[strider]

Saw the post about what speakers work with low wattage systems, but I was wondering what specific attributes one would look for when picking out speakers to go with a low wattage amp.

More to the point, I have a DIY Firstwatt F5 clone, stock build, that I run behind either a DIY B1 preamp or an Aikido Octal (6SN7) preamp, that I'm looking to mate with a new set of speakers. The room's 17x25 feet with an open floorplan, 7.5 foot ceilings, with the speakers along the 17' wall.

Rather then throwing out  speaker models that would mate well, if you could help me figure out what to look for that would be great!

Thanks,
Ben

[rollo]

  First high sensitivity of no less than 94db. Second IMO would be number of drivers used. Either single or two way at the most. Or just horns. Have fun trying.


charles

[JoshK]

Do you have two good corners?  Klipschorns are said to work really well, are not expensive and there is a slew of upgrades available for them out there.   You can run 3 watt amps with them. 

How loud do you listen?  What kind of music?  How far away do you sit (that is a big room). 

[strider]

Negative on the corners, the left corner of the front wall has a bathroom door in it I can't get around.

Far as listening habits, I can't listen too loud (altough I can't quantify with a dB level...) because of domestic situation. Usually about 8 feet away from the line made by the front of the speakers, I listen to just about anything. I currently have single driver speakers and I've found myself buying and listening to stuff that sounds good, rather then stuff I like, so I'd like to find a speaker a bit more versatile.

[DaveC113]

Isn't the F5 a PP class A 25 WPC amp?

That's not exactly low power, this amp should drive whatever speakers you want with the exception of very low sensitivity speakers that typically need a high powered amp. However, Pass usually uses high-eff single driver speakers himself and if you like the sound, these are a great option (Omega, Fostex, Feastrex, Lowther). There are also some lines of multi-way speakers that go for high-eff and 1st order xovers, these would work really well too (Daedalus, Coincident, Zu...). Good luck!

[JoshK]

since you are into DIY, I highly suggest Econowave speakers, or the modernization of the concept...
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1291022/hey-guys-we-need-a-little-rallying-here/4320

[srb]

Do you have two good corners?  Klipschorns are said to work really well, are not expensive and there is a slew of upgrades available for them out there.   You can run 3 watt amps with them.

 
Kipschorns are $9,000/pair new and usually $2,000/pair and up used.  Most private sellers won't ship them unless the buyer arranges for an expensive crating and shipping service.  They are 51"H x 31"W x 28"D and weigh 175 lbs. each.

They are designed to be integrated within the room and have a recommended room ratio of 1.00 to .618, ceiling height no lower than 8.5 ft., tight installation into a corner with any baseboard or trim removed and at least 25" of clear wall on both sides.

But they do have a sensitivity of 105dB!

Steve

[DaveC113]

Negative on the corners, the left corner of the front wall has a bathroom door in it I can't get around.

Far as listening habits, I can't listen too loud (altough I can't quantify with a dB level...) because of domestic situation. Usually about 8 feet away from the line made by the front of the speakers, I listen to just about anything. I currently have single driver speakers and I've found myself buying and listening to stuff that sounds good, rather then stuff I like, so I'd like to find a speaker a bit more versatile.

I've listened to a lot of single driver speakers and I know exactly what you mean. I have found Omega brand speakers are very versatile and sound good with a wide variety of music. They also sound very good at low volume levels, which is not going to be the case in speakers w/ xovers to the same degree.

[JoshK]

If you don't want to DIY, I'd opt for a pair of speakers from Audiokinesis.

http://www.audiokinesis.com/akspeakers.html

Gedlee would be good too. 

[strider]

Definitely going the DIY route. When I get some time I'd really like to wade into that Econowave link, looks interesting.

So far I've been looking at the Hawthorne Audio 15" drivers and one of the kits from Danny Ritchie, the X-LS Encore.

The Hawthorne caught my eye because of the concentric design of the tweeter in the woofer, which I believe would be similar in presentation to the single drivers I have. The sensitivity looks good, too.

The X-LS interested me because I'd like to try one of Danny's designs, and can't afford the one I'd really like, the Super V.

[JoshK]

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=104185.40

Duke has something coming before long.  He is looking at the SEOS waveguide, which is the upgrade to the econowave concept I pointed you to earlier.

[smk]

A speaker having a flat impedance curve from 20-20k Hz not dipping below 4Ω.

[opnly bafld]

A speaker having a flat impedance curve from 20-20k Hz not dipping below 4Ω.

F5 owners manual: "It will drive a 2 ohm load without burping, and 1 ohm without misbehaving."

If the diy amp is well built you should not have to worry about speaker impedance.

[strider]

F5 owners manual: "It will drive a 2 ohm load without burping, and 1 ohm without misbehaving."

If the diy amp is well built you should not have to worry about speaker impedance.

The impedance curve of the speakers is one of the things I thought might come into play. There was a really good post in one of the forums about mating low pwer amps and speakers that mentioned impedance curves, but damned if I can find it.

[planet10]

I currently have single driver speakers and I've found myself buying and listening to stuff that sounds good, rather then stuff I like, so I'd like to find a speaker a bit more versatile.

Helper woofers. Relieving the FR of bass duty not only gains you bass, increased dynamics, and greater level capability, it improves the mid-high performance.



Even the little uFonkenSET (2 pr seen behind the left speaker) do really well on dynamic stuff with woofer support in my largish room.


dave

[opnly bafld]

Relieving the FR of bass duty.......

What do you use to hi-pass the FR?

[DaveC113]

What do you use to hi-pass the FR?

Good question... the only way to do it in my system (without significant compromise) would be to replace the output cap in my preamp with one of lower value, and possibly lowering my amp's input impedance depending on the cap values required. I can't see adding a cap after my SE amp's OPTs, would do more harm than good most of the time. I also have a pair of RelCap copper foil output caps in my preamp, replacing them would not be cheap. I have considered it a possibility but rarely listen to very loud music where my single drivers get worked too hard. They can play pretty loud with a full range signal without distorting. This has been on my list of tweaks to try though.... 

edit: I do use a 10" sealed sub xed over 24 dB/oct at 50 Hz.

[InfernoSTi]

I've loved my various Hawthorne Audio speakers (PSI, SSI, and Reference).  Of course, I'm using a 3.5 watt SET amp....

Enjoy,
John

[planet10]

What do you use to hi-pass the FR?

I have been playing with active and passive line-level XOs, and REL style (no HiPass).

dave

[emmvette]

I currently have single driver speakers and I've found myself buying and listening to stuff that sounds good, rather then stuff I like, so I'd like to find a speaker a bit more versatile.

What type of single driver speakers do you currently have?  Are they DIY or a specific model?