Rockport Atria II or Magico A5

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.  

Davey,

You are 100% correct, it can be costly AND a big hassle if someone buys the wrong speaker for their situation , including budget, room interaction and their personal preferences.

Your last paragraph sums up my sentiments and how I operate. With anyone that is looking at Magico or any other 88db-90db or lower than these number efficiency ratings I ALWAYS discuss what the appropriate amplification requirements would be.

I would find first find out if what they own is appropriate to drive the new speakers that they are contemplating. If it’s not I would tell them. Then work with them if it’s in their budget to upgrade their amplification to drive the speakers appropriately.

Another IMPORTANT variable regarding power is the size of their room AND loud they listen,  I have certain customer that literally NEVER turn it up above a 70db listing level in a small room.  They might be totally fine with a STRONG 30 WATT PP tube amp for their listing requirements.  It really comes down to each customer's overall equation.

Besides driving a speaker appropriately also selecting the type of speaker (dynamic, horns, electrostatic, open baffle, ported/non-ported, all ribbon, hydbrids, etc) and the appropriate size of speaker, not too large or too small for their room as well are all considerations when selecting the right speaker for an individual.

I personally take all of these variables into account when looking at a customer’s equation and make sure that they understand all of the amplification, appropriate size and type speakers for their room, which will deliver great sonics.

Rhapsody probably sells 70% of it’s gear to customer’s who NEED this type of advice. The 30% of "audiophile" customers that we sell to are almost always aware of the variables involved in buying the "right" or "wrong" speaker for their situation.