High efficiency speakers around $500

Nope none at all . But have been thinking about getting some for myself. The Designer/Owner of the company is a former employee of ZU. I have read nothing but good things about his speakers but have not heard them for myself. I can't help but think they would sound great ,being a single driver/Fostex based design.

Omega Mini - Medalloins, they are not listed but they still make them on special order they say, about 400 for the pair at about 96 db.

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...?topic=39544.0

http://www.omegaloudspeakers.com/

I think you made the right choice. With 15 watts, you don't really need high sensitivity speakers, you just need average (or medium) sensitivity speakers. This may seem counter-intuitive, but without an active high-pass crossover, you won't even gain any loudness advantage by choosing high sensitivity speakers. This is because high sensitivity drivers typically have very low excursion (Xmax) and if they're ported for bass, you'll push them to their volume limits with relatively little power. 15 watts is enough to push many conventional speakers louder with less distortion.

Also, the harsh reality is that there aren't any truly good high sensitivity speakers, especially if decent bass is important to you. For instance, I'm not aware of any manufacturer of single driver speakers who currently uses baffle step compensation. They don't do it because it pushes efficiency down by 3dB, but not including it makes the speaker sound thin on the low end. Omega tries to get around this by making their front baffles wide (which is positive, at least they try to do something), but it's hardly a fully solution. Similarly, most single driver speaker vendors do not correct for the peak in midrange response that comes with the territory. There are a handful of expensive Fostex drivers where this is less of a problem, but not in the price range you're looking at for finished speakers. I'm serious about this, not trying to make a denigrating comment... if you want to get an idea of how most high efficiency speakers sound, listen to a pair of first generation iPod stock earbuds. These are single driver designs with a similar frequency response to most high-efficiency and single-driver speakers. Some people love this sound, but unless you really want it, it's better to stick to conventional designs.

Another vote for Klipsch!

i had 94dB efficient vintage speaker and the T-amp farted the bass lines. the clipping was really bad, and in reality the T-amp only outputs 5W for an 8ohm load. be wary of manufacterer power ratings. it makes more sense to buy an amp based on your speaker selection IMHO.

The Trends TA-10 is based on the ta2024 chipset and puts out about 15w/ch, not 5, like the si t-amp.

If that's the sound you like, you should try stuffing the ports of the Klipsch speakers with rolled up socks. This will change the bass rolloff to be a little earlier (giving a leaner sound) but extend a little deeper. It will also improve the bass group delay, which will make the bass sound tighter and faster (though perception of bass group delay is a subjective thing). This also helps with small rooms. In any case, it's an tweak that doesn't cost anything and is worth experimenting with.