Single Driver Horn vs Multi driver efficient spker

I assume you mean lack of punch and dynamics in the bass. You are correct that you will never get that from a single driver. You don't list your driver but Lowthers and the like are very dynamic once you get above 60 Hz or so. If you are otherwise pleased with the performance then a high quality sub or pair subs might do it for you.

The other route is as you mentioned, Avantgardes or something similar. I went from Lammhorns with Lowthers and an MBL sub to Avantgarde Duos and have never looked back.

I have owned Total Victory's (twice for the original vsn, and about to own the newer II vsn). They can be run on 4 watts believe it or not, IF the amp is up to the task. Israel at Coincident has finally found an amp that can do it- I have heard them at his place- uses the type 50 tube- harmonically complete and natural sounding, with great detail that is NOT in your face- bass was also surprisingly good- very punchy. I won't reveal the amps on this thread, as it may not be my place to do so, however, the amps are heavily modded, which probably adds to their effectiveness driving a multi-driver speaker system like the TV's. I also own the smaller Victory model for the 'B' system in a smaller room. Moral of the story is that SET's will work on the big coincidents, but you have to search to find one up to the task. I have used various push-pull tube amps with the TV's- i.e. Altec 1570B's; ASL 1009 845 monos; and most recently an Audio Research VT-100 MKIII, and they will also do a super job- good luck in your choice.

I'm using Cain & Cain SuperAbbys with the C&C Bailey sub, powered by an Almarro amp with 4.8 watts/channel. If I turn the volume, for example, from the 12'00 o'clock position (silence) to the 3'00 o'clock position, the sound is far too loud. The Abbys provide big music, full-range, with plenty of dynamics. These beat every speaker I've ever owned (old 10.01 Bose, ML Aerius i, B&W 803N, Tyler Taylo Refs w/Taylo sub, Tyler Linbrooks, as well as some PSB and Thiels I've also owned ... with all due respect to these wonderful speakers, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed when I had them). The Cains (95 dB) are far more musical and do not require monster amps. Too, everyone is shocked by how great they sound.

While it's true that my Abbys are not true single-driver speakers, because they've got super-tweeters and I've integrated a sub, they sound no less big and musical without the sub. I think they hit 42Hz w/o the sub, which is more than acceptable, but I needed to get lower for some of the jazz I like.

I agree Arkprof the Abbys are terrific speakers and one of my favorites. Basically you have a 3 way system which I imagine sounds terrific. Never heard the Abbys with the extra tweeter. I did listen too them with a ASL set(can't remeber the model at the moment). I believe it was 2 or 3 wpc. I also listened to them with some 60 watt monoblock tube amplifier made by Grommes. The Abbys sounded much better with those 60 wpc monos....much fuller and more open IMHO. There was also a Almarro in the same room albeit similar to yours unfortunely I didn't get a chance to hear it.

I'm learning the key to getting good sound from single drivers isn't just the wattage. The dampening factor plays a large part in what you hear with them. That's probably why most users pair them with tube amplifiers. The dampening factor is lower on average than SS amplifiers. Over dampening a single driver will cause them to sound rolled off, dry and thin.Op amp Chip amplifiers are also great with the single drivers IMHO.

More in some cases isn't always better.When you find that right mix of wattage and dampening factor you know it.The speakers just come alive!

Good listening!

try the klipsch heresy before you go back. a good allrounder with lots of dynamics and bass when set up in corners. most single ended/single driver combos are only a means of ultimate frustration with anything but female vocals and bluegrass. the weight of real jazz , a symphony orchestra, or vintage or newer rock come off as otherworldly(not in a nirvana kind of way). you gotta remember, when sets were invented, 'wee bonnie baker' not 'the beatles' was a big deal. in hi-fi, sometimes 'more' really is 'more'.