Starting a second system, need efficient speaker suggestions.


Just picked up a Cary SLI80 HS and need some speakers.

The amp is 80 watts or 40 watts triode. Reviews say triode sounds best. Room is 12x26x7 dedicated listening room in the basement.

I have a couple subs, so if they don't have the deepest bass, I can live with that. 

Budget around 4k.

traudio

What sound characteristics are you looking for, and are you looking for new or used?

First: triode better?

Me, and everyone prefers Ultralinear to Triode here, You will find reviewers saying this and that. I think you can plan on your amp sounding great at 80wpc. You might find a particular type of recording that you prefer triode, but I am sure you will use Ultralinear primarily

at 7' high ceiling, I would not go for a big woofer,

these on ebay

B&W Nautilus 805

should sound great, and if you want more bass, sub's it is. I recommend self-powered, stereo pair, front firing, located adjacent to the mains. Bass directionality comes from the overtones, 40, 80, 160, 320 .... 

Sensitivity: 88. That is a bit low, you will be ok,

however, if you use subs, and you remove the low bass requirement from the amp, i.e. pre-out, crossover in sub, back to amp, amp now sending only upper bass, mids, highs to the b&w, the 80 wpc will be plenty.