Need help with bookshelf speaker choices. . .

No need to apologize for the Dared amps. They may not be pricey, but they deliver the sonic goods. I have lots of stuff, including the Dared VP-20 mono amps and though I'm not terribly confident they will be running a few years from now, they sound silly good, regardless of their price.

If you have a small room and don't like to make the windows rattle, consider the PSB B-25 speakers. They do a whole lot more right than that kind of money expects to buy. 90db and 6 ohm should just be friendly enough, though I wouldn't try to stretch either with that amp.

Ahhh, Trianglezerius - it's considered good form to identify yourself as a dealer when making recommendations that just happen to be for something you carry.

Has something to do with ethics and transparency issues.

under 500 try the quads or epos

I run a pair of Triangle Titus ES with an Audio Space tube integrated in a small, rather lively room. The combination is a great success. The amp puts out 16 watts in triode mode, the Tituses are rated 91 dB. I never need to turn the volume up high and there is plenty of bass. (As always, you will need to experiment with positioning to get the best out of the speakers.)

The room is very small--about 8 x 9--and you might want to consider the slightly larger Comète if your room is larger.

Both the Titus ES and Comète ES have been well reviewed. They are both imaging champs. The earlier Titus 202 was very highly praised by Stereophile but note that it is a smaller speaker than the current Titus ES.

Another small speaker with a high sensitivity rating that sometimes comes up here is the JM Reynaud Twin.

Are you using these in a bookshelf or on stands? If they are on a shelf or stuffed in somewhere, you can't have a rear port. A front port may have issues with near walls or objects but will be better. If you intend to use a sub, no port is best in my opinion.