Looking for advice on these speakers

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.

Al,
Thanks for the further clarification on the Daedalus speakers. 6-8 ohm flat
impedance could work out pretty well with a "robust" 300b SET
but would probably be a safer bet with a good 845 SET amplifier.
Sometimes it is hard to predict an amplifier and speaker pairing. Al your
caution regarding the Devore Silverbacks is well reasoned. Yet when Jules
Coleman reviewed this speaker for 6 Moons he eventually preferred his 8
watt Shindo W.E. 300b amp over higher power amplifiers he had tried, so
who knows? Jules listens to a lot of larger scale classical music and jazz.
In an ideal world we'd be able to audition everything in our homes prior to
buying them. In reality we're often limited to relying on rational speculation
and the experiences of component owners with their individual
perspectives. Actusreus how large is your room? What particular SET amps
are you interested in?
Charles,

Thank you all very much for an excellent advice; it's greatly appreciated.

To answer the questions posed, right now I'm leaning toward a 300B SET amp, and actually considering the very amp Charles has, i.e., the Frankenstein from Coincident. I've also been looking at Border Patrol amps, but I think they may be out of my price range when all is factored in. I do not have any experience with the 845 tube (or any other tubes Charles listed, as a matter of fact). I do have some concern about a SET amp not possessing enough steam to offer satisfactory dynamics and punch for rock, which is about 50% of my listening. From what I'm reading, a Coincident speaker or the Orangutan may be a better pairing than the Athena or the Argos. I've read Charles' posts in other threads before posting this one, and it sounds like one can hardly go wrong with a pair of the Franks and a Coincident speaker, especially the SV.

The room size is roughly 20'X12.5'x9', but the long end opens up into an additional 10' by 12.5 kitchen area separated by a large column and a mini bar counter jutting out from the side wall. So it's a decent size room, I'd think.

I spoke with Lou a while ago and he was willing to put me in touch with Daedalus owners in my area, so I may reach out to him again, and possibly Israel, to see if an audition could possibly be arranged.