Suggestions for higher efficiency speakers

" they sound as close to live music as I’ve ever had at home ". This was stated, just today, by another Heresy III owner, on another thread, here on the ’Gon. Anyone who knows me, knows my opinions ( all positive ) about Klipsch Heritage, and, their competition. Altec A7s, and some of the Klipsch models mahlman recommends, are simply, too large, for a typical living space, both acoustically, and visually, ime and, imo. I listened to Loggins and Messina ( their 2nd album, on CD...Columbia CK 31748 ) this afternoon, and let me tell you............................well, you can all guess.............I do own upgraded and modified Heresy 2s, am familiar with the 3s, but listen through my upgraded and modified Lascalas......Enjoy ! MrD.

" Klipsch models mahlman recommends, are simply, too large, for a typical living space, both acoustically, and visually, ime and, imo. "
  OK I can understand for some space and esthetics will have as much say as sound quality or even more at times. The problem here is bang for the buck and staying under 2G. All of the following can be had used in good condition for under 2G.

The footprint of the Chorus is 39" T, 18.5"W and 15.5"D
The Heresy is 23.8"T, 15.5"W, 13.25"D
The Forte is 35.375"T, 16.5"W, 12.25"D
The Cornwall is 35.75"T, 25.375"W, 15.5"D
The La Scala is 35.5"T, 23.75"W, 24.5"T
  Of them all the LS is the space hog with the CW next in line. I have seen all of the above in small rooms as small as say 12' x 12' and they all work fine. So say the the people who have bought some from me and invited me over later to hear theis setup.

  There is another option if you are handy and that is to make a set of Super Heresy's and if you type in Super Heresy's at the Klipsch forum you will find all kinds of information on how to take a set of $400 type I Heresy's and make them into something very close to the Heresy IV. I have heard the Heresy IV and have a set of the Super Heresy's in my shop right now and they are very close in sound with both being quite remarkable for their size and much better than all the other Heresy's.
  The idea the Chorus speaker is too big and would "overpower" a room is just plain nonsense and no one I know that has these thinks this is the case. I have sold more of these to seriously ill men living by themselves in small apartments who really don't have gobs of space than any other type of Klipsch. They get them because superb music is one of the very few things they can enjoy in life without physical effort, they can afford them and they simply fit in any space.

   I get speakers and fix them up and sell them so I have actual experience with them and a variety of customers who have bought them and used them in all sizes of rooms. I don't mean just one or two it has sailed past perhaps 100 + sets now. Today in my shop there are two sets of  Heresy's, two sets of La Scalas, and of course some of my favorite Pro gear speakers which don't get mentioned here because they are pretty big. I am hands on and you can choose to believe it or not I don't care. I do how ever like to spare people the path of try this and try that before you find something you like because years and $$$ can surely be wasted before you are happy.
  I also have my personal preferences based on hearing many sets from beginning to end where I get them in and recap them and check drivers and for loose wires and the rest of the potential problems so I know what they normally sound like used. Then I also know what they sound like when fully restored or modified in various ways like in replacing the old tweeters with new ones. I know Klipsch Vintage and Heritage speakers far more than just having bought a set or having sold NIB sets.

  OP if you do not make the time to research these and go hear them and go to the Klipsch forum and ask what people who live and breathe Klipsch think of sizes of speakers VS room size and what they are capable of doing you are making a big mistake. You CAN find people over there who will invite you over for a listen in the real world and not a showroom and they will not be too far away. Don't take my word or any one else's here but take it as potential worthwhile advice and then go verify IN PERSON. Talk is cheap and the web is full of wannabe sound sages.

mahlman......I should have been more specific.....I am in agreement with you about each model you mentioned. It is the larger Klipsch Cinema and Pro speakers you are always referring to that I made that statement. Read any of your tutorial........you have constantly down played any Klipsch Heritage model, comparing them to those large behemoths used on stage you love so much, even mentioning them here. You have even put down the Klipschorn in many of your posts. " I am " the largest Heritage fan, here, on the ’Gon, and know as much about them as you do. You lead with the " behemoths ", no doubt. I do appreciate you changing over to understanding the consumers here. And it is funny, how, I find the Lascala to be the best out of all of them, and you find them to be the worst. Simply shows the diversity of listeners, even with the same brand.....Enjoy ! MrD.

If you can stretch your budget a bit (or find used), at around $3,000 a pair, the Tekton Double Impacts and Rethm Bhaava (built in active woofer) are good sounding speakers that will permit the use of low-powered amps.  Low power limits the field considerably, and very few of the candidates are low-cost.  

I like low-powered SET amps (I own one), but, even though they are usually very simple amps, they require special, and somewhat expensive, output transformers.  The decent sounding ones don't come cheap.

If you are interested in what SET amps can do, go to a retailer or an audio show and listen first before shopping.  To some extent, the touted "magic" is an exaggeration--good SET amps sound great, but, that is also the case with good pushpull and output transformerless ((ORL) amps.  If you like your current speakers, but you are looking for something different to spice things up, consider an OTL amp.  OTL's are very vivid and lively sounding and will be a bigger change in sound from your Jolida than any SEt amp would be.

I have no serious don't buy complaints about vintage or Heritage and listen to every set I fix for a while before selling them off. But if pure sound quality is the main criteria the Pro stuff wins hands down. Most of the time the topic of what sounds the best is what is discussed and I have an opinion there many might disagree with. Theexception to this is the older Cornwalls which I think sound very boxy and after only two sets never bought any more.

The problem is those who have not actually heard better pro gear don’t know how good it is. It was funny to see expressions on peoples faces when I had sets of KPT-456’s for sale as they heard them for the first time. I had a really sweet Chorus I with upgraded crossovers and a MAHL tweeter in there. Normally they would have sold quick. I also had the KPT-456’s at the time ready to go and I play whatever I have on hand for Craigslist people that come over. They would hear the Chorus which they came there for and then ask "what is THAT?". So with a grin on my face I would tell them and then play them. The Chorus was $1,200 and the 456’s were $1500 and that set of Chorus speakers sold four sets of KPT-456’s before they left.

That set of 456’s was 18" deep, 27.75" wide and 55.75" tall. So little more than a Cornwall on footprint although much taller. Total cubic inch footprint less than a La Scala. 800 watts output on bass bin and 75 watts on the 2" horn top and unbelievable fidelity. It beats ALL the Heritage including the KHorn and this is why I talk so much about pro. At any volume these just sounded much bigger and better. My normal listening level by the way is about 80db. When I want to sit next to the 32’ organ pipes it gets louder. No veneer and scant WAF and I get all that I just don’t have to abide by that.

Heritage and Vintage Klipsch is the real deal compared to the rest of the market in value for dollar spent I believe. Once you step up to Klipsch Pro though it is a different ball game.
Considering the OP’s original inquiry here is something to think about. The KPT-456 is 104DB efficient and the newer version of the same which is the KPT-904 is 105db efficient.

Way beyond the OP’s amount to spend but have you heard the Cornwall IV yet?