Speaker that


I have Maggies 1.6 on my system with 7W 300B SET amp. (I can hear the laugh all the way from CA :)

As my environment doesn't allow me to play a loud music (very tiny room, sensitive neighbour and so on.), I have to lesten at very low level (9-10 O' O'clock on the Volume of AE-3 pre that control 7W SET amp to drive Maggies. I am satisfied with the soud I hear though.

AS Maggies sing when played loud. I feel that I just waste it's potential and space in my room with them. So I am looking for another alternative that can "sing" at low level.

I know it will be hard to go back from Maggies to boxes, but I will be happy to if I have to. I was using Axiom M22ti with good result

Any suggestion out there? Budger should be right a round the maggies.

My system:

AES SE-1 SET amp (300B tube, 7W)
AES AE-3 Preamp (tuvbe rectifier)
CAL Ikon2 CD player
ZU Oxyfeul interconnect
ZU Julian speaker cables
ake
First of all running Planar or Electrostatic speakers with a 7 Watt SET amp is not the most adviseable thing to do. The MAggies love power and current. I have heard the maggies driven by a 40 Watt Audio Research (CA50) integrated amp, and it sounded OK. HOWEVER, the best I have ever heard the maggies was run my 2 Plinius SA-100 mk3 amps in mono (665wpc into the Maggie 3.6's).

Anyway, I would suggest you look at some sort of sensative 93db+ speaker that is easy to drive to use with the SET. I do not know off the top of my head what these speakers would be... but I do know that Sound Lab and Quads tend to be a heck of a load to drive. Unless you want to get a new amp, you need a speaker that is 6 ohms+ (preferable 8 or 16 ohms) that has a sensativity level of 93db+ (the higher the better). You MIGHT want to try some Vandersteins that have built in subs. I have heard the Vanderstein 5's (they are $10k a pair), and they sounded great. I am not sure what their lower line sounds like. I do know they are not the most sensative speakers in the world; however, if a speakers has built in subs that drive the bass, it tends to be MUCH easier to drive than a traditional speaker.

Have some fun and do some research!

KF
Electrostatic technology tends to excel at low-level detail due to the extremely lightweight diaphragm.

I would suggest a pair of original Quad ESL's, the "57"s. They will give you very lively, detailed sound at low volume levels. A good pair will be in the price range of Maggie 1.6's.

At a considerably higher price range is the Sound Lab electrostats (which I sell), which use a much thinner diaphragm than the Quads and so are even better for low-level listening.
I use the AES SE-3 and AES SE-1 with Merlin VSM-Ms and love the combination. Welbourne Labs lists the Merlins as SET friendly and I've found this to be true. There are several VSM-SEs and VSM-Ms currently on Audiogon ranging in price from 1950 to 4900. I don't use the BAM (bass augmentation module) but rather have a sub for the bottom. You could try it with and without the BAM since all those for sale come with it. I believe the BAM provides a 5dB boost at 35 Hz but may be OK at the levels you'll be playing.
I didn't laugh at the SET/Maggie combo so don't laugh at this. Get ahold of a pair of Sound Dynamics RTS-3's( about $200 from Audio Advisor, talk to my friend Joe at ext. 670. yes this is a plug for Joe, but we worked together in the biz long ago). These sound better than you would believe and if you want you can spend the rest of the $ on real fancy stands! I was amazed by the sound of these things even comparing them to ProAc's that cost $3K.
what is your budget range?
according to the rest of your electronics you should seek among the triangle speakers.
if you want to go higher you can research coincident which are the most suitable for SET speakers.