I would check out the Tekton Designs M Lore tower. I know you said no towers but this speaker has a small footprint and has the port in the front of the speaker. There are some awfully good reviews of this speaker out there. It is 95db efficient and a benign 8ohm load. They are $650.00 new direct from the factory. I will find out if this is true next week when I receive mine.....
Speakers for low power SET, nearfield, low volume?
I'm currently entertaining the idea of building a setup around a low power SET amplifier (e.g. 2A3 tube). I'm a complete amateur however when it comes to low power SET amps and am not sure whether there exist speakers that will fit my extremely atypical wishes for this particular secondary setup.
The setup will be in a small room and I will be listening in very close nearfield (max 3 meters) location at relatively low volumes (conversation volume level, so probably max decibels in the 70s)
I'm a big fan of fast yet smooth speakers; I will most likely be listening to music that leans on the complex side of things
Bookshelf-type (large is okay) speakers preferred over floorstanders; most likely not much space behind the speakers
I am not particularly worried about bass volume for this setup
My budget is under $1,500 USD for a pair
Speakers in current production are preferred
Due to my plans for the low volume level I'll be listening at, I am not sure if I should be looking into high efficiency speakers for the SET tube amp or if any typical speaker will be fine. Judging from what I've seen so far, it looks like most high sensitivity speakers go far beyond my budget and are large floorstanders. Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should be looking for in my particular case? (My only listening experience with extremely low power SET has been limited to hearing large and glorious horns at audio fests. I did not get the chance to personally handle the setups though so I don't know if smaller horns sound any good at low volumes.)
Thanks so very much to everyone for the assistance!
The setup will be in a small room and I will be listening in very close nearfield (max 3 meters) location at relatively low volumes (conversation volume level, so probably max decibels in the 70s)
I'm a big fan of fast yet smooth speakers; I will most likely be listening to music that leans on the complex side of things
Bookshelf-type (large is okay) speakers preferred over floorstanders; most likely not much space behind the speakers
I am not particularly worried about bass volume for this setup
My budget is under $1,500 USD for a pair
Speakers in current production are preferred
Due to my plans for the low volume level I'll be listening at, I am not sure if I should be looking into high efficiency speakers for the SET tube amp or if any typical speaker will be fine. Judging from what I've seen so far, it looks like most high sensitivity speakers go far beyond my budget and are large floorstanders. Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should be looking for in my particular case? (My only listening experience with extremely low power SET has been limited to hearing large and glorious horns at audio fests. I did not get the chance to personally handle the setups though so I don't know if smaller horns sound any good at low volumes.)
Thanks so very much to everyone for the assistance!