Another 2,000 Speaker Question

I think you are already farther down the road of understanding than you think. You elucidated what you like very well. It feels to me like you will be a person who concentrates on the midrange. Guitars, perhaps other instruments such as brass and woodwinds, and a realness of human voice. I think that is an excellent place to set your sights on. You were quite correct in labelling yourself more of a music lover than an audiophile. I think that the people who have the most fun in our hobby are music lovers. May I make the suggestion that somewhere down the line, you will probably become a tube lover. That is based on what your preferences are. And more specifically, you will be most captivated by the magic of the EL34. It has a glorious midrange. Wonderful with guitar and the human voice. Not the best at either extreme, but you won't worry. The sense of realness and palpability of the music will keep you more than captivated. That being said, please at least audition the easier drive speakers. Coincident, Soliloquy, and Triangle should all be given consideration. They are different in sound, yet they are all great. The Reynauds are highly touted, but I cannot comment on them, as I have not had the fortune of listening to them. But, if I were you, I would make it a point. Good Luck!

Despite horror stories from some, tubes are not at all difficult to maintain in most cases. Just remember that electronics until the late 60's were all tube. And much more of the transmitting equipment at radio/tv stations than people realize is STILL that old equipment. Some solid state people will tell you that there is some type of magic to being able to operate tube equipment. Believe me, there is not. My father has a piece of tube equipment down at our shore house that has used the same tubes since he bought it(never even touches it). And that was AT LEAST 27 years ago. Yes, you will have to learn to bias your tube power amp. But, you will only do that once in a while, or when you replace output tubes. And if you can turn a screwdriver(literally), you can bias many a tube amp. Tube amps will drive a reasonably efficient pair of speakers in your room wonderfully. Just remember that pre-WWII, VERY low watt tube amps provided the sound for places like movie theaters, etc. What tubes do well is the midrange(most instruments and the human voice). To many of us out here, it becomes incredibly more real and alive than with a solid state amp. Now, you will not usually be able to run with ss in the deep bass or far treble, but depending upon your speakers, there is a good chance you may not even care about it. And by the way, my feeling is that you get the speakers first, and worry about amplification somewhere down the road. You have a nice list here. Coincident, Dunlavy, Reynaud, Soliloquy, and Triangle. You may also want to look at Vandersteen. Although they didn't match up with your initial list, you never know...

As I stated before, I think you are best served right now by getting your speakers first. That being said, I own a Jadis Orchestra Reference Integrated amplifier. To be brief, it is incredible. I knew I would be buying tube as opposed to solid state. I thought I would be buying a power amp, as opposed to an integrated. But when I heard the Jadis, I changed my mind... I knew it was a once in a however long time buy. I either had experience with, or went and looked at tube amps from many companies out there. AR, Air Tight, Audio Electronic Supply, Audio Note, Cary, CJ, Jadis, Jolida, Manley, Mesa, Pathos, Quicksilver, Rogue, VAC, VTL, Wavelength, etc. I found the Manley to be more along the lines of a musician's amp, as opposed to an audiophile product. Made to have a certain "tone", like a great guitar amp. There were only 3 amps that captivated me. A 2A3, an Air Tight, and the Jadis. I bought the Jadis, as it was a better real world amp than the 2A3. The advantages over the Air Tight were the fact that I can use many tubes(EL34/E34L/6CA7/KT88/6550/KT90) as opposed to only one, bass/treble controls, and cosmetics. The Jadis was able to rock out for my girlfriend's(yes, she auditioned too) dance music(HEAVY bass, and that's without jacking up the bass tone control). And Dar Williams was standing in the showroom before us singing "Southern California Wants To Be Western New York" from her Mortal City CD. I have NEVER experienced a realness to the female voice as with the Jadis. Please note that the Orchestra Reference is quite different from the Orchestra. It is in between the Orchestra and the DA30. Possessing the passive preamp section more along the lines of the Orchestra(only with tone controls), and the power amp section more along the DA-30(using KT90's, able to accept the above listed), but with cosmetics that put both to shame(girlfriend cannot complain about me putting it in a formal living room - unlike a Mesa).

I think the most important factors to consider are what your tastes are. You have already listed your musical tastes. Now it's time to consider the "type of sound" you enjoy. Perhaps make a list of the adjectives that you want to hear in your system. Warm, neutral, analytical. Aggressive, dynamic, laid back. Do your tastes lie in the bass and treble response of the speaker, or are you more interested in midrange presentation(the old "boom and sizzle" versus "Boston bland" argument). I do like the two speakers you mentioned, and was even a dealer for PSB. One thing I can tell you, the Gold i's are incredibly demanding loudspeakers. They require a monster amp to come alive. While that makes for dynamic sound, if you are more interested in music other than blues and rock, you may be better served by another choice. I am not sure if your next(or even the current McIntosh) will be tube or solid state, but that is a MAJOR consideration. If you will buy tube, you should definitely look at more easy to drive speakers. A short list for other brands you may want to consider include B&W, Coincident, Monitor, Triangle, and Vandersteen.