first and most important thing is where are your tunes originating? What is your source? IF you have a poor quality source, then nothing else following in the audio chain can retrieve the sound and make it better, as it is already missing.
Then, when you have a good quality source, playing good tunes at high resolution, then you might look at separates: Pre-amp and amplifier to play these great speakers. Or an even better integrated amp. (I would suggest listening to a tube integrated IF you can).
For the money you want to spend, you can pick up something really quite good, especially if you go the "previously owned" route. Check out places like Audiogon on the net.
Have fun sorting out a great system, the good news is, you are already probably 1/2 the way there, maybe more.
Happy listening, it is after all, all about the music,
God Bless,
Wayne

Am I right in thinking that this amp is underpowered for my speakers? If so, how much of a problem is this?

The Triton Sevens are surprisingly efficient, so depending on your room size and listening tastes this could well be a fine combination. I would suggest trying it in your room with your music for a while to see if it meets your needs. If not, I'm sure the forum members can suggest some price-appropriate alternatives with higher power.

Wayne,

Thanks very much for your advice. And yes, Santa was good to me this year (my brother for my birthday).

I have a pretty good input situation, I think. I've got an optical line running from my desktop computer, on which I have high quality (AIFF) rips of my cd collection. In the end, I'd like to get a proper stand-alone cd player (as well as a nice turntable) but that will have to wait.

I'll definitely follow your advice and check out tube integrated amps at some point soon! And thanks for pointing me to audiogon. Great resource.

Thanks, Moderator!

That's good news. So far, I've had really good sound from the speaker/amp combo. No signs of distortion or pushing the amp beyond its comfort zone at normal or (for me) high volumes so far.

Jpled:

Congrats on your new toys. Sounds like you have a wonderful brother. Brings back memories... my brother died in a house fire 34 years ago. The months and years go by and at times we tend to forget the times we had with brothers and sisters.

As the months progress...keep us posted on the 7's performance. If they sound like santhosh says they sound, you have a winner.