Speakers for 300B SET Amps

Hello, folks!
I have done a lot of research on the Internet and in other audio forums about this topic, but I thought that some of you fine folks might have ideas that I haven't yet thought of.
A few months ago, I replaced my old, push-pull tube gear with a SET 300 B integrated amplifier that I built – the Audio Note Kits Kit 1. I absolutely love it, and since the upgrade, I have been toying with the idea of replacing my current speakers, the Reference 3A De Capo's, with something larger and more efficient.
I do have some budgetary constraints, in that whatever I purchase would have to be financed by the sale of my current speakers and, probably, their stands, so let's be super optimistic and say I have around $1500-$1800 to spend on this change.
I recently had the lucky opportunity to borrow a pair of Tekton Lore Reference towers, so I've had the chance to listen to them in my system. They are quite impressive by any measure, but for $800 they are crazy good. They throw a bigger sound stage, seem to reveal more detail and nudge the bottom octave in a way that those smaller monitors cannot. They sound more "live" and get instrumental tones and textures quite right.
My only hesitation with them is that they do not quite have the image specificity that you get with a small monitor (although things seem more life-sized). Also, they seem to need more volume to open up. I have spoken with Eric Alexander at Tekton about this and he says that the standard Lore tower, which has a larger main driver, does much better at low listening levels, but doesn't have the level of refinement that the Lore Reference has. So, anyway, going with one of the Tekton models is certainly a viable option.
I know that Sonist is another brand that is particularly designed for low power SET amplification. And the workmanship seems gorgeous, to boot. The problem there is that, at least purchased new, even their smallest monitor is out of my budget. But I am keeping an eye out for something used.
I am very, very intrigued by the Omega line of single driver speakers. I have participated quite a bit in the online Omega Forum over on Audio Circle. Within my budget I would probably end up auditioning the Super 7 XRS tower speaker. I do know all the raps against single driver speakers in general, but Louis, the manufacturer, has all his drivers custom made for him and he claims to have overcome the whole "harsh midrange, limited frequency extremes" conundrum. People in the forum seem to adore Omega stuff, and, for what it's worth, it seems that a lot of folks with Decware amps really go for the Omega sound. He offers a 30 day trial, minus a restocking fee, I think, but given that those drivers take 80 to 100 hours to break-in, 30 days really isn't a lot of time. So I am super interested in hearing from any of you who have personal experience with Omega.
Those are the major options that I can think of at this point. I'm not really interested in Zu for a variety of reasons, for whatever that's worth. Oh, yes, there is also, of course, Audio Note, but even their stuff in kit form is out of my budgetary league.
If you have read this far, thank you! I know a lot of knowledgeable people hang out here and I am interested to hear what you think of all this.

 

JBL Studio 590.
Flat frequency response 35Hz to 20,000 Hz.Efficient and an easy load.Massive soundstage.
Why bother with cottage industry style full range driver speakers which are so compromised and coloured by comparison.

 

Unless the price's have changed recently, I thought that the Sonist Recital 3's were around $1800?

A used pair of Sonist Cencerto's would be good for you I bet.

 

Around 100 db/1 watt/1 meter sensitivity for SET. A Klipsch job. Why not some CornWalls?

 

Yes. I'd second that.

 

Why not Audio Note speakers?

 

Klipsch have been mentioned and the Heritage series is a very good option. I had the Chorus II with Crites crossover upgrades and liked them a lot. That can be done well within your budget. Since then I have moved on (it's what audiophiles do) and had Altec Valencia and now the Model 19. Both of which can be had within your budget with a little searching. The Valencia is a fantastic speaker and I miss it's ability to bloom at low volume levels and it is about half the cost of the Model 19. Old Altec is very well thought of and a great option for high effeciency speakers.

If space is a constraint, all those mentioned above are very large, a buddy of mine has some Blumenstein speakers running from 2a3 amplifiers and they are wonderful, but they really need a subwoofer to do their best.

 

I like'em big. Always have.

Take that anyway you want but I'm talkin' speakers right now.

 

Slack,
Thanks to you and all the other respondents so far. I'm supposed to be getting email notifications of replies to this thread but it doesn't seem to be working.
I should have mentioned that my room is about 11 x 16 with an 8 foot ceiling and those JBL's are huge. Also lots of complaints online about their build quality and the model seems to have been discontinued. But thanks for the interesting tip.

 

I would love to try Audio Note as it should be an awesome match for my Kit 1, but even the ANK speaker kits are out of my price range.

 

Yes, sadly prices have jumped. Current price for the new Recital 2, their smallest monitor, is $2295. The recital 3 is now $3195!

Somebody on US Audio Mart was selling a pair of the top of the line Concerto 4's for $2100. I might've pulled that off, but they were cosmetically kind of beaten up. I hesitated and they disappeared.

 

I haven't looked seriously at vintage Klipsch mainly due to the size of some of the those models and the whole "horn honk" reputation. Maybe I should reconsider. As for Altec, somebody actually has a pair of the 15's on sale online. I'll research those but please let me know if you have any knowledge of them! Actually I believe that Brian Smith of Audio Note Kits is a vintage speaker fan.

Hadn't thought of Blumenstein. I'll go back to their site and poke around.

 

I recommend the standard Lores. I run mine with a 2-watt per channel Decware SET, and the imaging competes with--or betters-- mega-buck systems I've heard at shows (not that shows are the the best place to get a sense of sound quality). In fact, I'd say the Lore's imaging is probably the most impressive aspect of their sound. If you haven't already come across it, search for the long thread over on Audiogon regarding the Lores--it's what convinced me to try them out.

 

Wow! I had no clue they jumped up that much.

 

I thought AN speakers started at <$1k? I may be behind the times ...

 

Perhaps not. Consider the Audio Note AZ Two floorstander or possibly the Three. That is if you have a dealer anyplace that stocks them. Felton may fit the bill though since you have actually heard them.

Do consider net price though. The AN may cost 20% more but may fetch 50% more in 5 years when you go to sell them. Maybe not. .but I'd look into that aspect of price and cost.

 

Hey, Richard! Nice to hear from you.
Thank you for the suggestion. The reviews of the low end Audio Note speakers that I have seen have not been all that enthusiastic – of course, they are only reviews. Sometime ago, I had actually made contact with a dealer in California. He told me that they are rather hard to get here in the United States, because, basically, Audio Note kind of keeps those speakers under the radar. Apparently they would rather sell their high-end stuff here in the States.

 

The Audio Note Kit One 300B is a rather extreme example of the 300B SET amp genre.Very low damping factor, zero negative feedback and low current delivery means that it will sound very loose and soggy on most speakers.I borrowed one for a while and could never tame these traits sufficiently.
You would certainly need to try it with whatever speakers you are contemplating buying.

 

On another note, has anybody here heard Blumenstein speakers? His approach is to use a 3 inch, Fostex banana pulp driver in a small, bamboo cabinet. These cover everything down to about 80 Hz, at which point a matching subwoofer takes over. Reviews of these are excellent and the prices are extremely reasonable, especially for a handmade, artisan product. People on the Bottlehead forums especially seem to love these with low powered tube amplification. Any thoughts or better, experiences?
http://www.blumensteinaudio.com

 

I'm wondering if a lot of what you are describing in your comparison of the Tekton/De Capo's is a result of the Kit1 not being up to the task of driving the DeCapo's? I have a pair of the original De Capo's (I've never warmed up to any of the later iterations for some reason). I find that they are not as easy to drive as Reference 3A would have you believe. I've tried a few SETs with them with little to no success until recently when I tried a little Almarro 318B. Match made in heaven. The current delivery and bass weight/control of that amp is mind boggling.

 

Altec Model 19's would be at the top of my list

 

I have an Almarro 318B too.That is a SET amp for real world speakers-unlike the Audio Note.
Sublime with vintage Tannoys and even better with JBL Studio 590s.

 

rebbi...I think the zero series stuff has been well reviewed overall - the newer Zero products are a step up but the old Zero was product of the year or something by Soundstage a decade back as well.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/au...-systems/audio-note-zero-system-963545/review

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Slack,
Although I don't doubt your experience with the Kit 1 that you borrowed, it's nothing like my own experience. I have found the Kit 1 to be fast, extended and well controlled - the very opposite of "soggy," "slow," or "mushy." I am wondering what iteration of the Kit 1 you heard, weather it had the current transformers, whether it had the stock or upgrade tubes, or whether any other upgrade parts were present. In any event, I have found the Kit 1 to be a very "modern" sounding amp, despite its "old-school" topology. I am running it with an upgraded rectifier tube (274B) and a NOS RCA 6SN7 driver tube (the latter being a huge upgrade over the stock EH tube).

smictigue: If you Google the Canadian National Research Council measurements on the latest De Capo BE, it turns out that the speaker only hits 92 dB across a narrow frequency band. They average it at something like 86.7 dB... quite a difference! So I agree with you that, like many speakers, I'm afraid, the manufacturer's stated efficiency ratings are, shall we say, optimistic.
It's not that the De Capo sounds bad with the Kit 1... it actually sounds quite great. But when I tried the amp with the borrowed Tekton Lore Reference, it sounded positively muscular! Even music with "techno" style synth bass was both smooth and powerful sounding. And orchestral music was much bigger and more convincing. That's what tipped me off that the De Capo may be holding the Kit 1 back a bit.