The SET amp question.

I have had 45, 2A3, PX-25, 300B, 211, 845, and 805 SET amps.

As others have noted, with your speakers, your options are completely open - and IMO the 45 cannot be beat all-around. Either the Yamamoto or the Fi (the X is good but not as good as his stereo or monos; the X is the budget version).

The 45 tube will amaze you with its rock-solid bass, perfectly neutral tonality, amazing sound-staging, and complete freedom from any weakness at all, really.

Thanks guys, your posts have been very informative and helpful.

Swampwalker, my room size is 25 by 20 feet. Mostly listen to smooth jazz and soft rock but enjoy all other types of music. Volume level is usually low to medium but at times that can change depending on the type of music I'm in the mood for. Budget right now is about $1,500.00 on the used market.

110dB?! Which make and model are they?

Donald North

I forgot that Music Reference also makes a 45 SET that sell for $1,800 or $6,000 for the deluxe version - somehow he is able to get 5 watts from a single 45, which I believe is considerably more than most implementations; not that you need it with your speakers. I would imagine that a critical issue for you would be that the amp be VERY quiet given the sensitivty of your speakers. Another interesting alternative would be to explore some of the low watt First Watt amps from Nelson Pass - again they are all too low in power for me, but your speakers may be ideal for some of these SS single-ended designs.

Djnorth, they are the Klipsch Epic CF-4s, large floorstanding speakers, same ones Paul Klipsch himself used in his system. Manufactured from 1994 to 1996. I'm not a huge fan of Klipsch but these speakers (CF-4s) are a very worthy consideration. As one person mentioned in the forums a properly set-up of Epics can be mind blowing. Anyhow I cheated and did the non-audiophile thing by using four, one in each corner. Either set or both can be switched in or out of the system.

Well enough about what I think of these speakers, the Klipsch website says they are rated at 102 db but my manual says 110 db.