Advice on speakers with Valve amp

Hi,
having sold nearly sold everything off including my beloved Nautilus 805's,Teac Vrds10 & MF a308 to go back to Av in my sitting room I am now looking to set up a 2nd system for my study..
I am looking at a Icon Audio 40ise for ampflication...any advice on which speakers would best suit this amp...they will have to be Stand mount/Bookshelves due to the size of the room (small study).
I listen to a lot of Jazz & Female Vocals etc.

 

I'm not familiar with the amp, but the best small speakers I've heard for many years are the Quad 11L ....they won't break the bank either.

 

Some of the Harbeths would sound very nice. I'm running the same amp in it's chinese guise into a pair of Meadowlark Kestrels. I suspect you'll have no problem driving anything if you don't want silly volumes
I'd probably look at Rega Kytes or Alyas? I think thats the modern incarnation of the Kyte. Not too expensive and fantastic mid-range. It'll suit the amp down to the ground, playing to each others strengths. Alternatively I've heard the baby Castle's (whose name eludes me!) sounding very nice indeed.

 

Another, quite similar alternative is Spendors, which are excellent on vocals

 

What is the spec of the amp? Sometimes it's possible to be pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of some amps - my Eastern Electric Minimax has a paltry eight watts on paper, but kept pretty level with a 150wpc ATC SIA-2-150 amplifier within reasonable listening levels when connected to Audiophysic Avanti mkIII loudspeakers (4ohm 89dB, a 3ohm minimum load 3-way floorstander). The ATC had a fraction more perceived bass control, but the Minimax power amp (in concert with a good preamp which I didn't note down) was better from the midrange upwards. Obviously limited in overall volume, it was still capable of realistic listening levels without obvious strain, which surprised both the dealer and myself.

So, the moral is that a good valve design may actually be able to drive more than you'd think on the paper spec, so anything with a moderately sane impedance and reasonable sensitivity ought to be fine.

John

PS. I bought the Avanti IIIs, which are an astonishingly good loudspeaker, and the price was under 1/2 retail... now the tricky bit is finding that compromise between WAF and optimal sound where positioning is concerned...

 

Hi,

For a note from the leftfield. Have a look at the Spirit "Absolute Two" Studio Monitors or Epos ES-11/12 in the 2nd Hand market.

It is about as small and low cost as I would go.

Ciao T

 

I've recently just got a Icon stereo 40 , it matches up with my SF
concertino domus like a dream , midrange heaven .

Forget about power ratings this amp will drive almost anything ,
The concertino's are 88 db into 4 ohms , but even with the amp in triode ( 17w ) it still plays loud .

 

What Speakers

I have the Icon Audio driving a pair of ProAc Studio 140's. Yes I know they are not the Bookshelf speakers you need but I have no problems with the Icon driving them.

Using teh Project xperience and a Minimax Cd as sources and with Zanash Interconnect and speaker cable the sound is stunning.

 

Amphion ION's or Amphion Helium's Both very small and easy to drive. I use a 20W valve amp to drive these.

 

i agree about your views on the proacs, also use as a second t.t. an xperience just added a K.B.cartridge, super, nando.

 

Opera 1.5 or similar - all Opera speakers sound superb with vocals. IMO. About £600 new.