Ayon Spirit 3 what speaker combo will u recommend?

Sionlim- I'm in NJ.. FYI if you haven't ordered the tubes yet.. my favorite tube source and a fellow I've bought from for years, and who is as honest as they come is Andy Bowman at Vintage Tube Services http://vintagetubeservices.com/

I also wanted to mention since I believe in full disclosure, I very recently became a Proac dealer.. I don't think that invalidates my opinion that the Ayon and Proac's work beautifully together.. Proac's and tubes have always been the way to go. ARC and Proac also make a great match, but I've never been a fan of ARC not fusing or protecting the biasing resistors so that when (not if) a tube goes usually it takes out the resistors too..

I have a Spirit III. I'm using it with Proac D2 and it's a magical combination. Proac's love tubes and the Spirit drives them fantastically especially in triode mode.. I'd also recommend at some point that you consider replacing the stock driver tubes with some great NOS tubes.. I'm using 1950's vintage RCA black plates and the difference was huge.. Also a good power cord will do nice things too..

Oh and lastly it makes it so much easier to read long posts if you use paragraphs :-)

Sionlim,

I looked at some of your other posts, and I want to add something that is absolutely critical.. it's SYNERGY.. The Spirit III is an amazing amp, yes a very big slice of Uber-ness for non Uber-ness money.. This can all be erased with a LACK of synergy.. Getting the most from the amp means pairing with the right speakers, with the right cables, with good power line products, with the right front end, proper setup, etc, keep this in mind.. I think you understand this from the experience you've have had with the other gear in your home that should sound good but doesn't..

And other speakers that work well with the Ayon would be Harbeth 7-ES3, Again Proac D2, or better, D40 would be fantastic but pricey, stay away from Maggies not enough power, Merlins, Dynaudio, Focal, Devore, all would be good matches IF you like the way they sound.. Stick with reasonably efficient, and reasonably simple loads.. no weird 3 ohm speakers.. And Triode mode sounds amazing, but won't with the wrong speaker..

The Thiel would be about as bad a choice as Maggies would be.. If you want to go floor standing speaker, Proac D18 or D28...D28 has a bit more bottom end and dynamics.. Proac's tend to be less analytical than the Dynaudio.. Focal splits the difference, sort of and the Harbeth C7ES3 would match up well as a stand mount.. As I mentioned I use mine with Proac D2 augmented with a REL sub.. :-)

BTW where are you located? (geographically)

I think with the restriction of only a foot or so off the back wall that a smaller stand mounted speaker like a Proac D2 , or even a D1 will work out better..placing a speaker that close to the rear wall in addition to diminishing sound stage depth ( can't create depth if there isn't any) having a speaker that close to the rear wall is going emphasize bass response in a bad way, so if you get a larger speaker that can really do bass I'm afraid you'll end up with a boomy, muddy lower end, that can also effect the mid bass and even lower midrange. Frankly even the D2 may have to much bottom end that close to a rear wall and the D18 certainly will have to much bottom end. I think maybe the D1 or even the new Tablette Anniversary with a GOOD sub maybe the ticket.. There is a recent review of the Anniversary in a recent issue of Stereophille.. nice thing about either D1 or Anniversary is that they are small, so the wife will be happy, they throw a BIG sound stage, and because they're small you can probably cheat a bit and get them further out into the room than a visually larger speaker ( just don't cheese out on stands)

As for a sub, with a speaker that's as quick in the bottom end as a Proac the only real choice IMHO is a REL either a R-328 or a R-218 which one would depend on room size, budget and how loud you want the sub to play, nice thing with a REL is that you can set it up so it doesn't effect the quality of the bass, nor will it effect the performance of the main speakers in anything but a positive way.

Cardas Clear, and Clear Bi-Wire jumpers, and Clear interconnects.

I'll bet those Silverline' sound sweet.. $7500.00 they should too :-) Not a real fair comparison to the D2 at $3400.00 or the D1 at $2600.00 though. As for the D1 sounding a bit richer vis a vis the D2, stand height plays a pretty important role in tonal balance.. the D2 for most listeners should be on a 24" stand for the D1 more like 26" or 28" to get the tweeters at ear level ( assuming a 36" ear hight which is about where a normal chair or sofa puts a average 5'11" persons ears) putting the D1 on the lower stand would increase "richness" at the possible expense of detail and speed.. but it's hard to actually know and I'm not ragging Reynolds853 just pointing this out...

Bottom line with tubes is that for the most part real NOS stuff is the best.. problem is that as regards tubes like KT88's the real ones are crazy expensive.. of course I'll wager that a quad of real MO Valve or GEC KT88's would out last ANY of the new ones by a factor of 4, so maybe if one figures the improved SQ and the extra life then maybe it's not such a bad deal?

Yup Nos tubes rule!

Yup Mullards are warmer.. Tele's are brighter.. I think the RCA splits the difference and is a good match in the Ayon.. as with many things audio there isn't a best but a best for you and your ears.. I went the RCA route in my Spirit III because I didn't want to loose to much speed and detail with a tube that's too soft.. But it all really comes down to personal preference