Looking for advice on these speakers

You have good taste and these three brands are highly respected and
admired. I'll offer this opinion, SET amplifiers will potentially sound best
with simpler- minimalist speaker crossovers and higher(and flat) ohm
loads. All three of these speakers are high sensitivity, but the Orangutan
and the
Coincident have higher ohm load and I believe simpler xovers than
Daedalus ( relatively speaking). Of course the amplifier matters, are you
seeking 300b, 845, 211, 2A3 tubes? The Daedalus "may" require
a bit more drive than the other two choices. I'm not sure Daedalus
recommends SET amplifiers with the same unbridled enthusiasm as the
other two models(specifically built with SET in mind) you list. The
Orangutan is a simple two way with one xover. Coincident is a 3 way but
strives for minimal capacitor use. Daedalus models have 3 or 4 xover
boards per the web site description. In reality I don't know how much it
comes into play, but it's a more complex xover network in comparison. At
the very least it's a factor to keep in mind. Good luck to you.

Stereo Mojo were very enthusiastic in their review of the Coincident Super Victory. Speaker of the Year 2008

"The Coincident Super Victory’s are extraordinary in some areas such as their ability to play at significant levels with very low output amplifiers such as SET’s and their uncanny ability to sound very good with many types of amplification without being “forgiving” or compromising the sound quality."

http://www.stereomojo.com/CoincidentSuperVictorySpeakerReview/CoincidentSuperVictorySpeakerReview.htm

A few months later they reviewed the Total Victory but were more reserved in their review, and James Darby actually thought that the cheaper speakers ($5k cheaper) had more magic.

You can't hear them as I understand, so you may as well listen to what Darby says. Unless you have a huge room, the Supers would be better.

Some have said that Coincident efficiency ratings may be slightly overstated. I own Super Eclipses and got quite an appreciable improvement changing from 8w SETs to 18w SETs.

The Daedalus line have their supporters, and they are very nicely made. They received plaudits at the RMAF last year, and were rated by some as one of the best rooms at the show. But I tend to agree with Charles1dad that they may be slightly more demanding and suited to amps of more than 8w (300B).

I don't know the DeVore range at all, but 96dB/w/m is impressive. The DeVore Orangutan 0/96 could be the one if you are going with a SET with lower power than the 300B.

Back to Stereo Mojo - Darby wrote "I’d buy the Super Vic’s, the Frankenstein monoblocks and the new Coincident Statement Linestage we just reviewed. For about $20k, you’d have a system that takes a back seat to nothing in terms of pure musically and supreme satisfaction."

Regards,

Room size will determine the appropriate speaker choice as Metralla points
out. The Super Victory is said to work well in small to moderately large
rooms. The Total Victory V better for substantial sized spaces. Devore has
an Orangutan 0/93 for smaller rooms. In the mentioned price range is the
Austrian made Trenner-Friedl Pharoah which is considered SET friendly. A
lot depends on which type of SET will be used and room size. There are
very respected folks on this site who love their Zu Definitions IV speakers,
though they may need some space to sound their best.Many fine choices/
combinations are possible.
Charles,

Hi Marek,

Excellent comments by the others, as might be expected, including the reference by Charles to your good taste. Those are all fine speakers. Some additional miscellaneous comments:

I would rule out the Silverback Reference, as John Atkinson's measurements in Stereophile indicated a sensitivity of only 89.5 db/2.83 volts/1 meter, which is equivalent to 89.5 db/1 watt/1 meter for its nominally 8 ohm impedance.

The Daedalus Argos is designed to have stable imaging and consistent sonics across a wide range of listening angles, making it particularly suitable for large rooms, rooms with open floor plans, and home theatre applications. If your critical listening would be primarily from a centered position, the Ulysses and the Athena would probably be better choices.

I believe that the present cost of the Ulysses slightly exceeds your budget.

As you may be aware, Daedalus offers 30 day return privileges, less two-way shipping and $300.

Although the 6 to 8 ohm impedances of the Daedalus models are lower than those of some of the other speakers, their impedances are extremely flat, with no dips to low values at any frequency, and they have very benign phase angle characteristics. Particularly since the introduction of the "all poly" crossover a few years ago. Nevertheless, I would be hesitant to pair them with a 300B or lower powered SET, even one as robustly made as the Frankensteins which Charles uses. Unless, that is, the room is small, your listening distance is relatively close, and (most importantly) your critical listening does not include recordings having particularly wide dynamic range (e.g., well engineered minimally compressed classical symphonic recordings).

Physical factors may also be relevant, for practical and/or aesthetic reasons. In particular, the O/96 is 18 inches wide, so you would be placing 36 inches of speakers across the front wall. And the TV V weighs 200 pounds, and is 22 inches deep.

Best of luck as you proceed.

-- Al

The Orangs are also designed to be way out into the room and not against the wall like the Audio Notes.