Reco's for small, efficient speakers?

I've been doing some research along these lines myself because we are moving into a smaller space and I may have to sell my Swans due to their size and space requirements.

I got a chance to briefly listen to the Paradigm Atoms and PDR-8 Sub and I have to say for the modest asking price the Atoms really do perform well, I think I could actually live with them which is saying a lot for a speaker that's $250 Canadian. I was quite amazed with the fact that while the PD-8 did give the music more weight and extension, it really wasn't a requirement. I've also listened to the Mission M71i's which are also quite impressive for their low asking price.

Other's that have intrigued me but I haven't had a chance to listen to are the Epos ELS-3's, Alon Lil' Rascals, Triangle Titus 202's, JM Labs Chorus 706 and 707's and also the Buggtussel Circa's from Todd.

The Epos may be a winner but possibly a hard drive for a lower powered tube amp. The Alon's might be acceptable but again may not be the easiest drive. It's well documented that the Titus' works well with low powered tube gear and is considered a real bargain for the asking price. The JM Labs speakers at least by spec. should work well with your amp as well. The 706 S and 707 S are relatively new and there's not a lot of info out there on them yet but you should be able to find some place to audition them fairly easily in NYC. Lastly, I don't know much about Buggtussel speakers but the Circa looks pretty interesting. I'd recommend getting a hold of Todd to see what his thoughts are on them.

I should also add Axiom and Ascend speakers that are available factory direct. Both have well reviewed speakers and may be worth a try as well.

Hope that gives you some help or at least some options to look into.

on cheap, very efficient, small loudspeakers, I'd like to hear the omega line : http://www.omegaloudspeakers.com They're full range speakers, a real easy load. And they received a lot of good reviews.

I would stay away of the mission 7.1. I didn't like them at all, really nothing special for the price (but they're 270€ here).

Aren't the Cicada's a floorstander?

The only thing that's really turned me off the Axiom's is reports that they lean towards brightness. This isn't a universal opinion though so I suspect it's due more to associated equipment, a nice tube amp could be a wonderful match with them.

If you like the Atom's don't rule out the PDR-8 sub either, it's tiny in comparison to other subs but should add a decent amount of extension.

I would say in your price range though you may be able to find a bit better than the Atom's. If a smaller floorstander isn't a problem you might want to check out the Castle Pembroke's on special at Audio Advisor. These have been the front runners in what I've been looking at mainly because I can get a pretty good deal on them, they don't need stands and are supposed to be easy to place because of the downward firing port, plus, at least in my household, they have great wife appeal. The only thing that really holds me back is I haven't heard them and there isn't a lot of info floating around about them. I am fairly familiar with Castle's though and have always liked what I've heard from them so in that respect they may be a safer bet for me then others.

I see Axiom's recommended here a lot. How are they compared to say, the old NHT Super One's?
My first jump to mid fi was a pair of Linn Index's. I compared them with Dalhquist and some ADS and found them very good.
It use's a KEF woofer and a Linn tweeter, very plain looking too.
Paid retail at $600. If you can find one used go for it.
But like the post above definately get a sub to supplement the speakers. I was very happy with my NHT super one's with a Velodyne 8 " sub.
Good Luck.

I heard the new Quad 11Ls recently and I liked them alot. I cannot remeber the price in US dollars though.

I'll put in my vote for the Von Schweikert VR-1s, retail is $995.00 but you could probably find them for less somewhere. I drove them for a time with Drewski's N.E.W. tubed pre/amp that is around 20W if I recall correctly. It sounded wonderful.

I second the Triangle Titus 202. With a sensitivity of 90 db/W/M, their an ideal match with low-powered tube amplifiers.

BTW, someone is asking $400 obo, for a pair on Audiogon.

Their "expert" email me that h personally preffer the M22tis, or even the M2Ti over the M3ti, something related with the tonal balance IIRC:

"....the M22's midrange and upper-octave response has greater clarity and detail than the M3ti, which is still very good. When you A/B these two, the M3ti seems softer-sounding, more laid-back, and not as clear and transparent as the M22.
By the way, the M2i is very close to the M22ti in tonal balance, especially in the midrange and highs. I prefer it to the M3ti, but it doesn't have as much bass...."

I have recommended the JMLabs before but one I am looking at myself is the Athena F2. This is a pretty large floorstander with two 8' woofers and a silk dome tweeter. These weigh 51 lbs and seem well built. I generally stick with JMLab chorus 707 size speakers that are aound 20" high on 16"stands. I find though floorstanders are almost easier that dealing with the stands. Whats intriguing about the F2's is their high sensitivity. They measured 93.5 db sensitivity @1w/1m in tests. Rather than failing to meet their claimed sensitivity they actually exceed it. Their impedence minimum is 4.5 ohms. Finally they cost $599 new plus shipping. You can get them through Audio Advisor and shipping to you is very reasonable. Since they come from AA they have a 30 day return. High sensitivity for your 18 watts, easy to drive, good sound, reasonable price, 30 day return priviledge; I am thinking about trying them with my 25 watter. They have a couple reviews on them from Soundatge and Stereophile on-line if you want to research them. They seem promising.

Hi jpelg! I love my Paradigms (have Studio 20s and Mini-Monitors) but I don't think they are an efficient speaker suited to tubes, they're somewhere in the middle. I don't know if you like to build things but I have a Bottlehead Straight 8 kit that's just awaiting the purchase of some wood and it looks good. By all accounts they sound great too - although of course those accounts come from people who have built them, and they may be more than a little proud of their creations and therefore not so objective.

Think of it this way. At $600 + a bit more for some MDF and veneer you're saving a fair bit of money over some commercially available speakers. If you don't already have a good router, table saw, workbench etc. then there's money to spare for those things! Remember, you're not spending, you're saving. Works for shoes, should work on speakers.