Seeking floorstander for low watt SET


Looking at Tekton, Hornshoppe, Cerwin Vega, Hawthorne, Brines,Zu,Klipsch etc. Room size 15 x 20, or so. Mainly rock from 1960 to 1975. Some jazz, some orchestral. Ideas from those who have first-hand experience appreciated.
lindisfarne
I just traded for some Cain & Cain Abbys to use with my Sophia Baby. Amazingly happy.
Looks like you have a good list going. Of the ones you have listed I have owned Tekton, Zu Omen and Klipschorns. You can see my system page to see the ones I've kept.
I have also heard Sonist at a show and really liked them, so you might want to check those out as well.
I've never heard Devore speakers but people like those with SET.
Give a listen to the Devore O96's. They are very, very nice in performance and build quality.
Used to use a pair of Cerwin Vega's before I got my Klipsch Cornwalls. I would say that Cerwin Vega's are probably the best of so-called "mid-fi." Not sure if they are efficient enough for a low-watt SET, though. Certainly the other models on your list are a big step up in sound quality.
What is the SET amp you have? There's is a much bigger difference in drive capability between various amp and tube designs than beginners tend to realize.

Believe it or not, one man's "low watt" is another's veritable monster amp (speaking of the miliwatt SET camp)
Hmmm...You use a low watt SET to listen mainly to classic rock? Well, I guess a Zu Essence may be your best bet. 10.3 inch woofer, 97 db sensitivity. Some folks are happy with the Tektons, also with a large driver and sensitive. I'm loving my Omega MaxHemp V2s, but it has an 8 inch driver which may not be enough for you to rock out with in that size room. As a former Essence owner I will say hands down that the Omega is a much more organic and natural sounding speaker than the Zus but our listening tastes differ as I listen mainly to jazz and classical. Just a thought: if you consider changing your amp, your speaker options will open up IMHO.
Another idea is the easy-to-drive Coincident speaker. They have a large side-firing woofer which may make things easier for rock in a large room like yours. I bought a pair and couldn't get rid of them fast enough. However, the overwhelmingly favorable opinion of the Coincident speakers one this site shadow the few negative ones.
Devilboy is right,we all have different ears and preferences, thus recommendations can be tricky. The Coincident (Total Eclipse in my case )speaker is just plain wonderful in my system. Very easy load, utterly natural and emotionally engaging yet it did`nt suit devilboy at all.

I just listened to CDs of Kenny Barron,Carmen Mcrae and Dexter Gordon, wow! so real and involving.This speaker is superb with my SET 300b amp and also with my 100 watt PP amp that preceded it. as always YMMV.
Well said Charles1dad. I've been thinking about my experience with the Coincidents since I sold them a while back. I'm thinking maybe my pair didn't jive well with my equipment/cables/room, whatever. Or maybe they were even damaged in some way? As I said, this is a very well regarded speaker. For whatever reason, it just didn't work in my home.

Lindisfarne: You may want to put this speaker at the top of your list and give it a shot. You want a floorstander that will play rock with an SET. Not an easy task. Keep in mind that many floorstanders that are sensitive enough to be driven by an SET are single driver speakers. The woofers on the Coincidents may be adequate to move the kind of air your listening tastes require. What's your budget?
As Darkmobius said, we really need to know your tube to make proper recommendations. A 10/10Y or 45 has very different needs than a 300B or 845, e.g., but all may be considered low-watt SETs.
How about a nicely refurbished pair of Altec Valencia's? Plenty of impact and drive! Will match well with low-power SET's! This is from my own personal experience. I am presently using Altec Santana 1's with excellent results! Amp is a Sanei 560A 2A3 with all Tango transformers.
I also have on hand a pair of Altec Stonehenge 1's. These sound particularly fine on Rock and don't need much power to come alive!