Small, tube-friendly speaker suggestions needed

Devore Gibbon 3. Great little speaker, very muisical, and will work nicely with your PP.

Just curious - what do you not like about Reference 3a speakers? I'm not very familiar with them, but see them recommended quite often to people in your situation.

How large can the stand-mount speaker be and still work for you?

Is there any particular reason why a compact floorstander wouldn't work in your situation?

Finally, are you the same Greg that I exchanged e-mails with in September? I lost some of my e-mail records so I can't tell...

Thanks,

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

I have an Audio Space AS-3i integrated, EL34s in push-pull (although right now I have KT66s in it). The room is very small. Speakers are Triangle Titus ES.

I have a pair of Spendor S 3/5 (not the slightly more forward S 3/5 e) which I am driving with a small push pull EL 84 integrated (Jolida 102B with EH gold pin EL 84s and some cap upgdrades) in a small room with great results. If price is an object try to get your hands on a pair of Sound Dynamics RTS 3's used for about $100-$150 and you will be very pleasantly surprised.

How about one of the Merlins ????

I've had the same problem finding tube-friendly speakers for my 15W integrated. I settled on the Energy C-3's since I'm on a tight budget and they have a respectable 90dB in-room efficiency. I understand efficiency isn't everything, but it's a good starting point when shopping for speakers.

The Von Schweikert VR-1's are highly recommended for small tube systems. However, having 30W to play around with, I'm sure there's a lot more options out there.

Coincident Triumph...made for tubes

Merlin TSM's sound just like what you are looking for. Search the archives, plenty has been said about them. Cheers,

Spencer

Heard a pair of Quad 11L that sounded very nice with a Jolida 302B tube integrated. Truth is I heard it and the Spendor S3/5 at the same time. I liked the Spendor better, but Quad held it's own quite nicely, and the price is much less than Spendor and they both are very musical speakers.

sterling ls3/5 or any vintage variety ls3/5.

Second the Merlins......

Why not the Spendor S3/5 since you mnetioned them already?

Otherwise, I would second the Merlin TSM or alternatively suggest the Green Mountain Audio (GMA) Europa. Both should be driven by a 30 Watt amp without problems. I listened to the Callisto driven by a 18W Almarro amp, which made a very nice combination.

Avantgarde Unos or Duos can be heavenly. Could be a celestial match with your 30-wpc push-pull amp. In all my years of audio madness, I rue most the day when I sold my Avantgarde Duos and Lamm triode electronics.