Can Manley's Stingray power VonSchweikert vr4 jrs?

Assuming you continue to desire speakers that are or are similar to the load of the VR4:

1) Buy the Stingray used. Those 40w are pretty good. They drove my one-time Ushers to massive SPLs at about 1/2 volume.
2) If the above is not strong enough but you like the Manley sound:
a) upgrade to the separates which give you double the power:
Shrimp pre and Snapper monos, 100 w of EL34 power. Retail about $6K, should be within your budget used., or
b) My choice, which would be wait around (while owning Stingray) for the new Mantaray integrated to appear, slated for mid-2007. Remote, iPod input, 100 w of EL34s, all in one chassis for about $4K.

As a one-time very satisfied user of the Stingray, and from reading testimonials of their other gear, hard to go wrong with Manley. I switched due to changing to very efficient speakers.

Mr. Stain,

I am running Dali Helicon 400s with a Dared 845 with 22wpc of stunning SET sound. Don't back away from the Dali 400s with out giving them a shot. The are extremely musical, crystal clear highs, and have a very tight bass presentation. Very dynamic - even with 22wpc. The cabinets are outstanding (IMHO). Buy them for the sound and enjoy the eye candy! Good Luck!

Mr. Stain,

I am running Dali Helicon 400s with a Dared 845 with 22wpc of stunning SET sound. Don't back away from the Dali 400s with out giving them a shot. The are extremely musical, crystal clear highs, and have a very tight bass presentation. Very dynamic - even with 22wpc. The cabinets are outstanding (IMHO). Buy them for the sound and enjoy the eye candy! Good Luck!

Philbrady and others: thanks, The Dali's and the Acoustic Zen's both look worth looking into...However, they both seem to require a 50 watt minimum input, while the stingray is rated at 40watts (I'm not sure if impedence difference, or if the tube driven "watt increase" applies here.

Dali Helicon 400 or Acoustic Zen Adagio. Both are easier to drive than Vr4 JR, look great and are good values. Phil Brady.

GMA speakers tend to sound good with the Stingray IMO. I have heard a couple of their models using the Manley with excellent results.

---Dave

Revised question: what would be a good speaker match for the stingray be, in the 4,000 dollar (new or used)

My VSA JR's are powered by a 55 watt integrated tube amp. The combination is magic. More power is always nice, but remember tube watts sound go further than solid state watts. Room size in a consideration, you may be able to get away with the tube system in a smaller room over a larger one. For the chance to go with such a gem as the Manley, I would not easily pass it up.

I have tried these speakers with Consonance Cyber 6550 based integrated, McIntosh 6900 Solid State and a Jolida 1000. The Jolida is what I would recommend. The speakers really need a lot of power to drive the bass woofers. The McIntosh was not nearly as transparent as the other units. Phil Brady.

The schweikerts love power. I had the vr-4's only thing that really made them sing was VTL 300.