[2bigears]

i screwed up and bought the amp first,i think you should buy speakers first....anyway,what full range speaker mates well with a little VAC 30/30???? is there a best in these guys---- Merlin MX,VAS DB99,or Coincident Total Victory.not able to hear any as location is bad.any help thks a lot..        

[JLM]

Listening habits, types of music, room size, price range, and what do you mean by "full range"?

[2bigears]

all types of music,room is 13 * 18,the price of a good set of speakers for this amp is yet to be determined,ya get what you pay for most of the time,i think.        

[toobluvr]

i screwed up and bought the amp first,i think you should buy speakers first....anyway,what full range speaker mates well with a little VAC 30/30???? is there a best in these guys---- Merlin MX,VAS DB99,or Coincident Total Victory.not able to hear any as location is bad.any help thks a lot..        

Great, great amp.  Congrats!

But you have provided insufficient information.
What is your budget?
What are your listening preferences/priorities?
How do you listen.....low or loud?.....nearfield or distant?
What type of sound do you prefer?
Are you a speed, impact and detail type of listener?
Or perhaps PRAT is what does it for ya?
Does a deep, liquid, rich, warm, immersive and engaging sound float your boat?
Or perhaps you prize coherency above all else?

With that amp, I'd say you are targetting, or at least on your way, to a sound that favors the last two objectives.

But without this information, it is impossible to make recommendations that mean anything. And any rec you do receive will be of limited usefulness.

The value of the feedback you receive will be greater if you are less obtuse about what you seek.

[thorman]

Hi : I am not sure if this is the same I replied to recently ,but the ones that come to mind are Merlin Mx, and the Sason from Ridge Street Audio.I am sure others from this site will mention the Salk Sound HT3 also. Oner good thing aboput the" Sason " from Ridge Street is that he does have a return ploicy and he sticks buy it!  I would think anyone of these 3 would work wonders with you VAC . I am sure there are a number of others also, but these 3  come to mind.
        I may have left out the best match of all. The Kharmas' ( 1.0 )  which I am using with 30 watt Thor Audio amps and totally love . Good Luck in your search..........

[2bigears]

toobluvr.. budget is what ever it takes,this train is off the tracks now. i listen medium loud so you hear all.smaller room so closer to the speakers 13*17' room.your right with the last two lines deep-rich--warm with coherency to match amp.thks for reply...---thorman-- Merlin MX sounds like it may be a good speaker,10000 plus for a small two way,these must sound pretty dam good??? have to check Ridge Street and Kharmas..thks        

[budyog]

Check out the "Panorama's" by ACI, they are wonderful speakers. Make sure you check the "specials" and "B-stock" on the ACI website.

http://www.audioc.com/

[2bigears]

bodyog,the pans are 2k or a little less and the talisman come in at 4k.these look like they are well made,sure wish i could hear a set.thks for reply        

[Tweaker]

Check out Newform Research:
http://www.newformresearch.com/
Kind of odd looking but one of the most highly regarded speakers/companies out there.

[2bigears]

Tweaker,not pretty,not expensive to buy,they have kits,how do they sound????thks for that          

[Tweaker]

You know, I have never heard a pair but when I was researching speakers I came very close to buying  the R645, mainly based on all of the reviews of which there are links to on the NR website, and the fact that they use a big ribbon. After living with Magnaplaner, Acoustat, and now VMPS I can never go back to a moving coil only design. I took a chance with VMPS instead mainly because of appearance. (My wife has to live with them too). I will never know if I made the right decision but I am very happy with the VMPS RM2s.

[toobluvr]

toobluvr.. budget is what ever it takes,this train is off the tracks now. i listen medium loud so you hear all.smaller room so closer to the speakers 13*17' room.your right with the last two lines deep-rich--warm with coherency to match amp.thks for reply...---thorman-- Merlin MX sounds like it may be a good speaker,10000 plus for a small two way,these must sound pretty dam good??? have to check Ridge Street and Kharmas..thks        

Your priorities as stated, and the way you listen, are very much in line with mine.  At one time I owned a pair of Merlin VSM GenIII.  I never used the 30/30, but I did use some very highly regarded tube amps that were reported to be good matches on them.  Others will surely disagree, but in my opinion, the Merlins will certainly NOT give you the sound you seek.  Apart from them not sounding to my taste, I think they are waaaay overpriced for what you get.  IMO, better value out there, and you don't need to look far to find it.

Your VAC 30/30 will certainly provide musicality and goosebumps in spades....with the right speaker.  But you need to match carefully.   Be careful with some of the recs given here.  It seems some are being given without regard to your amp.   While I'm sure some of these speakers in the 85 to 87 efficiency range are fine in the right setup, they will just not cut it with 30wpc.  I would not go below 92, and I would try to stay above 94db efficiency.

Off the top of my head, various models from the following would probably fit the bill nicely:   Silverline, Coincident, Von Schweikerts, Sonus Faber, JM Reynaud.  Hyperions are also reported to just love low powered SET amps.  I think at current used prices, the Silverline Sonatas are a steal.....particularly the older models.  They offer big dynamic full range sound, but still very full, warm and quite engaging.  Sweet mids.  I have heard them in several setups, and always enjoyed them.

If you can't audition, I would DEFINITELY buy used.  You get much much more for your $, and any "mistakes" will not turn into financial losses on resale.

It sounds as if you are limited in what you can actually audition.  So you need to develop a shortlist, and ultimately decide, based on opinions.  I would read professional reviews, but I give them less weight than consensus coming from actual real people.  So I would research the net and try to find opinions on known good matches.  

From what I can see, not that many tube heads or low power afficianados are on this board, so opinions useful to your search are limited here.  Hit the other audio boards/forums and search on your amp name.  You will find a wealth of useful info and opinions.  Tons of stuff over on AudioAsylum, and probably some on Audiogon forums.  A picture will emerge as to what speaks work well with the VAC, and what to expect in terms of sound.  The weight of opinion, if you keep seeing the same thing over and over again, can help you to narrow things down, and make a good choice.....or at least the best choice under the circumstances.

If you don't see exactly what you need, make a post soliciting information.

Even a call to VAC will give you good guidance.  They are very helpful folks over there, and their models are well established and don't change very often.  So they have lots of experience with, and knowlege about, speaker matching with their amps.

[2bigears]

toobluvr,well said.there is a set of merlins mx's for 6500.also i have a friend with Coincident Total Victory for sale but he lives to far away to test.thks for the helping hand,as i would like to keep these speakers i buy next.i bought VSA VR4jr's with my amp,they are now for sale.they are good speakers at a good price point,but not my cup of tea.cheers        

[toobluvr]

..........i bought VSA VR4jr's with my amp,they are now for sale.they are good speakers at a good price point,but not my cup of tea.cheers        

Now this is what I mean by providing useful info!  
The more you reveal, the more we can help.
It is helpful to know what ground you have already covered.
It helps people zero in on what you like and don't like.
What your preferences and priorities are.
Knowing this puts people on the right track about what works for you, and then more useful and relevant recs can be made.

Expanding a bit more on your experience with the VR4's, would provide further clues.  What didn't you like about the sound?  What did you like about the sound?  Was it too fat?  Too lean?  Too ripe?  Not detailed enough?  Too detailed?  Too analytical?  Too aggressive?  Too warm?  Too cool?  Not spatially right? etc.......

Tell us what your souces are and why you like them.
What other sources have you owned in the past, and which did you like and dislike.

Pieces to a puzzle that all come together and form a bigger picture.
A picture of what you like sonically.
Any recommendation made without this prior knowledge is based on very little, actually, and isn't worth very much at all.......IMHO.

[spectralman]

While I have not heard the Coincident Total Victory's, I did get a listen to the Victory's (same drivers minus the side-firing 8" woofers).  They were playing on Manley gear.  The Victory's were way too strident sounding for me at anything even approacing a moderate listening level.

However, on a different occasion at the same dealer, I heard a pair of Total Eclipses that were pretty nice.  Sorry, but I can't remember the associated gear they were played with.  These did not have the strident mids of the Victory's, had very good lows and highs, and were nonfatiguing, something that's a high priority for me.  BTW, I played classical, female vocals, jazz, rock, and techno on them.

Bill

[toobluvr]

While I have not heard the Coincident Total Victory's, I did get a listen to the Victory's (same drivers minus the side-firing 8" woofers).  They were playing on Manley gear.  The Victory's were way too strident sounding for me at anything even approacing a moderate listening level.

However, on a different occasion at the same dealer, I heard a pair of Total Eclipses that were pretty nice.  Sorry, but I can't remember the associated gear they were played with.  These did not have the strident mids of the ...

Several years ago I owned a pair of Coincident Super Eclipses....the original version with the titanium tweeter.  Very dynamic, detailed, immediate and incisive, but ultimately I found it too aggressive and fatiguing in the upper mids/highs......even with sweet SET amps!  I understand this has been addressed in later versions with a new silk dome tweeter.

I moved onto a pair of Silverline Sonatina II, and after that, Meadowlark Heron "i".  Both speakers allowed me to relax into the music better.

[2bigears]

the jr's  don't really sing softly as i would like,they lean a weee bit on the analytical side,i was interested in a bigger sound.i would like to be absolutely engulfed in music,the speakers must totally disappear..don't even know if they make a speaker that good.i would gladly sacrifice total transparency to a friendly voice that is non fatiquing and easy to listen and live with.someone mentioned the Zu Definitions,would these work???lost in a world of speakers,someone throw a life-line....        

[miklorsmith]

I own the Def's and wholeheartedly recommend you call Sean at Zu.  Their 60/90 day return policy is ample to take 'em for a ride.

Huge sound, check.  Huge dynamics, check.  Huge efficiency, check.  Utter transparency, check.  Extended at both ends, check.  Absolute coherency, check.  Don't sound like hi-fi, check.

I'd be shocked if you trade them in.

[2bigears]

miklorsmith,thks for that,you never see a pair for sale at ag.you gotta sell me yours so you can get that flashy color you always wanted----ha,ha.i was told you either like the Zu sound or you don't,they have a sonic fingerprint of their own---is this true.i know each and every speaker does,but the Zu has that Zu and only Zu sound.is this true.i only know what i read on these sites,i wish i could hear these guys!!!! thks    

[miklorsmith]

I already have the flashy color, though it's subdued too.  It's a dark metallic red, a la some of the newer automobiles.  The current dark red Volkswagon color is very close.  They are not for sale.

I guess you could say people either like them or don't, except all the negative reports I've read have been from shows.  All the owners I know of are completely smitten, which you have noted in that the Definitions, or the other models for that matter, do not appear for sale often.  Sean tells me they get very, very few returned even though there are no restocking fees.

They do sound unique, no question.  I would not say there is no other way to get similar, excellent sound though.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Omega's line, though I'd probably do stereo subs with them

The Definitions, more than the Druids, can be a little hot in the presence region.  They measure pretty flat through this area, but with some aggressive music they do highlight this area.  This flatness is absolutely beguiling on most fare and you will miss it when listening to other speakers.  If you are a fan of old Van Halen-style electric guitar,  I'd guess you would be unimpressed.

I'm in the process of dialing mine in with a TacT preamp and I have a SET amp coming, hopefully this week.  My expectation is that with the different correction curves available, this combination will produce the "perfect speaker".

I do know that all the commenters I've had over to my place have been very complimentary.  I usually have somebody or bodies over around once a month.

Frankly, with a well set-up pair of Definitions or Druids, I'd bet there would be a small percentage of listeners that wouldn't be very impressed.