What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

Common Sense Audio offers a 300B-based integrated under the name Audio Nirvana for $1.5K that, to my ear at least, was not far behind a similarly-spec'd Audion amp that costed four times as much. Could be worth looking into. See here for details:

http://www.commonsenseaudio.com/nirvanaamps.html

(To be clear: I am not in any way affiliated with Common Sense Audio...just liked what I heard)...

Rebbi, the 300B with David's "5.6" model speakers (with his proprietary 15" AN drivers) were among my favorite combinations at RMAF this year...at all of $3.5K total for the pair (including the speaker build). The incongruity between sound and price tag on that system was second only to the little Linkwitz omni built from Home Depot PVC pipe that costs $450 to build (now THAT was an eye opener...).

The only "trouble" with the AN 5.6s (for me) was that they are far too large (44T X 18W X 14.74) for any space I'm likely to occupy in the near future. But they were pretty darn sweet...

All legit concerns, Rebbi. In my experience, David does tend to be a bit hyperbolic as well, so take that for what it's worth. But what I heard sounded great, and given the topic at hand thought the AN was worth mentioning.

It sounds like this might come down to the question of pride of ownership and personal ethics, particularly if "Made in China" isn't an issue from a quality standpoint. I completely get that one. It's for that very reason I mostly stick with gear made by someone I can call on the phone, or with used gear (I figure the damage is already done there). I guess that's the byproduct of coming from a family comprised fairly equally of artisans and labor lawyers...I try my best to represent both camps in my personal choices whenever possible ;)

Nice choice. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Mapman (and everyone else!) - As fellow Ohm owner (Walsh 2000 drivers in a Walsh 2 cabinet), I'm curious about exploring a Class D / Tube amp combination (I'm currently using an Anthem 225 integrated)...but I'm not entirely clear about what to look for from each component re: impedance matching, or what role impedance plays in choosing speaker wire with these speakers. Any thoughts? Much obliged - Matt