I get most of my stuff second hand; stuff which had been close to the top of the line ten years ago or reasonable priced high end gear that got slapped with an A or B rating in Stereophile in kinder days. I now drive very fine sounding Vandersteen 2ces with a Conrad-Johnson PV-10 preamp and a Rotel RB-991 solid state muscle amp running at 200 watts. For some time now I've been happy with this combo but once again dissatisfaction has set in. First of all, I love all tube systems. But the Vandersteens don't. My current setup is a compromise which gives me satisfactory sound for mostly large orchestra classical listening, meaning the Big Romantic stuff from modern instrument Beethoven to Wagner, Burckner, Mahler, Sabelius, Shostakovitch, etc.
Now, I've gone after my disatisfaction in the Amp and Preamp Fourm and gotten much helpful advice from some very nice chaps. My objective here is to approach it from the speaker end.
Having had a wonderful experience with a friend's open baffle speakers, which I would have simply bought (at the unbelievable price of $270!) had my wife not vetoed the idea, declaring them simply too ugly to live with. Well, I can't go against that: she lives here, too. So. There it is.
My goal now? Well, how about this? A high efficiency, full range speaker that loves tubes yet will tolerate solid state if it has to. More, that it doesn't oblige me to knock over a Chase branch or take out a second mortgage. What interests me is synergy. I find I've gotten marvelous results with my Conrad-Johnson tubed preamp going into a modified ST-70 or a restored Anthem Integrated 1, using the power stage. Two very different amps. One is EL-34 based, the other EL-84 based. I use them both, depending on my mood. I don't intend to stop with them but no doubt go on later to more refined amps, as my budget permits, but right now I am completely happy with them.
So. Any advise about speakers for such a person? Must he settle? Must he perish? Or is there a life beyond?
Thanks in advance,
Brento