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Highly efficient speakers to pair with my SET amp

Hi - I'm posting a little shyly, but with the hope that the collective wisdom and experience of Audiogon can help me chase down some speakers to pair with my SET amp.

I'm currently running Paradigms (Studio 60s) with my Almarro 318A (18 wpc). These are my first speakers, and the combination has kept me happy (and rolling tubes, swapping cables, and otherwise delightedly descending into happy audio oblivion) for a year or so. I've rotated among CD players and have had similar levels of happiness from a Jolida JD100 and a Njoe Tjoeb; both are lovely.

As you can see, I'm balancing sound I like with equipment I can afford. Of late, though, I've been seduced by a friend's setup, which features a much more powerful amp (tubed; same goes for his pre-amp), a higher-grade CD player, and much better speakers. I'm wondering if I can approach that level of bliss without (1) chucking the Almarro, which I love; (2) breaking the bank; and (3) ever getting into the 'edgy' danger zone (I definitely fall out on the sweet SET side of the listening world).

On said friend's advice, I'm thinking that the easiest place to start would be to seek speakers with a little more efficiency. I'm wondering if anyone might offer suggestions as to terrific, highly efficient speakers (~92 db?) in (here goes) the under- or near-$2500 range -- or might have another perspective to keep me from, um, 'borrowing' my friend's setup when he's next out of town.

Thanks very much,
Betsy
fungi
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,588 posts
 
I can second the Decware choice, along with a recommendation to look at Tonian Labs. The Ref3A stuff is excellent also, maybe not as efficient as ideal for an SET, but an easy load, and that's important too.
reubent
6,936 posts
 
I used a pair of Reference 3A MM DeCapos in a small/medium sized room using 3.5 watt/ch 2A3 SET amps. No problem at all. Your 18 watts/channel would power them nicely in a medium sized room. Of course, if you listen to primarily full scale classical music, you may need more power or a more efficient speaker than the DeCapos.

Enjoy,

TIC
mikeys
41 posts
 
take a look at omega speakers,im using a pair of omega compact hemp speakers, they are 96 db efficient and sound as good as they look and are well within your price range
learsfool
1,215 posts
 
The best match with an SET amp will be horn speakers. I second the Klipsch Cornwall recommendation - I bought mine here on audiogon for only $600. If those are too large for you, you could try the Heresey's. You can still find things in the Klipsch Heritage series for very reasonable prices.
fungi OP
2 posts
 
I’ve just had the chance to read through the responses to my post, and at risk of sounding less than sincere by offering a large-scale thank you, I wanted to send some real appreciation to all who took the time to offer advice.

I’ve chased down links for many of the sources you suggested, and – at your prompting – have thought a bit about the kinds of music I listen to, my ideal listening volume given the proximity of a decidedly non-audiophile neighbor, and the nature of my listening space. The result has been fun and educational: just what a neophyte might hope to learn from her first Audiogon thread. As our local parlance would have it: thanks – for reals.

Because switching out my Paradigms has the potential to represent a pretty major purchase for me, and because my ears seem to be getting more and more choosy over time, I’m fairly sure that I’d like to listen before buying. I’ve had very limited experience with horns, and hope to find some locally to take for a spin. In the meantime, I’m leaning in two directions – inasmuch as that’s possible.

First: happily enough, there’s a chance that my Friend with the Seductive System (FSS) and I will audition some close-to-local Coincidents with the Almarro this weekend. Doing so will let me hear the Total Eclipse flavor of efficiency with my amp for the first time, and I suspect that the experience will be enlightening.

Second: I have more than a passing interest in the Zu Druids. FSS reminded me that they’re crossoverless; that would be new territory for me, so the suggestion to try the 60 day in-home trial for the refurbished version seems especially right on (thanks, Gsm18439, and those who mentioned this by email). I heard these once and didn’t fall for them -- but the setting was less than ideal, and I don’t think they were playing to their strengths. I’m more than happy to give them a real chance.

Can't wait to test these waters; if successful I may never leave the house again (heh). As for whether FSS will visit me more often, Mrjstark? Not sure; he just got a new CD player, has tubes en route, and even has some new power cords to try. I might be out of luck. :)

Thank you again to all for your suggestions and advice.

Betsy
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