Best high-efficiency speaker under 10K

I concur with rodge827. As a new Charney owner I am amazed! Give them a listen/purchase if you can.

@bache Sorry forgot to hit the notify button. Here is a link to Charney audio with current pricing.

Without a doubt top of line reflector from reference 3a...call tash owner ref 3a. Its the sound of raidho for one third price. 

Tekton Double Impacts are a 4 way 98db/4 Ohm load floor standing speaker.  I drive them with an 8wpc 300b SET, but many drive them with 2-3wpc 2a3 amplifiers to satisfying levels.  They compare to speakers much more expensive than their $3300 price, but if you want to spend more you can always step up to the Double Impact SE for $6500 or the flagship Ulfberht for $12K.  The reviews confirm what many owners already know which is that these speakers are giant killers and they present the most coherent top to bottom wall of sound you likely will only find in the best electrostatic or ribbon/planar speakers.  They are a 4-way design using a novel circular tweeter array that acts as the midrange with the center position tweeter producing the highs along with 2x ported midbass drivers and 2x ported 10" bass drivers. There's an Audiogon group that's very active with countless reviews by owners along with a world wide group on facebook. Just search on Tekton Double Impacts.   www.tektondesign.com  

I'll give you few options. All of these high efficiency speakers I've lived with and has been highly satisfied.

1) Daedalus Ulysses: So musical. So rich and yet detailed. Very easy to make them sing. Good for every genre.

2) Daedalus Athena V.2: Same as Ulysses. But little bit more coherent but doesn't dig as deep as Ulysses. Extremely room friendly. The longest I've ever owned of any speaker.

3) Pure Audio Project Trio15 Voxativ: Highly customizable and tweakable. Bass is punchier and image is oh so bigger, more detailed than Daedalus. However, requires more careful placement and more effort to make it as musical as Daedalus but totally possible. Very high value. Good for all music.

4) Pure Audio Project Trio15 Horn1: Currently my reference speaker. Please check the review on Dagogo. Doug is spot on this speakers.

All of them are SET friendly and I play a lot of rock music using my First Watt J2 or Line Magnetic LM 508 SET amp.

My new Spatial Audio X2s are just getting broken-in.  Lovely.  The easiest-listening speakers I have ever experienced.

rodge@What is  price Charney? Is really nice speakers, I listen in NY
audio show 2016

I have owned a pair of Decware HDT single driver floor standers for four years.  I had always wanted single drivers but when I first started looking the prices were too high.
A friend had a pair of Decware amps producing about 2 watts per channel and I saw some speakers on the web site.
I own a pair of Wright Stereo Co. 3.5 Mono amps powered by 2A3 tubes and are 3.5 watts per channel.
Steve Deckert of Decware designed his High Definition Tower, transmission line speakers about 10 years ago and the design is brilliant.  I had a pair built and they are now available through Decware for $2695.00 a pair.  The speakers are 96db efficient, use Decware modified Fostex 206 drivers under the FR-8 model number.  The speakers are definitely worth looking at and all of the info is on the Decware site.

Charney Audio Companion with Voxativ drivers or for less $ the Maestro with the Omega RS7 driver.

Exceptional design, build, and oh the sound!

Charney will change your mind on what a single driver speaker can do! 

You can have audio nirvana for around $3K with Spatial Audio Hologram M3 Turbo speakers.  They are the best speakers I have ever heard under $10K.

Best high-efficiency speaker under 10K

Being high efficiency, and easy to drive more times than not, go hand in hand with some form of colouration.
I can think of one with high’ish efficiency and easy to drive, that would be the some of the TAD speakers that to me sounded uncoloured.

https://youtu.be/Fai7Pnw1c-Q

https://youtu.be/swgPaVlE-0E

https://www.stereophile.com/content/tad-evolution-one-loudspeaker

Cheers George

Classic Audio Loudspeakers, T3.4 Project Field Coil, If you could push your budget. The Music Floats in the air.

Legacy Focus 20/20's. For me, as good as it gets. I miss mine everyday!

The Coincident Pure Reference and the Vaughn Cabernet are in two different leagues. As nice a speaker the Cabernet is,it doesn't nor would anyone expect it to be as good. It is not a bargain Pure Reference.The Super Victory would be a better comparison with the Cabernet.
IMO

Regards,

The Vaughn Cabernet and the Coincident Technologies Reference Extreme both have great reviews that make them sound very similar. They also seem to be mentioned together in these forums. Could somebody who has heard both, make a comparison? The Reference Extreme is much more expensive. Is it that much better?

One of my friend's favorite references is Stravinsky Rite Of Spring w/ Valery Gergiev Kirkov Orchestra. I was VERY impressed, to say the least.

Thank you Isochrnism. I know that there is no substitution for an audition but one of the shortcomings that single driver speakers seem to be labeled with is that the do a relatively poor job of reproducing dynamics and complex passages. Did you listen to any challenging music e.g., large scale orchestra?

Vaughn Loudspeakers Zinfandel or the Cabernet. Absolutely fantastic full range high efficiency speakers with a benign load. Ideal for SET amps. Also works with any type of amps.
I am presently using the Zinfandel in my system driven by the Symphonic Line RG1 amp and the sound is gorgeous. It uses the fostex driver, ribbon tweeter and a 12" bass diver.

Phalen, (others) Musical Affairs Grand Crescendo's. We listened to PC music source through a Leben CS-660 integrated 22 watt amplifier, which is really nice itself, and provided more than enough umph! I'm not at all versed in giving reviews, but I can't imagine anyone with complimentary amplifiers etc, not being ultra satisfied with these! The only thing I didn't like about them....they weren't mine!

Please take a look my HAS crossowerless Bache Audio
speakers

Thought Sam returned the Klipsch

I have heard the Devore Gibbon 8s and they are excellent. At the lower end of your price range, I own Omega Super 8 XRS single drivers that can be had for $3500 new. These excel at vocals and small jazz and other instruments. I recently heard the new Horning speakers and must say that they were the best I have heard with SET yet. Outstanding dynamics, effortless sound. I heard the Eufrodite model but the smaller Aristotle version should have similar characteristics and is under 10k.

I for one like the Essence. It took me three weeks of playing with toe-in and position from the rear wall, but they sound fantastic in my room. I'm told they suck compared to the Zu Soul Superfly. That may be true.

I can also offer 3 other options. My Triangle Celius esw's were unbelievable in my old house where I had them on a long wall setup in a larger space. They did not sound that great in my new listening space which demanded a near-field setup. Triangle's aren't for everyone, but if it is a good fit you will IMMEDIATELY know. My wife is still angry with me for selling them. BC Acoustique is another manufacturer that horn loads their tweeters.

Also consider WLM La Scala Monitors or floorstanders. Truly an exceptional all-around speaker with the benefit of a level control for the tweeter. I persoanlly like my Zu's better, but the La Scala's were much smoother with less coloration. Audition the La Scala floorstander. I suspect you will end your search there.

Finally, don't overlook the new series of Klipsch La Scala. Sam Tellig bought his review pair.

PMB

'I am invited to listen to Musical Affairs Grand Crescendo's...,"

I also think these are interesting speakers. Please come back and share your thoughts with us.

I just received a pair of Beauhorn Virtuoso cabs and installed "new" DX4's. I am using Tempo Electric's single solid-core pure silver speaker wire, also "new". The Beauhorns are rated @ 106 and were purchased for, and soon to be, used with SET 45's, but currently powered by Heathkit SA3 (3) watts per channel. In a temporary small apartment setting, I've had volume set to 1/3 max. While not yet broken in, I am enjoying the heck out of these!! I am invited to listen to Musical Affairs Grand Crescendo's...w/12" PHY coaxial's, @97 rating? A very interesting theory behind thier cabinet design. They are above your $$ limit as new, tho. I second the suggestion of speaking with JohnK.

Ggavetti,

I think it would be important if you first stated what YOU consider "high efficiency" to be.

Is it 92dB and up with a high stable impedance curve?
Is it 95dB and up?
Is it 100db and up?

You can never go wrong with Coincident Technologies. The Gallo 3.5 Reference at $6K is also excellent. The new Vaughn Cabernet at $8500 may be the best speaker south of $10K--heck, might be the best up to $15K.

Greg

Ggavetti, I can understand where you are coming from, but for me personally a speaker is a speaker and they ain't pretty,lol. I would go for sound quality everytime rather than the look of a speaker, or its resale value on the used market, I mean you could very well end up with something not as good as a speaker made with a personal touch just because it holds a better 2nd hand value than a non mass produced piece of kit?! If on the other hand you bought a 2nd hand pair for the price of a bag of chips you could/should be able to recoup what you paid if you decided they were not for you in the end. No loss. Result.
Then again there is always a plethora of reasonably priced lovely sounding gear on here, either way buying wisely should mean a lossless investment.
Let us know what route you decide to go.

I would suggest building your own, I just did it and could not be happier. There is a designer and a cabinet builder I can put you in touch with. Here is the designers site, mine are pictured through the link.

http://www.clearwaveloudspeaker.com/Symphonia/Symphonia72.html

These are my actual speakers driven easily with 30 watts.

Gawdbless thanks for your suggestion. I haven't heard a single person criticize the KCS's, ever, which means they're really good. I have two extra-audio issues with them. First, I don't like their standard look (while many other speakers in this niche are prettier to my eyes). Second, I am not sure what their resale value is. From this standpoint, a more mainstream brand should be a safer bet.

If It were my money I would move KCS up to top position in your speaker hunt.
For the money you are wanting to shell out I think you would be hard to pressed to find better than one of JohnK's offerings from a bigger loudspeaker manufacturing concern.I have a pair of KCS Oris 150's bought as cheap as chips on here, the previous owner of my 150's I beleive had a pair of Avantgarde Trio's prior and I beleive he prefered the KCS 150's, and at a fraction of the cost new. I have personally not heard any of the Avantgarde range of speakers.

Hello fellows, I just had a chance to listen to a pair of beauhorn that a local gentleman owns. I first listened to them with his electronics ($65K worth of equipment..a nice audio note SET power amp and a battery powered preamp whose brand I don't recall), and then with my own Lavardin IT. It's a very interesting speaker, the sound is palpable, 3-dimensional. It really looks like you're a few feet away from Ray Charles. Of course the extension is limited, especially the low frequencies and I did not like the use of REL subwoofers (after the first tune I asked him to diconnect them). The way he positioned the speakers made for a very intimate experience with the speaker or player or orchestra. it's an incredible experience but I probably like a more distant perspective, which can be had by simply repositioning the speakers a bit closer to the walls and the listening position a few feet farther away from them. By the way, these speakers used an optional supertweeter. I tried them both with and without the supertweeter. There is some difference but I am not sure which option I like best. It probably varies with music. As for my Lavardin vs. Audio Note, well, it was day and night. The AN was warmer, more textured, quieter. The Lavardin was drier, more extended, leaner. Through the AN you have the impression to almost touch the players. The Lavardin puts you a bit farther back in the audience. Both of them did very well. Which one is best is a matter of taste.

I would also look at the Tannoy Dual Concentrics (with the pepper pot wave guide). I picked up my used Kensingtons in excellent condition for $4500 earlier this year.

used Avantgarde Unos should be available in the $10K range. Full range, 103dB sensitivity; but you must be able to sit 12' away in your room.

You better look for the real thing. Real HE no plastic cones.There is a certain minimum point of sensitivity to deliver the nuance & dynamics and it is far beyond the 92dB.

Just for inspiration:
DIY copy of Shindo Altec 604
Lowther America BIG OPEN BAFFLE/Lowther Field Coil/Altec 416 B
Carfrae LBH copy (by creation audio)/Lowther PM7A/Goto SG116TT
Sachiko/Fostex 208 Sigma/T 90 A
(or)
Cardersound MADISON/Fostex 206E/BMS 4540

The above mentioned tweeters are a subject of an added upgrade if you feel the need for. (I do)

George

I was not unfortunately able to hear the more expensive Tonian models. I owned Beauhorns and they are very good, but pretty bandwidth-limited as you said. What they bring is smoothness missing from almost all Lowther speakers. Front-loading the drivers brings up the low-mids to eradicate the peaky mid-high mids.

For those interested in listening to Tonian Labs I believe they are scheduled to be at the inaugural California Audio Show in Emeryville (Northern California) from July 30 - Aug 1st. I've heard about Tonian for a long time - looking forward to listening to them.

I'm suprised more people don't try open baffle designs when looking at HE speakers. A good open baffle speaker can provide a large soundstage similar to planars while also being tube amp friendly. You remove the coloration of having an enclosure and if you have any DIY skills OB speakers are very cost effective.

Along the lines of my earlier comment, imo the most important factor in determining the necessary speaker sensitivity is the dynamic range of the music being listened to. Meaning the difference in volume between the loudest notes and the softest notes, or perhaps more appropriately in many cases, the difference in volume between the loudest notes and the average note.

For well recorded, minimally compressed, classical symphonic music, particularly on audiophile-oriented labels, based on my experience 95db/1W/1m would be an absolute minimum requirement with a 13W amplifier, with several db more than that being preferable. For most other kinds of recordings, and at typical listening distances, considerably less than that would be acceptable.

Keep in mind that a dynamic range of 30db, which is easily reached by many classical recordings, means that the loudest notes will require 1000 times as much power as the softest notes.

Regards,
-- Al

I am assuming that his slightly lower efficiency speakers such as the Jazz Modules (92 dB, $4500) are not efficient enough.

That would depend on the size of the room and how loud the OP listens. I have a small room, listen to the same type of music as the OP (sans the opera), and at levels that don't exceed 90 SPL very often. I have an 8 watt SET amp that drives the Jazz Module nicely and auditioned a 10 watt solid state amp that had no problem driving them either. So a 13 watt EAR, which will play more like 8 or 9 watts with the 12 ohm Jazz Module should do fine. IMO, I think Duke understates the efficiency of his speakers. I much prefer the Jazz Module to the Planetarium series too, but that's just me.

The Tonian Lab speakers are phenomenal as well. I have the TL-D1 ($2500 these days) which is pretty much an entry level model. I can only imagine how good the upper end models sound. They do produce a lot of detail though and are extremely transparent. Not everyone's cup of tea in that respect. I doubt Tony or his speakers will be at RMAF. However, I did ask him once about a home audition and he offered 7 days with only shipping charges as my risk. If you contact Duke at Audiokinesis he will work with you as well to see if he can get you a home audition. He personally drove two pairs of speakers to my home and allowed me to listen to them before buying.

Assuming that 96 dB meets your definition of 'high efficiency', I would strongly suggest that you look into Duke LeJeune's Audiokinesis speakers. I own his Planetarium Betas, and have found them to be quite extraordinary. The Swarm system DOES take up space, so if your listening room is tight and/or you're not willing to have 4 small boxes scattered about, you should look elsewhere. I am assuming that his slightly lower efficiency speakers such as the Jazz Modules (92 dB, $4500) are not efficient enough. If I'm mistaken in that assumption, they might make a great choice. Good luck!

Keep in mind that AudioNotes were designed to work in the corners of your room, if that's an issue for you...
Will Tonian appear at RMAF anyone?

Musicfile,
Yes, they are clearly some of my favorites

I forgot to mention the Audio Note earlier...I have owned the ANE/SEC silvers and they are terrific speakers as well.

Folks thanks for the many suggestions. I notice a consensus around Tonian models. Also, Devore seem to be liked by most, together with the Silverline models. This looks like a pretty good set to explore. Too bad the local dealer only carries Devore. But I will find ways to try the others.

Paulofbrecht, I am curious about the beauhorns. You seem to have tried them. I will take a listen to them in a few days (a local guy owns a pair). How do they compare to, say, the Tonian classic 8.1? Based on what I've heard about them they are technically more flawed than other HE speakers (coloration and limited extension, both high and low) but they have a magic that is addictive.

Thanks again. This is really helpful.

Don't buy anything without hearing the Audio Note AN/E Spe and the Tonian models.

DeVore are very nice speakers but not really HE, and they don't sound like it. Yes a 300B will drive them but they do not give the dynamics and nuance of an HE speaker.

PHY, Supravox, and Ferting WB drivers on a simple OB can be incredible.

Beauhorns are very nice but not available new - very rare.

Fostex back horns (Cardersound, Cain) are certainly worth considering. Many prefer them to the far more expensive drivers. They are not as detailed but frequently win in the fatigue department.

I see you've gone back to the Tonians Kurt
They must sound awesome

Legacy HD, or some used Legacy Whispers.

Coincident!