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Speaker Suggestions for 300b SET Amp

I built an Elekit 8600 300b set amp recently.  It's amazing. I maxed out upgrades (all Takman resistors, Mundorf top end caps, solder/wiring, etc.).  It's a wonderful amp. It cost me $2k to build it and it's glorious.


My issue hasn't been the amp, but finding speakers that I want to use with it.  


I started with Omega XRS 8 Juniors (~$2k). I broke them in for 300 hours and, while they did get better, they largely sounded like the top and bottom ends were just truncated off at both ends the sound spectrum. They sounded more akin to a transistor radio speaker. I feel terrible to say that and I hope others really love them and hear them differently, as the company is great and the owner is wonderful. They just weren't for me.


So, I just paired the 300b up with some inefficient speakers (both KEF LS50s and Wharfedale 80th anniversary Dentons). Both speakers were part of other systems I have.  Both sets, and especially the cheaper Wharfedales, just sing with the 300b.  They do not play particularly loud given their efficiency ratings, yet they sound wonderful for very close nearfield listening. 


But what I'd like to do is go a bit more into the full range speaker category without buying a massive product. Or, I consider a smaller bookshelf/monitor if it were more efficient.


What speakers do folks like with their 300bs?  


128x128jbhiller
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Cal,
Which direction are you leaning toward,  keeping the amp or speaker? Didn't you have a good match with your prior Coincident Super Eclipse?
Charles 
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
@charles1dad Still 6 months until I get my stereo back, so I have no idea. I do really enjoy the SEIIIs, but think I'm pushing them too hard in my space (21ft ceilings in an open floor plan). The PREs were definitely more precise, but I wasn't able to extract any bass with the Franks. The tweeters were "hotter" as well. Hopefully I'll get the chance to start figuring out what direction to go in August when I move back into my house. Money may be a bit tight though so I'm not sure I'll be able to pull off the full shootout I'd really like to do.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,841 posts
 
If 7 watts won’t do it, you’ll need a lot more power due to the logarithmic characteristic of the human ear.

The hotter tweeters were the result of simply pushing the amps too hard.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
Thanks Ralph. If I get the chance to do an amp shootout for the PREs, you're on the list.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,300 posts
 
Having researched this issue myself now for quite a while, if I were running a SET and looking for good sounding HE speakers to match on a budget, that can play ANY kind of music well, Klipsch Heresy III, hands down, easy decision. These were originally designed for flea powered tubes amps of the day ~ 50 years ago and are still around (track record) and the latest versions I’ve heard sound wonderful, none of the bad things one often hears from audiophiles about high efficiency horns apply.  See the various online reviews for more evidence of this.
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