I'd recommend auditioning prior to purchase. EL84 output tubes can really shine on efficient speakers but prefer an "easy" load without much impedance swing. I recall hearing a rare Harbeth NRG series of loudspeaker being driven by a Manley Stingray and being blown away. Synergy matters.
Need ideas to match a pair of monitor with 40WPC tube amp
Dear fellow music lovers,
I have a classic LA Audio A1 40wpc integrated tube amp primarily use for bedroom size ~12x10.
Output: EL84 x 8, preamp section: 12AX7 x 2 and 12AU7 x 2
I need a pair of small monitor (front ported) with 3/4 to 1" non-metallic tweeter and 5" quality midrange driver.
What would you recommend out there for under 1K used a pair?
TIA
I have a classic LA Audio A1 40wpc integrated tube amp primarily use for bedroom size ~12x10.
Output: EL84 x 8, preamp section: 12AX7 x 2 and 12AU7 x 2
I need a pair of small monitor (front ported) with 3/4 to 1" non-metallic tweeter and 5" quality midrange driver.
What would you recommend out there for under 1K used a pair?
TIA
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- 13 posts total
I really appreciate everyone so far with your suggestions. Your ideas prompt me to add more information about my references. I like to listen to pop rock, jazz, blues, chamber, male/female vocals. Background music is Cinemix all days when I'm working at home or weekends. My source is high quality Tuner and transport/DAC combo. Vinyl set up is in my main system. - I have no choice but my future speakers will be against the wall so monitors with front ported bass reflex is desirable - As long as the overall sound is musical within my compromising budget and bandwidth is around 50hz is good enough bass for me. No sub is required since I will listen mostly at normal level at around 9 o'clock or below. - I have good experience with single driver/horn loaded design, supertweeters, ribbon tweeters, however as I grow older I keep going back to cone speakers since they give me the most comfort listening to music with hours on end and listening fatigue is much less with cone speakers IMHO. @rar1 thanks for recommending Omega which I've known for a long time but haven't tried their speaker yet. They are sure look pretty and high quality made. @soix Thanks for recommending Silver line speakers. I'm very familiar with them as I owned a few models of their floor standers in the past. I may consider their mini monitor and the specs looks good. @grinnell I had the Comet before and quite familiar with Triangle's line ups. Thanks. @aburnhamuu thanks but the Dali Spector 2 is rear ported so I have to rule it out. The price is incredible cheap though and Dali has been around for years so I trusted your opinion. @jjss49 I love Spendors since I currently own the Eiii Type C pairs. I may try to look for small older ProAcs, I keep hearing good things about Harbeth however I'm not fond of their boxy, rectangular design and they may be too big for my shelf. @hilde45 Thanks for recommending those speakers. Some of them I'm not familiar at all but some are quite interesting like Joseph Audio, I like the Revel pair but it's rear ported :'-( @ boothroyd I like the Stingray too but again Harbeth is not for me same reason I replied to @jjss49 |
Here's something else to consider -- Golden Ear makes three models of bookshelf speakers. I had a set of Aon 2s for several years that I used in an office system that I really enjoyed. They are $900 a pair new and they've been on the market long enough that there should be used models available. The Aon 3 is a shade bigger and costs a bit more. I recently traded my 2s for a pair of their new BRX bookshelf speakers which are listed at $1,600 a pair. They use the midbass and tweeter from GE's reference series and are another step up in sound quality. All of their speakers have passive bass radiators on the sides of the speakers, so can go on a bookshelf as long as you don't have anything against the sides. My other speakers are Ohm 1000s and I've also owned Spendor SP1/2Es in the past that I really enjoyed, so that'll give you an idea of my taste in speaker voicing. I had to move on from the Spendors as my wife didn't like the 1970s looking box. I can recommend the GE bookshelfs. |
- 13 posts total