Easy to drive, outstandingly natural sound from 40-50 Hz up.....AN-E, O/96, others?


If my goal were to find natural-sounding, dynamic, and efficient speakers that can be driven with a somewhat lower-powered a (i.e., 50-watt SS) amplifier, and that work well with a variety of music, would I be looking at AN-Es, O/96s, or which others?
I am not particularly interested in using a 10-20 watt SET, but being able to use something lower-powered than the 300-watt amplifiers required for my 85dB speakers would open up a lot of other amplifier options and simplify things for me.  I have two fairly high-quality powered subs so the goal would be to fill my (moderately large) room from 40-50 Hz and up and let the subs handle the lower registers.
Any thoughts on the two speakers listed, or recommendations for others?
mitch2

Showing 1 response by larryi

I like AN-E's that you mentioned and recommendations for the Spendor SP100.  I don't know what price range you are looking at, so as a broad mention of speakers that will probably work well with 50 watts, the following brands are worth looking into: 
1. Tekton (I heard their $3,000 model at a show and it sounded quite good.
2. Charney Audio--I've heard a $13,000 and a $17,000 model (same speaker with different full range driver) and both were VERY good, particularly the $17,000 model with the AER 3 driver).  
3. Rethm Bhaava--this is a $3,000 speaker with a wide range driver and a built-in powered subwoofer that sounds great for the price.
4. ProAc--I like a number of models in their lineup.  Although not that high in efficiency, their speakers sound quite good with modest power--must be easy to drive.  I particularly like the big D48R floorstander and the D2 stand-mounted speaker.
5. DeVore Gibbon X--perhaps not as low-power friendly as the O 96 Orangutans, but I heard them with a 30-watt Luxman integrated and the combination sounded quite good.

Good luck in your search.