300B Speakers, Reynaud & Reference 3A

Tom:

Another candidate may be the smallest Galante speaker ($2500-$2800) new. I have no experience with it myself, but it has received favorable reviews (both for its sound and low wattage capability).

I think that it is a coaxial design (tweeter mounted in the center of the LF driver) which usually works quite well in close spaces.

Don't know if this interests you, but I plan on building a pair of single driver speakers (for the 2A3 amps) using vintage Stephens Trusonic 8" drivers. I was considering new Lowther drivers, but (as you mentioned) I do not feel that my Bottlehead gear is quiet enough to make a good match.

The Abbey speakers (mentioned above) are single driver speakers (using Fostex) that are based on the Voigt pipe design (same as TWL's speakers), but they are well below 100 dB efficiency. The last time I checked the Cain & Abbey website they were offering a "near field" version of the speaker that might be suitable for your room (depending on the layout).

Tom: Not so fast as my experience has been quite the opposite from that of S. of Sound in regard to the Reynaud Twins.

I have owned the Twins for going on two years now and ran them for a year with an Audion Silver Night 300B Stereo SET in a room much larger than yours (see my system which is listed for the room details).

Bass was never a problem with this particular setup (the only problem being full scale classical @ higher/loud volumes, when the sound stage started to shrink/compress).

I once set this system up in our spare room (approx. 10' x 14') and in this application the combo handled all types of music @ any sane sound level (bass had impact as well as tonality).

I have also used a vintage Pilot 232 power amp (approx. 12 EL84 push/pull watts) and again no bass problems (a very nice/balanced sound, but lacking the depth of SET's).

The end result depends on the specific amp used (not the power rating), IMO. My 50 watt SS Musical Fidelity X-A1 amp displayed less bass control and depth than either of the tube amps mentioned above and the speakers never really opened up.

My current setup is not a good match (2A3's with the Twins), but this is temporary until I can afford another 300B amp for them (the Bottlehead gear will then be moved to the smaller room with different speakers).

Hi Tom:

Here is the address:

http://cain-cain.hypermart.net/index.html

Keep in mind that I have never listened to the line, though there should be some user feedback shortly @ Audioasylum.com (someone just received a pair). Can't remember which forum, but you can now run a full site search @ AA (hit search and it is in the drop down menu).

I cannot imagine getting bass out of this design, but TWL has and perhaps this model does so as well. I'm not a bass fanatic, but do require a reasonable amplitude on the low open "E" string of a Jazz bass. Many speakers rated @ but 55 Hz perform this task within their useable roll off (even though the note is centered @ around 42 Hz), so specs are not everything when it comes to listening enjoyment.

Here is another website that may be of interest to you (also the "brother" single driver website which has a link @ the top of the page).

http://f18.parsimony.net/forum31999/