Leben Owners: which speakers do you use?


I was talking to a fellow Audiogoner about our Leben CS300XS; he made the very good point that the model is in an unusual area: "it's not low powered set, not mid-powered like a lot of el84, el34, and kt88 push-pull tube amps." So maybe you have to take care speaker matching?

He's using Audio Note AN/Ks and liking them. I have Devore Nines and like them a lot (though for various reasons I am moving the Nines somewhere else and I'll be on the hunt for new speakers... hence the thread). I know Devore is a natural for these, maybe partly due to In Living Stereo/Tone Imports (that's where I heard the combo and fell for it).

Anyone else? What have you found? Especially the smaller Leben, but 600s too.
price
Any of the excellent Coincident Technology speakers would be a good match. From the bookshelf Triumph Extreme II's, the $10,000 Super Victory's, and even the more expensive Total Victory V's.

The Coincident speakers are very low-powered amp friendly (although they also can sound great with high powered amps). The Coincident speakers don't have any low dips in resistance--they stay very constant, generally from 6 ohms and higher. Plus, these speakers stay very true to the source signal. So if you have quality power and quality source components youwill get great sound.

Another potential speaker buy would be the Vaughn Cabernet's, at around $8,500 direct from the manufacturer. They sound excellent and are a great bargain at their price and quality.

Greg
I use British Audio Note AN-e speakers with my Leben 660P power amp, which is tubed with vintage GEC KT 66 and they are a match made in heaven.
I recently heard a Leben 300x paired with Tonian TL-D1s and it was a fantastic combo. IMO, the Devores aren't quite efficient enough to allow the Leben 300x to sing to its full potential when it comes to dynamics and detail. OTOH, the Devores deliver a nice, rich sound. I have a friend who's about to pair a Leben 300x with some Tekton Lores, should be interesting.
By my previous comment about Devore efficiency, I am of course referring to the 8s and 9s, as opposed to the Orangutans...
I'm using Totem Forests which are only 87db but sound fantastic with the 300xs.
I wasn't 100% sure until I rolled out the Sovtek EL84's in favour of NOS Philips EL84's with the GE 5751's. As soon as the the Philips went in the sound clicked. Also sure very dependant on cables.....Transparent Musiclink Plus (trying some Supers this week) and an audiophile power cable.
After over 40 years of box swapping I feel that at last I ahve reached the end of my audio journey. Fantastic amp!!