What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?


Hi, Gang,
I response to my recent review of the Reference 3A De Capo BE speaker, someone wrote that if you really want to hear them sing, you should try them with a SET amp, or words to that effect.
That got me thinking. The De Capo's are 92 db efficient, which (correct me if I'm wrong) seems kind of borderline for low-power SET amps.
In any event, right now I'm running mine with a pair of Manley Mahi mono-blocks. They are switchable from triode (20 watts) to "ultra linear" (40 watts). I run them in triode all the time, and in my room, the volume knob almost never goes past 9 o'clock; more would just be too loud.
All that said, what do you guys think of running the De Capo's with a SET amp? And if I did, what's the best bargain in SET's these days?
Thanks!
rebbi
Interesting topic for me. I love the set amps. I currently have the Lamm ML2.2 monoblocks and Coincident, Frankenstein, 300b set's. I have the Coincident Statement preamp and the Lamm LL2.1 pre. It is absolutely stunning to listen to the creations of these 2 very talented designers. It has been a long hard listen to determine which pairing I should keep because I can't afford to keep them both.
Al,
I appreciate your learned input. I am really not terribly worried about running out of gas with an SET amp. I could be proven wrong, of course. But my listening room is closed in and not terribly large – around 11' x 16' with an 8 foot ceiling. I listen about 8 feet away from the front of the speakers – not exactly nearfield, but not very far away, either.
I'm also not terribly into listening very loud. That's subjective, of course, but I tend to like to "listen into" the music rather than being battered by it. :-)
Finally, the owners manual for the De Capo’s says that excellent results can be achieved with "purist amps" of only a few watts. The owners manual also points out that while 92 dB is not considered incredibly efficient in the world of loudspeakers, because the speaker has no real crossover and the main driver is run directly connected to the amplifier, there isn't a complicated circuit inside sucking up amplifier power.
To do some more due diligence on this, I'm going to pick up the phone today and call GalenCarol Audio in San Antonio. They carry both Reference 3 A and Art Audio products. Let me see what they say about pairing the De Capo with this kind of amplifier. I will report back.
Mdemaio,
Wow, that Audio Nirvana amp looks really interesting! $1550 for a beefy 300b SET? Hmmmmm...
Al,
I hear what you're saying and as always it is rational. Brownsfan reports that the Dynamo works wonderfully with his DeCapos. So it is the expected varied experiences. Tim Smith said the amp was fine with 87db Harbeths. Much depends on listening levels,genre and room size.
Hi Rebbi,
I delt with Galen Carol on a number of occasions, he has always been very helpful. In fact, my last purchase from him was a Jolida FX10 for a desk-top system paired with 93db 8ohm Tekton 4.5 monitors. Very good sound. The FX10 put out about 10 Watts.

Also second that Audio Nirvana, looks promising, wonder how it sounds? Seems as though it has hefty transformers, wonder how well made they are? I'm also impressed that they are using Black Treasure 300B, a real plus. Great "bargain" price as well.