The Abby Speakers + Paramount 2A3 mono blocks amp?

[cmason84]

Hi everyone,

My name is Corey and I'm brand new to this site, and to the high end audio community as well. I'm getting ready to build my first phono sound system around a Rega P5 and am going to start at the speakers and work my way back toward the record player... so this is my first stop for advice on this forum.

The issue at hand is that I want to purchase the Paramount 2A3 mono blocks kit, but am unsure if the speakers I am most interested in, Cain & Cain's "The Abby" would be a good fit. The speakers are 95 db sens and the recommendation for Paramount 2A3 is 97 db speaker sens.


So, would I be alright going 2A3 with The Abby's?   
or...
If 2A3's + The Abby is a bad idea, would it be worth it to go 300B to match db sens for the Abby?             
or...
Perhaps there's another set of similarly priced speakers rated 97 db or higher that might be better suited for 2A3 than the Abby?

Any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Grainger49]

In my opinion Bottlehead is conservative with the specs.  I have 2A3 amps and 94DBW speakers in a room that is 14'X23'X8' (IIRC).  My system plays louder than I can stand.

There are several things that go into whether you will be satisfied with the power of an amplifier.  First is speaker sensitivity.  Second is room size, the more air you must excite the more power you need.  Third is your listening preferences.  What volume do you listen to?  According to my RS SPL meter I listen in the mid 80dB range.  The system goes 10dB louder without a problem.  Then what do you listen to?  A symphony is harder to play loudly than Rock music, which is harder to produce than Bluegrass.

My classic, often suggested, answer is to find a Bottlehead in your area who can bring his amp over.  Listening in your room, to your music, at your preferred volume is the best way to answer your question.

No question the Abbys and the 300B would be great unless you have a huge, HUGE room.  They are a great speaker, I have heard them often.

[Dr. Toobz]

The other thing to consider is speaker impedance and lack of a crossover. The Abby's impedance curve is very flat throughout the audio band, being a crossover-less single driver, and the lack of a crossover means that no power will be wasted or "burned off" by passive components. I would think these would be very easy to drive to high volumes, even with 2A3's.

[Paully]

Having listened to Abby's with a 2a3 amplifier (I think it was the ASL Orchid if memory serves), there is no problem, and I mean no problem whatsoever running those speakers with the Paramounts in 2a3 configuration.  And the nice thing is that you can configure the Paramounts to 300B in the future should you move on from the Abbys and want a little more power.

[Doc B.]

Yup, no problem. We ran Abbys with a S.E.X. amp at Terry's shop many years ago, and even that had plenty of power for most people's taste.

[cmason84]

Wow, thanks for the feedback! I'm glad to hear that these will work well together.