300B Speakers, Reynaud & Reference 3A

My room is 11 x 13.6 x 8, plaster with cove ceiling, hardwood floor w/ plush carpet and pad. I sit in a relative nearfield (9ft from front plane of the speakers). I have heard two speakers with the Lowther driver, both homemade) and it sounded as if I would need to be somewhat farther away. Both speakers had an inner "fingernail on chalkboard" sound even though driven by 2A3s and 300Bs. Also, my Air Tight 300B is not the quietest amp around and I'd like to go no more efficient that 92db. However, I do want to thank every one for all info given, found everything very useful. My hat's off to Audiogoners once again! Any other suggestions of 90-92db (w/ stable impedance loads) speakers?

Tom: Not so fast as my experience has been quite the opposite from that of S. of Sound in regard to the Reynaud Twins.

I have owned the Twins for going on two years now and ran them for a year with an Audion Silver Night 300B Stereo SET in a room much larger than yours (see my system which is listed for the room details).

Bass was never a problem with this particular setup (the only problem being full scale classical @ higher/loud volumes, when the sound stage started to shrink/compress).

I once set this system up in our spare room (approx. 10' x 14') and in this application the combo handled all types of music @ any sane sound level (bass had impact as well as tonality).

I have also used a vintage Pilot 232 power amp (approx. 12 EL84 push/pull watts) and again no bass problems (a very nice/balanced sound, but lacking the depth of SET's).

The end result depends on the specific amp used (not the power rating), IMO. My 50 watt SS Musical Fidelity X-A1 amp displayed less bass control and depth than either of the tube amps mentioned above and the speakers never really opened up.

My current setup is not a good match (2A3's with the Twins), but this is temporary until I can afford another 300B amp for them (the Bottlehead gear will then be moved to the smaller room with different speakers).

Many of the Audio Note speakers would do the trick. I would suggest you contact Joe from JC Audio and get his advice.
These speakers are based on the old Snell design and have between 93db and 95db sensitivity with an easy amp load. They will work very well with 300b's.
They don't look like much which is why I believe they are often overlooked but they will outperform many speakers at much higher price points.

I've driven my JMR wins with a Cary SEI-300B and it worked extremely well on most music. In fact, I'd say it was jaw dropping - rich midrange, airy highs, and deep articulated bass. The most amazing vocals and acousic instruments that I have ever heard on my speakers. As mentioned above, can't be beat for small jazz, chamber music, quartets, etc. And it could go L-O-U-D.

Depending on the size of your room, musical taste, and how loud you like to listen it could be a match made in heaven.

The problem I found was that the Cary ran out of steam on complex passages. It was like the music collapsed inwards on itself. All bass whatsoever disappeared. Some knowledgeable SET fanatics told me that this was probably more a power supply problem of the amp than the low wattage.

You really need to hear the matchup for yourself before deciding. SET + Twins is a magical combination. Although, matching the JMR speakers with just about anything is great. Of course, I'm horribly biased :o)

Tom, just for reference, did you listen to Lowthers that were 1 year old or more? There have been major changes to the Lowther drivers in this past year. The model names remained the same. They have rolled the suspension surround inwards for smoother response, and have put a rolled edge on the whizzer cone to virtually eliminate the upper midrange anomalies known as "Lowther shout". It is a much more refined sounding speaker now. After about 200 hours of break-in these speakers are very fine sounding units. Perhaps another listen, with the new drivers?