Integrated S.E.T Amp and Bookshelf Speakers Recommendations

Audio Note speakers are ideally located near the corners of the room; if not in the corners, at least close to the back wall.  In a room of this size, and the kind of music you favor, you may actually have options to use speakers that are not quite as efficient, which greatly increases your options, particularly if you don’t insist on a SET.  That said, a SET amp may still be a good option if you are willing to accept that they will not be at their best at head banging levels.  To me, the great attributes of such amps are best heard with relatively high efficiency speakers and I don’t know of many that I like that are not somewhat pricey.  Do you have any idea of how much you are willing to spend and will you consider used speakers?

I don’t agree that Harbeths are out if you go with modest powered tube amps that are not SETs.  I particularly like  the Harbeth 30.2 with tube amps of at least 20 watts.  You can find reasonably priced EL84 amps that sound very good that are  reasonably priced.

For an office system (small room), if you play your system at modest levels, you can go with a SET amp with a higher efficiency speaker.  But, there really is no reason to only consider SET amps; they are not inherently superior to pushpull or output transformerless amps.  I own a pair of Audio Note SET amps which sound great, but my pushpull amp sounds even better and did not cost nearly as much. 
But, if you are determined to go SET, the Elekit is a VERY good bargain, particularly if you build it yourself.  I heard that amp in its basic configuration and it is nice sounding.  While it has a volume control, I think it is not an integrated amp because it does not have multiple inputs and an input selector knob.

Audio Note speakers will work with a low-powered SET.  They sell such amps to work with their speakers.  My local dealer runs AN-Es and AN-Js with a 6 watt Kageki and gets great sound out of that combination.  Finding the right speakers for lower-powered amps is a challenge.  The best choices are never bargain speakers.  I really like Charney Audio speakers and think they are very reasonably priced for their performance, but, that does not mean they are cheap.  The same goes with Volti speakers.  Some classic line Klipsch speakers, like the Cornwalls might work.  For a little more than $3,000 a pair, I was impressed with the Tekton Double Impacts and the Rethm Bhaava speakers.

If you expand your amp search a bit to non-SET amps, I think you should search out the Synthesis Audio line of pushpull amps.  These are fantastic for the money.

I generally agree with Dekay's suggestions above.  I really like the Elekit amps I've heard, but again, I think that they are not integrated amps.  With tube amps, the additional gain from a separate line stage is often not needed, so, if you have just one source, you can probably just plug it into the back of the Elekit and treat it as if it were an integrated amp. A separate switching box might be all you need to treat the Elekit amp as an integrated amp. You should contact Victor Kung and VKmusic (the North American distributor located in Vancouver Canada); he is very helpful and honest about whether the amp will or will not work in particular setups.

If you are auditioning AudioNote amps, check out the Oto and Soro; they are a bit more than the Cobra but are much better.  In the Cobra’s price bracket, the Synthesis Audio integrated is much better.  I heard them side by side in a direct comparison playind  Audio Note AN-K, Harbeth 30.2 and ProAc Tablettes.  The higher up Synthesis amplifiers, like the A40 or A!00 models are better still and can anchor a truly great system.

Triangle speakers do have a slightly bright top end, but with good tube amps, they should not be harsh.  J.M. Reynaud speakers are a bit warmer and also good.  I would add ProAc to the list of speakers to audition too.  For something different, see if you can audition the open baffle speakers from Pure Audio Project (maybe st a show, I think they sell direct).  Their Trio 15 models sell for around $7500 and are shockingly good for the money.