High value, high efficiency speakers for SET amps

Hi Reb,
My sincere condolences. I lost my Mother 10 years ago, and it's a left a void that can never be filled. That said, I have countless priceless memories. I'm sure that you do as well. Yes, getting older and experiencing loss certainly gives perspective.
John

Hi Reb,
All sorts of tempting choices. If I was in the financial position and had a larger room,, I would get the Coincident Total Eclipses that Charles owns. They are super! I don't know why no other company is making a speaker of that type that is so efficient.
I'm glad to read some positive feedback on the Sonist speakers. They always looked interesting to me, and they are attractive as well.
I personally heard the Tannoy Kensingtons sounding great with a low power Art Audio amp a few years back, and if you are interested in a speaker that has a high quality concentric driver for a reasonable price, check out Reaction Audio. I haven't heard them, but there is good buzz aout them, and they are SET friendly..

Rebbi,
What state do you live in?

In answer to Tubegroover, and for the general benefit of anyone reading the thread, I do use the same amp as Rebbi, as many people know, and my large Klipsch Epic CF-4 speakers are claimed by Klipsch to be 102db efficient. I have read a couple of times that they are more likely 99-100.
I trust Ralph of Atmasphere when he states that distortion rises quickly with these amps before they reach peak power, but I can tell you that that is not the case with my speakers. I, like Charles, choose to listen at moderate levels, but when I am off and around the house in different rooms, I will turn it up to levels that are pretty loud by any standard, and it still sounds great, without a sign of strain.

One of the main advantages of the better Klipsch horn designs is the dynamics, which, importantly for me, hold up very well at low volumes.
I have owned the KHorns in the 70's, the Cornwalls in the 90's and now the Epic CF- 4. all very good at "serving the music" as some say, while not being hyper-critically perfect in any way. It's really hard to overestimate the importance of wide dynamic range until you have lived with it and then lived with speakers that lack wide dynamic range. If it was not for the Epics, I would probably still have one of the 2 Spendor models I owned, because they are beautiful to listen to as well, and very truthful in their own way, but I did become a little dissatisfied with their relatively average dynamics. They were actually about as dynamic as most other cone speakers I've owned, but not up to horn standards.
One problem that a newcomer will encounter when researching Klipsch is the world of crossover, cabinet and driver changes/upgrades that are offered and strongly recommended. I find many sites that make you feel that if you don't change the speaker beyond recognition, you are not going to achieve good sound. Not true. I like to tweak, but some of these models sound great as they are if you can't afford to heavily modify them. It's one of those occasions when reading too much and knowing too little can leave you feeling confused and insecure.
I would like to do some crossover, wire and cabinet mods to my CF-4's, but with the few things I have done, which isn't much, they are still the best overall speakers I have ever owned, (not heard) and I've owned some nice ones.
Rebbi, give them a try if you can. I think you will discover something very different than what you are accustomed to. Whether or not you like it only you can say.
While I'm addressing you (as well as other members), I have found a new amp tweak for you to spend your hard earned money on. I found an ad here on Audiogon for the Cerious Technologies Nano Reference power cord, originally $500.00, now 149.00 for a 5 foot cord. I know you had been considering a cord upgrade, and I was using the top line Pangea, which I liked, although I knew there were better cords.
Well, it turns out that Robert Grost, former founder of Unity Audio, owns the company, and lives near me here in AZ. He offered to let me try the cable on trial, and I had my doubts, but the technology had interested me for years. By that evening, I told him to cash the check. The cable is excellent. More quiet, refined and dimensional than the Pangea...at a giveaway price. I'm very happy with it.
Anyway,it's kind of nice to hear a few members speaking well of Klipsch for a change. I know that it has been very popular over the years to call them brash and honky, sometimes by people who I don't think were even familiar with them, and other times by people who were using the wrong sources and amps. Make no mistake...they will reveal.