best 5-20K speakers for high-end tube amp?

best 5-20K speakers for high-end tube amp?

This is the title of your request. Yet, you auditioned potential candidates with a SS amp? How could you possibly know what they will sound like if you're not even close to the configuration that you will have at home? SET & push/pull don't sound the same. SS is hardly the same species. I'm not trying to be offensive here, but I'd scratch all of your conclusions and start over. The speakers you auditioned will sound entirely different when mated with an amp that approximates your Jadis combo.

No slouch,
Thanks for your in-depth recount of all your auditioning. Man, you sure have been listening to a lot of speakers! I'm jealous, actually.

I am definitely not experienced enough to make specific recommendations from the vast list of brands you have heard. I've heard many of them, though not all. I'm sure that recommending an amp/speaker audition that approximates your preferences is not any revelation, but if it's me listening, I have a very hard time distinguishing the potential of a speaker when I'm simply guessing because it's being powered by an amp/source that isn't anything like the one I have. On the other hand, you may feel more comfortable with those parameters. Sounds like that might be the case, which is great, because you definitely are zeroing in on your final choice.

Based upon what you liked already--some A+ speakers, by the way--and your stated list of priorities, I too think that you will find the Avantgarde to come up short, particularly in the realm of tonal richness & texture. I hope that statement doesn't kick this thread into another (potentially argumentative) tangient. My comments are simply in response to the fact that the Wilsons, Eggleston Works & Kharmas were so pleasing to you. These aforementioned speakers are not remotely similar to the AG's, so I would suggest auditioning speakers in a similar realm to those that you already like.

I don't know if you have access to them there, but for your lower powered tube amps, you might really enjoy the Silverline OR Coincident line of speakers. Sounds like the Merlin's could be right there as well. You might even start another thread, asking for recommendations based upon the progress you've already made in your quest. Problem is, if you keep listening to speakers that cost several multiples of your $20K ceiling, you'll end up needing a ski mask and a good team of friends to help you find the money to buy them.

Enjoy!
Howard

For $30K on the used market, you should be able to find your dream speaker. Actually, you could probably spend much less for that end result.

You might also look at the system of member skuhino. The Edgarhorns could be a perfect match for your sonic preferences. Horn immediacy & detail, with the ability to convey the breadth & body of the instruments.

Good luck!

Sorry, No Slouch, it should be member Skushino.

Also, I believe that many Audiogon members would advise taking any recommendation by Atmasphere as golden. I think that he is pointing you in exactly the direction you want to go.