Speakers free of grain, glare and steel?

I've heard the Merlin and the Fritz speakers. I think you'd be happy with either, but with your amp I would lean toward the Fritz Carbon 7.

Clio09, Why do you say that? Are you familiar with my amp?

I have a pair of the TADs also.

I bought them for my second system as more of a SS equivalent of a tube amp.

I like them a lot. I have never used these with the OHMs but have used similar power SS amps with the OHMs in the past and the results were very good.

I think those are viable amps for all three speakers you mentioned. I'm interested to hear about your findings.

OHM is running a good sale through July 1, so keep that in mind if you think you are serious about giving them a try.

Thanks for the heads-up, Mapman. I noticed they were having a sale, I talked to John S. yesterday. At this point it boils down to making a choice and hoping for the best. Free home trials are great -- Fritz and Ohm offer them, Merlin doesn't
-- but there's always shipping costs and inconvenience for both the manufacturers and myself to consider. The Ohm sale applies only to the older style cabinets, not the new ones with the rounded edges, which I prefer.

BTQ, Mapman, my preamp and dac are also TAD. 1950's pinched waist Philips tubes. CD transport is CEC, cabling is a combination of Synergistic R, A Zen, and Tube Research Labs.