Looking for advice on these speakers

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.

Actusreus,
I don't listen to very much rock or electric blues music ( I'm probably 90%
acoustic small and large scale varieties). When I do play rock it is
"very" good at moderate and loud volumes there's much
palpable energy, flow and presence. Drums are noticeably dynamic and
deliver much impact and the overall sense of timing is exceptional IMO.

The Stereo Mojo review that Metralla cited earlier is accurate and James
Darby captured the essence of the Coincident pairing well. He said he could
listen at 100db average SPLs without sensing any strain or running out of
gas( and he has a very spacious listening room). I don't know what your
volume levels are but I'm much lower, average
for me is 75-85 db range. Most often I'm using fractions of 1 watt of power.
Again withyour speaker list I don't believe that you'll go wrong given you
room size. I think the SV might be the better fit vs the larger Total Victory(
which has two 12"" woofers per speaker).


Based on my experience I believe you would be satisfied with either a good
quality 300b or 845 SET.845s will generally cost more and offer more power
( which you may or may not need). I'd focus more on the amplifier's built
quality and execution.

with its two 12" woofers per speaker.
Charles,

A slight clarification to the otherwise excellent comments Charles provided. As I read it the mention of briefly listening to 100 db average SPLs in the Darby review was not with the SV/Franks pairing, it was with a pair of 2000 wpc Spectron monoblocks.

Best of luck, Marek.

-- Al