First of all, apologies for the drift away from the thread title. This is ultimately an Omega loudspeaker post, as I'll get my HOSAs delivered sometime in the near future, but bear with me . . .
This is crazy! I was listening to my Sonus faber Chameleon B speakers via the LTA MZ2 preamp and First Watt F6 when I decided to try out the MZ2's one-watt speaker outputs. I also use a Dayton 12" subwoofer, using a light touch with its settings. It seemed like a pointless chore and I had just moved into a new house this week, so I had more pressing things to take care of in the meantime. Holy crap! I was expecting a thin and weak sound, but with the volume pot at 50% it was loud and sweet! I was listening to Black Uhuru's Red album and went straight to "Sponji Reggae" and I couldn't ask for a more beautiful experience. Then I put on one of my favorite music/sonics CDs, Buena Vista Social Club. Again, plenty loud and beautiful. Now I'm listening to Kind of Blue and I don't want to leave the house. But chores don't take care of themselves. . . . I guess the Chameleons are easy to drive, as Sonus fabers rates them at 87 dB.
I can't wait to hear this setup with Louis's far more sensitive speakers. But I'm astonished what a nominally one-watt OTL amp sounds like through a pair of inefficient bookshelf speakers.