You can get an excellent match between efficient, non-horn, dynamic, multi-driver speakers and SETs. I currently own the Total Victories, the Abbys and the Fab Audio Model 1. I now use nothing but the Fabs with a pair of ACI subs, and can't foresee changing. The M1s get along famously with PX25 amps - an Audion Silver Night in my case and an Art Audio in the system of a friend. They also work brilliantly with 300B SETs like those from Wavelength
I prefer the M1s to the TVs by a good margin because they sound much more present and alive. I could get the TVs to wake up, but not with any of my SET amps - it took a pair of 50 watt Canary P-P do do the job. I blame it on the large driver complement and the crossover. The Fabs sound much faster, more transparent and musical to me than the TVs did, even with the powerhouse amps. I've driven them both with PX25 and 300B SETs, and the conclusions were the same regardless of tube type.
I like the Abbys, but frankly they are not in the same league as either of the bigger speakers. With a pair of subs running they sound very present, spacious and dynamic - a non-audiophile friend heard them and said the sound made her break out in goosebumps. Where they lose out is in resolution and refinement. In particular the treble sounds dirtier than either the Fabs or the TVs.
I had a chance to hear a pair of highly regarded single driver back horns with my PX25 amp, and I was seriously underwhelmed in the areas of presence, resolution and dynamics. Both the Fabs and the TVs sounded better to my ears, and the Fabs especially left the back horns in the dust. This isn't a dismissal of back horns in general, just that one model with that one amp. I heard the speakers with a different (very high powered) amp and they sounded fantastic, but that's not the direction I want to go.
If asked, I recommend any of the Fab speakers as a good match for SETs. And yes, I have read the recent 6moons review. I have no idea what Steve Marsh's problem was, because his results are diametrically opposed to what I hear in my system. My speculation is that it was an infelicitous combination of room, amps and cabling. I have found that the resolution of the Model 1's makes them very revealing of things like that. All I can say is that with the appropriate amps, cabling and room environment, these speakers provide the best impression of a planar horn mini-monitor I've ever heard.
Having heard their Stonehenges a number of times as well, I think they are exceptional value for money, and would be my first choice if I had SETs but didn't have "Model 1" cashflow.
I prefer the M1s to the TVs by a good margin because they sound much more present and alive. I could get the TVs to wake up, but not with any of my SET amps - it took a pair of 50 watt Canary P-P do do the job. I blame it on the large driver complement and the crossover. The Fabs sound much faster, more transparent and musical to me than the TVs did, even with the powerhouse amps. I've driven them both with PX25 and 300B SETs, and the conclusions were the same regardless of tube type.
I like the Abbys, but frankly they are not in the same league as either of the bigger speakers. With a pair of subs running they sound very present, spacious and dynamic - a non-audiophile friend heard them and said the sound made her break out in goosebumps. Where they lose out is in resolution and refinement. In particular the treble sounds dirtier than either the Fabs or the TVs.
I had a chance to hear a pair of highly regarded single driver back horns with my PX25 amp, and I was seriously underwhelmed in the areas of presence, resolution and dynamics. Both the Fabs and the TVs sounded better to my ears, and the Fabs especially left the back horns in the dust. This isn't a dismissal of back horns in general, just that one model with that one amp. I heard the speakers with a different (very high powered) amp and they sounded fantastic, but that's not the direction I want to go.
If asked, I recommend any of the Fab speakers as a good match for SETs. And yes, I have read the recent 6moons review. I have no idea what Steve Marsh's problem was, because his results are diametrically opposed to what I hear in my system. My speculation is that it was an infelicitous combination of room, amps and cabling. I have found that the resolution of the Model 1's makes them very revealing of things like that. All I can say is that with the appropriate amps, cabling and room environment, these speakers provide the best impression of a planar horn mini-monitor I've ever heard.
Having heard their Stonehenges a number of times as well, I think they are exceptional value for money, and would be my first choice if I had SETs but didn't have "Model 1" cashflow.