Rockport Atria II or Magico A5

The only point that I would make regarding my amp suggestions, is that I would say the same pertaining toYG, Wilson, Rockport etc and almost every dynamic/cabinet speaker. Not the same with horns or other higher efficiency speakers or course.

So, if low wattage tube amps are ones desire, then more efficient speakers are appropriate.

I personally try to find the speaker that I like and then amplify it appropriately vs finding a speaker that matches the types of amps that I want to listen to. But I understand the lure of low wattage SET’s or even low wattage tube PP amps. All personal preference. Many great choices for everyone these days.

Happy Holidays!

I think the philosophy of finding the speaker first and then trying to acquire the appropriate amp could lead to an expensive mistake. Take for instance the pricey YG’s  ( which I think are excellent speakers), here we have a good example. One of my friends buys the YG’s, which takes up a chunk of his budget ( a BIG chunk); he now attempts to find an amp that works well with these YG’s, given his budget...lets just say that he is more than disappointed at the results!! So, what to do, increase the budget significantly ( not always possible), or live with the result of having an amp/speaker mismatch and not getting what he paid for with the speaker, or lastly--sell the YG’s and get a speaker that will fit his budget and be well driven by an amp that will will allow said speaker to give off its best. Again, the latter is probably an expensive endeavor. OTOH, if one is very familiar with the amp that one is going to be using, then matching up a ’synergistic’ speaker to this amp- will probably result in a more ’appropriate’ result.
Bob, I appreciate your thinking--and certainly the more efficient horn type designs are going to be easier to drive than the dynamic/cabinet speaker, BUT shouldn’t the consumer of the YG/Magico/Wilson/Rockport type design be very aware of the drive requirements of these type of speaker...and their limitations? I am sure you are one of the dealers who is going to take this into consideration before suggesting a speaker for purchase ( and educate your customer), but you would be surprised how many dealers out there have no clue about this issue!! ( or, do know, and don’t care anyhow, just so long as they can make the sale!!)

I used to have Harbeth 30.1s and 30.2s - both around 86-87dB sensitivity. One of the major threads in the Harbeth user group is about amp power for the speakers.  Interestingly, the owner, Alan Shaw is firm that any amp over 25W will be sufficient. By far though, the consensus within the Harbeth owner's group is min a100w.  I wonder if Harbeth is unique in the concern many of its owners give to amp power, or if other owner's groups do as well.  

Harbeth’s seem to like some power upstream. But, I suppose from Alan Shaw’s perspective 25 watts is enough to drive them. There certainly does seem like there are folks who like to listen at low levels in small rooms, and those that like concert hall levels in large rooms...each will have a different power requirement for their speakers. Used to be back in the day that the saying was: 15 watts will fill a church! While this is probably true, they forgot to say what the church will be filled with, LOL!

Good point.  I'd expect 25w sufficient for a Londoner audiophile seeking to fill an exhorbitanly expensive- and very tiny - flat in London.  Smart marketing.