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Recommended Speaker for Triode Amp

I've been living with inefficient Thiel 3.6 speakers for many years now, but now I'm getting a new integrated Triode amplifier rated at 20 watts per channel. I'm not familiar with horn and open baffle speakers, or other inefficient designs and could use some help.

I listen mostly to jazz, female voice, acoustical types, and rock, as opposed to Big Band and orchestral music. I have a fairly small listening room. I do like my bass, so if it's there I want to produce it well.

I've seen some speaker kits and I am handy but don't have a lot of woodworking tools. For example, I would not want to cut those large round speaker holes.

I also don't understand how to match a speakers efficiency to the power output of an amp, or maybe that doesn't matter as long as you can drive the speakers to loud levels.

I do have two goals. The first is to spend between $3K to $6K tops, and the second is to smoke my Theil 3.6 speakers.

Help and recommendations are appreciated.
kennythekey
metralla
945 posts
 
Something from Coincident would work with your amps. The Partial Eclipse are $5000.

http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/partial.htm

Regards,
unsound
7,334 posts
 
Good luck with that.
kennythekey OP
593 posts
 
I'm finally back (from NYC), and thanks for the additional information.

I checked out the Zu line and they look like a good match for my room's setup. Perhaps the Essence would be a winner, so does anyone have experience with that speaker?

The Partial Eclipse also looks like a compatible design for my room. Good stuff. I will do some research on these designs.

Br3098 - I listen to classic rock but I have mellowed a bit with age. For example, lately I've been playing David Crosby's, If I Could Only Remember My Name and some Dire Straits, the Dead's Reckoning, and The Pentangle's first. These are all vinyl. I really don't need to shake the earth and my Thiels won't, but they do go deep enough to keep that grin on my face. For the most part I mostly listen to jazz and world music, but when I'm feeling dark I'll put on a politically incorrect and twisted Velvet Underground album and then I'm back in The City again.

BTW - The Thiels throw a wide enough soundstage but it's not very deep. This is another characteristic that I crave.
david12
1,454 posts
 
A number of good suggestions there. I have uised a 20 watt SET integrated for years and have found speakers of 89db sensitivity and up will do fine with my amp, as long as the impedence is benign. That is flat and 6ohms and above.

some other speakers I have used which seemed to go well

Living Voice Avatars
Acoustic Zen Adagios
Daedalus Da-Ra Mas
The last are way the best, but a bit out of your price range, if you can't find them second hand, which you wo'nt
kennythekey OP
593 posts
 
Thanks David, this is a good basis to go by. I will check out your recommendations.

One thing to note is that I'm not using a SET amp, nor is there a 300B involved. I'm having built a one-of-a-kind triode integrated using original Dynaco A470 transformers by Sam's Audio Labs. Besides the transformers, the circuitry is new and Sam uses a push-pull topology with EL34s and his own compensating circuits. Sam usually does restorations and transformations but this is more like a prototype.
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