Best speakers for 2A3 SET amplifier?

Phill -- Not to beat a dead horse, but there are many who think that horns play no music well (I hasten to add I'm not in that camp -- but also to add that I've never heard a horn that plays "everything" well). And your response was, to quote fully: "You need a horn over 100 dB sensitivity." That's it -- no more. Any "quality" horn? Klipsches? Altec VOTs? Or only your multi-kilobuck horns? What defines "quality?" You've heard horns that fully reproduce the bottom octave? Where? You've heard every dynamic speaker, and not one will reproduce music well on 3.5 watts? Brentworths? Lowthers? And what are "realistic levels?" The average low 80s dB of the concert hall? Or must realistic levels include ear damage and pants flapping? Most audiophile society meetings I've attended have featured music at headache-inducing levels -- is this realistic enough? I can attest that both ProAcs and Von Schweikerts, for example, will do full-scale concert dynamics in a 10 x 20 room, with overhead to spare, on a typical 2A3 amp. And there are many other candidates...have you heard all of them? Any of them? Or are you just telling everybody that you like your speakers, and everyone else needs 100+ dB horns because you do? Or is it possible that your best is not the best for everyone, everywhere?

It is impossible for any Proac or Von Schweikert to do full-scale concert dynamics in a 10x20 room on a typical 2A3 amp. Haven't heard the Brentworth, but don't bother to mention that Lowther junk! I'd rather take a drill to my head than listen to Lowthers.

I agree with the statement disputing the claim, both "ProAcs and Von Schweikerts, for example, will do full-scale concert dynamics in a 10 x 20 room, with overhead to spare, on a typical 2A3 amp." To me, "full scale concert dynamics" range from 100 - 110+ dB. A 5 watt amp, powering even a flat 8 ohm, 93 dB sensitive speaker, would not be able to reach those levels "with room to spare". I am love with a certain 3.6 watt 2A3(and will hopefully buy one). As great as this amp is, with the dynamic speakers I have listened to it with(more benign loads than any Von Schweikert), it never had this kind of drive. Yes, it is ADEQUATE(and a WONDERFUL) amp, but you are making a similar analogy to a car being able to pull a freight train. Ain't going to happen. Let's rejoice in the beauty of a great 2A3(and its superior sound compared to a 300B), but we need to remain realistic.

Trelja -- Is 100 - 110 Db necessary to replicate the full dynamic scale of an orchestra? Having sat in the orchestra with SPL meter in hand, even Wagnerian climaxes barely nudged into the 95- 97 Db range, orchestra in fullest throat. I think what happens is that people confuse the sheer volume pressure of air being moved by the orchestra with loudness (even a soft tympani strike will move lots of air, albeit at very low volume) -- and no home speaker of any stripe will reproduce that effect with realism, horn, planar, or dynamic design. So instead, the volume control moves skyward to compensate, to give us that feeling of being enveloped in huge masses of air -- and we wind up listening at levels that far exceed the actual concert levels (please note that this applies to an unamplified symphonic concert orchestra -- the last Who concert I attended went waaaay over 110 Db, but then, my ears rang for quite some time afterward! Have you ever left a 3 hour Mahler concert complaining of the loudness?). So in my former living room, peaks in the mid-nineties were indeed sufficient to reproduce realistic levels, i.e., the actual concert level -- but as noted, no speaker will allow you to believe that 120 instruments are playing in that same 10' x 20' room.

Mjm, I understand your points. I myself, do not listen very loudly(80 - 90 dB). I am basically relating my experience in dealing with a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He came to a store I was involved with for audio equipment. He listened SO loudly 115 db and higher, we all had to leave him to his own devices. Absolutley ear bleeding. He maintained that this was the realistic volume of an orchestra(I guess from where he was sitting). He demanded his equipment be able to play that loud. I would wager that he is not the owner of a 2A3 based system. As I have evolved from quantity of sound to quality of sound, 80 - 90 db is fine for me. This level is certainly attainable with tube or SET amps, and easy to drive loudspeakers. So, I really don't worry. I also maintain that horn or dynamic speaker, if you are happy with your system, THAT is all that matters. Happy listening.