What is your favorite High EFF speaker

I've used klipsch heresy iii with a 12 watt set amp and I think they sound great.  Not enough bottom end for some people but you can add a subwoofer.  Currently using forte iii with a 22 watt set amp, and they rock.  Reviews on Devore orangutan 0/93 and 0/94 are excellent, but they're pricey.  I've ordered a pair of zu audio dirty weekend omen 2s and am looking forward to listening to those as well.  All of these speakers are 98db or higher, so they would be considered high efficiency.

I recently picked up a pair of absolutely cherry vintage 70s Klipsch La Scalas off Craig’s List of all places. They’re re the oldest ones with the metal capsules on the horns instead of Delrin and are all original including the crossovers. I really need to rebuild trhose crossovers, because 45’ish-year old paper in oil capacitors are sounding somewhat veiled.

At 105 dB per 1-watt, these things run very happily off a pair of the Amp Camp Class A amps bridged into monoblocks and running off a balanced differential input. Each puts out roughly 18-Watts of power when bridged and a whole heckuva lot of heat!

I currently have a pair of Heco Direkt  Dreiklang (98db, 19-30,000 Hz) that replaced my B&W 800D2 and very happy with the sound of my system.

If cost no object, I would go for Living Voice horn system with Kondo amplification. I heard it once at an audio show and never forget the sound of that system. I hope that someday I can afford that system.

@kalali
Anything else that could deliver this level of detail and speed with quality bass and could also extend down to something around 20Hz would require much larger footprint and cost significantly more.

blindjim>
Regrettably yes.

@kalali

Daedalus speakers could be a great option if they meet your size, decor, and budget requirements.

blindjim>
These are on the ‘we’ll see list. Logistics separate me from them ordinarily.

@kalali
As a side note, the more efficient speakers, in my case full range single driver, seem to sound a lot better even when you listen to only a single speaker and they seem to maintain that level of detail and aliveness   .. from greater distances.

blindjim>
Curiously enough…
Alluring items IMO currently are the Cube Audio 10 inch single driver model from Poland, ala Lampasader Electronics GG and Pacific DACs among other contestants things are happening over there. At $14K these seem very interesting as they are usually presented with what I believe is a 2A3 Tektron amp. They rate at 92/93db @ 8 ohms.
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On another note, I will add from personal EXP Classic audio, and Volte Audio were two instances which I heard earlier this year.

Also heard were AG Uno latest ver., and one other horn offering in a more ‘antique’ or classic arrangement. Briefly I heard the UK Audio Note towers though it was too brief an EXP to note which units though it was an all AN outfit using their 300b amps.


@atmasphere>
Agreed completely on the presentation.

If there was a turn key setup I’d buy if/when possible, that setup at the Fla Audio Expo was it…. Apart from the analog TT & Phono aspect.

As I have posted here previously, in my reviews/threads the Classic audio t1s & your amps proved the most fascinating of that show with only one other room close to that encounter, albeit the cA spkrs were beyond $40K. CA offers a down sized ver T3 @ $20 to 25K. According to John Wolfe who I spoke with for a moment or three and he said the biggest diff was in the bottom end, and of course the overall physical dims as the lower cost units were smaller yet still had the options list the T1s speakers possess. Eg., coils w/tube power sups. . FWIW I never got back to hear the 3s regrettably.

Cone driver slam with panel aplomb.

LP caveat was to have ten ft at least from the spkrs.

And I never delved into what or how the adjustments on the driver’s power supplies or other controls accomplished or why?
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The Volte Audio units were the more affordable models as I recall. (Rivals?) At about $9k base price. The listening was near non existent as I was more interested in speaking with Volte designer/fabricator Greg Roberts about his products designs, setup, and options.

I thought I would get back to that room the next day but did not. There is a real lesson in there somewhere.

The aG Unos did nothing for me at all. They had Viva power and I think a MSB stack feeding them thru an all Shunyata loom.

Maybe the most eye opening demos were with the KEF Blade Its. With a Carver PP 75wpc amp and Bel canto pre/DAC the blades were exceptionally resolving and dynamic and the music list was with real world songs… nothing way out there on the esoteric limb tune wise, thankfully.

… and the Doshi plus Joseph Audio pulsars with all Cardas clear cabling. In a word? Exceptional given the size of the spkrs.


Its one thing to show systems with adept, well heeled records and tracks aimed squarely as IMO, ‘show pony’ fare. Sure they will sound good. They are supposed to for Pete’s sake.

Real world musical fare however goes much further in one’s home. Classic Audio was playing a Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double trouble LP. Kudos CA, Purist Audio Design, & Atmas. Likewise for the Doshi & JA exhibition.

Cornscala,  Zingali Twenty Evo 1.2