High efficiency monitors for SET amp in small room - budget 2.5k

yogiboy - you’re essentially correct, when I take measurements while listening I average between 70-80db, with transient peaks around 90db at most.  In fact, My current speakers are Harbeth SHL5+, which sound quite beautiful.  But they are, in fact, too much speaker for the room and I should really use smaller monitors.  You’re right, though, this doesn’t have much to do with efficiency.

I’ve had so many fellow Harbeth owners give me hell for not feeding the SHL5+ more power, I guess I wanted to see what higher efficiency speakers would get out of this amp.  Sometimes I do feel like the speakers are a bit congested at lower levels.  I don’t know if higher efficiency speakers would wring more detail out of the amp at low volumes?

Love my Omega Super 3i Monitors and DeepHemp 8 Subwoofer. I have them paired with a 2 wpc Decware amp and the sound quality is stunning. And this is with their entry-level speaker. I can only imagine the sound quality as you move up the line. BTW, the vast majority of my listening time is devoted to Jazz.

If you listen to chamber music and jazz in a small room why do you think you need high efficiency speakers?

...you’re essentially correct, when I take measurements while listening I average between 70-80db, with transient peaks around 90db at most.

Because this isn't about loudness measurements. A crying baby will run laps around that range (70 - 90), in that room.

A high efficiency speaker will deliver the music with more ease, with more fleetness of foot, present as less strained, time more naturally, etc., etc.

David_ten, thanks for your comment. What you’re suggesting is exactly what I’m curious about with respect to a higher efficiency speaker. What I’m looking for is something that lets me inside the music even at lower volumes. The Harbeths are very sweet speakers, and I love their tonal balance, but I do find myself driving the volume up beyond what I would like to in order to retrieve inner details in the music.