AR 3a's + Pioneer SM-83, good idea ?

[solitude-is-bliss]

Hi guys, first post here, my name is Einar and I'm from Iceland.

I have been running my 3a's with a Kenwood KR-9600 for about 6 months but I've heard that the 3a's will sound very good with tubes.

A Pioneer SM-83 just came up for sale here, do you guys think it will handle the AR's ? For example I listen to Led Zeppelin, Tame Impala, The Pixies and sometimes a little Miles Davis here and there, so it's mostly pretty bass heavy music.

What is your experience with AR 3 styled speakers and tubes ?

[JKent]

velkomið.Welcome to the CSP!

I'm not familiar with that Pio. It sure LOOKS very cool. Here's an interesting restoration write-up http://www.vacuum-tube.eu/audio_pioneer_sm83_restoration_en.html

It's only rated at 30wpc so it may be a bit under-powered for the 3a.

I'm guessing Miles would sound great. Led Zep maybe a a little thin.

Never heard of Tame Impala or the Pixies so your guess is as good as mine.

-Kent

[ar_pro]

I believe the Pioneer is rated at 25/30 watts per channel, against the Kenwood's 200/channel.

The Kenwood is a great-looking vintage receiver with an excellent tuner, and plenty of power for the AR-3; a speaker that's on the lower side of efficiency.

Since high-powered tube amplifiers are uncommon & expensive, running a tube preamp with a large solid-state power amplifier can be a good compromise solution for someone who wants that vacuum tube magic.

Either way, blasting Zeppelin or the Pixies, I'd be concerned about that fragile AR-3 tweeter!

[solitude-is-bliss]

In the end I decided not to go with the Pioneer unit. I am quite content with the 200W at 4 ohms that the Kenwood is putting out.

[owlsplace]

I think Sonnar raves about his 3's and low-power tube amps but his taste in music is a bit different.

Roger