Louis at Omega just came out with his latest creation Outlaw 7.1 High Output. Visit his website.
I just purchased these and only a few hours on them at the moment but what I'm hearing right out of the box is noteworthy to say the least.
Besides being an absolute pleasure to do business with and one of the best guys in the audio biz.
Fantastic build quality to boot. |
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.. |
Everybody, I deeply appreciate all of your insights! Sebrof, I'd love to get to LSAF but have to work that weekend so I'll be missing it this year. I actually spoke to the fellow from Pi. I've also corresponded a bit with Audiokinesis (Duke) who's located outside of Dallas now and seems like an absolutely stand-up guy.
It's clear to me that if I'm going to make a change, it's got to be on a home trial or a used item where I won't take a huge hit if it's not right. I sense that system synergy is especially crucial with a SET amp so I'd need to be careful. |
You should try to get to the Lone Star Audio Fest May 2nd in Dallas. That's where I heard Sonist and if they weren't out of my price range at the time I'd probably have a pair.
But at LSAF there are manufacturers of more than a few speakers, many full range single driver or similar designs.
Pi speakers is almost always there, Bob Brines, Manzanita, and others. I've seen many different types of speakers there, many SET compatible.
I suggest checking to see who will be there this year, I don't know.
And since you're a big DIY Guru now having built the Kit1 amp, don't discount building your own! ;) |
Hi Rebbi, The speaker brand that I recommend is Sonist.
I had a pair of De Capo's that I was driving with a 5 watt amp (bridged Decware zens) and never felt that I had enough power for those speakers. Sold them and bought a pair of Sonist "Concerto 2's". The sound from them was a big step in the right direction! I think the De Capo's need about 25 or 30 watts to really shine, but the Sonist lit up with my 5 watts! I eventually found a used pair of the "Sonist Concerto 4's" and I'm done searching for a speaker to use with a few watts.
Tish
|
I'm at the same place your are. I currently have some Cain Abbys, but I'm considering Omega's Outlaw 7 high output stand mount. I did Lowthers in a modern cabinet, and they were very good, but I prefer a smaller driver to help with high frequency beaming.
Others that were good include Horn Shoppe horns (great, but I don't have corners to utilize in my current room), Cardersound Tybone/Saburo Fostex 126 based speaker (awesome, but needed the matching sub and was too big for my room), Altec 14 (needs more than 2-3 watts, but sounds amazing with the cheap Chinese class-D amps.
I'm intrigued by the system from Blumenstein, but I'd like to stay away from extra power cords and four boxes…
By the way, I still have some Triangle Zerius, and it may be one of the most under rated affordable speakers. It just might sound great with a 300B. I use it with a TVC and upgraded Red Wine ClariT at about 5 watts. The used price is between $300-450, and it would be tough to beat. I'll always keep these even as I play around with single-driver full-range speakers.
Keep us posted on your decision - I'm very interested... |
Forgot to mention that the Wavetouch Grand Tetons replaced a pair of the Tekton Lore-S speakers in my Small-Room Reference system. |
WaveTouch Grand Tetons are a no-brainer if you can find a pair in your price range. You could contact Alex at Wavetouch as he may have some older or B-stock GT's. From my experience with them I would say they will pretty much best the DeCapos in every sonic parameter. They are 94 dB/watt efficient and I drive mine to decent levels with a pair of 300B mono amps in an 11' x 14' room. Bass is strong down to about 40Hz. Alex gives a pretty long in-home trial, as well. |
Having done some investigation into Tannoy at various times over the years, I think it is safe to say that it is a fairly diverse line with products that may appeal to a wide variety of users and various models will work differently with most any amp including SET. So specific model will definitely matter a lot. |
The Tannoys are an enigma to me, some of their models appear to work beautifully with low-power S ET amplifiers. Other owners Of these speakers however say that the speakers require more power to bring them to life. It makes me wonder if it really depends on which particular Tannoy model one is referring to. Dan seems to achieve more satisfaction than Pani does with this pairing. Too be fair, they use different Tannoy speakers. Dan's model may be an easier load than Pani's. The Tannoy may be outside of Rebbi's stated price range. The Omega speaker idea seems very intriguing for modest size rooms as does Tekton Lores. |
Steve, I may have to retract some of my previous post. I just checked on Ebay, and there are some affordable options still available.
A few DMT II's are available, also some nice 12" Royal drivers (made for the Canadian market), using HPD drivers. Sorry if I led you astray, I haven't checked on availability/pricing in a long time.
First though, do try and have a listen. You may find they are exactly what you are looking for.
Regards,
Dan |
Rebbi, I feel I must also speak to Tannoys and SET 300B. The pairing of my factory-upgraded Assemblage Audio and my semi-DIY Tannoy HPD's has to be heard to be believed.
The problem, though, is that Tannoy, through its popularity, has become more and more expensive. If I hadn't made the move to them when I did, I would in no way be able to afford to do it these days.
As it was, it cost me the better part of $5000 to complete my highly customized HPD's, but then, I was on a mission to make these speakers the best they could possibly be. I was still working back then, so funding wasn't such an issue as it would be now.
Still, though, Steve, it's something to think about for the future. I would try to get out and hear Tannoy/SET pairings, and see if they may be something to aim for at a later date.
As things stand now, I wouldn't change a thing. Doing something similar to what I've done, not as elaborately, may still be the least expensive means to have and enjoy the Tannoy/SET experience.
Best regards,
Dan |
Search usaudiomart for "single driver" speakers. There are usually things like Lowthers on there. audioasylum has some too.
I listen all day long with single drivers and only 10 watts and never miss some of the highs I'm giving up. |
An old story already but Zu did not do it for me with pop/rock music dynamics in teh one audition I heard at a show. That was Zu Essence off a SET amp. The ZU guy admitted more power was needed. Sounded nice with classical, jazz, acoustic music though. |
Focal is another. Focal and Triangle are both French and all I have heard share some common sonic attributes.
The right Focals or Triangles on a good SET amp would make a lot of lovely music. The French seem to have a knack for that kind of thing. Its a different sound than British or most any US I have heard for sure. Clean, crisp, detailed, nuanced, almost to a fault, which is where a nice tube amp might add just the right form of magic. |
Reb,
I would not discount Triangle as a line to consider, if you can find them around these days. I'd mainly just look for models that are 91db + efficient and do not do much below 50 hz or so. For anything with more low end extension than that, I would make sure the efficiency ratings are truly higher and reflect efficiency at lower frequencies. Beware of smaller speakers that boast higher efficeinecies. They will either be accurate and have less low end extension or have more low end extension but the efficiency specs not cover teh low frequencies, as is the suspected case with the DeCapos. |
"Every type of speaker involves tradeoffs,"
That is true, especially with limited budget.
For a SET amp in articular, if it were me, the thing worth trading off is low end extension, which is where the hardest work is required by far, exponentially so as the frequency decreases. Limiting/filtering low end extension as needed opens up many many possibilities. A smaller room will typically work in one's favor in that regard in that less work is required in smaller rooms.
You can get the low end extension off just a few watts as well but you need larger drivers/speakers in general and of course high quality larger speakers will cost more.
Tannoy is a line I would want to hear that might have some unique things to offer for the SET amp world. |
I have tannoys and love them. Have heard zu and enjoyed those as well. |
I have only heard one of there speakers the Druid I think but the Zu Soul and Soul Superfly look intriguing. |
I'm a big Omega fan. Haven't heard the Tekton's yet, but I know that out of those who have heard both some prefer the Omegas and some prefer the Tektons, but really, they are quite different designs. I own different single driver speakers from Fostex and Markaudio and to date, it's the Omegas that I prefer.
I'd be wary of all sensitivity ratings. Just like the DeCapos were tested lower than the official values, Stereophile measured the Enzos at 6db lower than official specs. Bottom line, you really need to hear them in your system to see how they perform.
With single driver designs, you might lose some of the ultimate high end extension that you now get with the DeCapos. The tradeoff might be increased transparency and midrange purity. Every type of speaker involves tradeoffs, you just have to decide which ones you want to put up with. |
