High efficiency speakers, 16ohm under 10K

[nycjazz]

Besides the valencias/flamencos covered by Art D. What other choices are there for Shindo pairing? I'm specifically looking at the 16ohm lot, not just any speakers. Vintage or current, street price.

[kev313]

Originally Posted by nycjazz

Besides the valencias/flamencos covered by Art D. What other choices are there for Shindo pairing? I'm specifically looking at the 16ohm lot, not just any speakers. Vintage or current, street price.

Altec A7, Altec 604, Altec 755, Various other Altecs and JBL. There are a few good vintage RCA drivers.

Price for vintage varies on condition and your skill for locating and being able to use such things.

Spend some time on the high efficiency forum at AA (the other one) or the lansing heritage board. You can read a lot about both modern and vintage offerings. There is an entire universe of speakers that do not get brought up in discussion here.

[kev313]

Altec 605. Altec Model 19.

Phy-HP based speakers.

I've heard reports that vintage Tannoy can work. I have no experience. I did use modern Tannoys (Yorkminsters) and found it to be among the worst matches for my GM70 amps. Great speakers, just gorgeous, but they did best with solid state heavyweights for me. Their idea of high sensitivity is more of a marketing concept. Coupled with thick heavy cones, it really choked the sound.

People report different experiences. I have no doubt that Shindo amps can sound great on almost any speakers. My experience consists of the following amps - Montille el84, Sinhonia, Montrachet, Lafon GM70s - on the following speakers - Devore Super 8, Devore 9, Musical Affairs Crescendo, Tannoy Yorkminster, Shindo Latour 604, Oris Horns on JBL bass bins, Cain and Cain Abby's, Klipsch Forte, Klipsch Heresy, Klipsch Cornwalls, and Audio Note E-LX signature.

After all sorts of combinations, I can tell you that is MY OPINION that Shindo does, indeed, work well on everything. BUT Shindo shines and will transform your idea of what constitutes a listening experience with high efficiency, high impedance, speakers either horn based or with lightweight cones. The devil is in the details and these types of speakers present less of a barrier or obstacle for your amp. This applies to all amps but bear in mind - and I don't know why people don't pay more heed to this fact - Shindo was designed to make sound in the context of such a system. We are all pretty confident in our abilities to make nice systems, but if you are investing in Shindo gear it makes sense to me to invest in the designer's vision. Did my Shindo and Tannoy sound bad. No! I lived with it happily and for years. But there is better. I'd be willing to wager that an ebay pair of 604 in a somewhat competently designed enclosure would trounce my Yorkies in the areas of music reproduction that matter most to me and are the specialty of Shindo.

As always, your experience may differ and depend on matters as variable as ear size, hair and wax content. Not to mention your room, ability to appreciate good sound, ability to figure out what kind of sound YOU like, and the tolerance of your significant other. In other words, read, experiment, and have fun until you find what works. OR shortcut the process and speak to a great Shindo dealer. Or both.

[JayBass]

The Line Magnetic 755i's work absurdly well with my Cortese. They retail for 9k. No, they are not 16 ohm, but they are single driver and present a very easy load. I also own Valencias, and every time I rotate the Line Magnetics back into the system, they make me momentarily think that the Valencias must have been broken or something.

[kev313]

Originally Posted by JayBass

The Line Magnetic 755i's work absurdly well with my Cortese. They retail for 9k. No, they are not 16 ohm, but they are single driver and present a very easy load. I also own Valencias, and every time I rotate the Line Magnetics back into the system, they make me momentarily think that the Valencias must have been broken or something.

LM is awesome. The whole line. Such a cool company. Their speakers and speaker components are amazing.

[TommyC]

Check out Devore speakers line, especially the O series if you want 16 ohm.

[NeilNZ]

I second everything Kev313 said. Whilst going down the Shindo speaker path can be expensive, it is worth it if you really want to hear what Ken intended. There is no doubt Shindo can sound spectacular on other speakers, but it isn't what brings 'the music mind' forth in the same way.

The Orangutan series are 10Ω. But definitely a good deal easier to drive than most out there. I love mine.

[SimonYVR]

I have been using a pair of Auditorium 23 Roiene DX200 speakers matched to my Cortese 300B. My understanding is that the speaker was made for the low watt SET Cortese and are 93/94db although I am unsure of the Ohms. The sound is sublime and throws an astonishing sound stage. They are vintage and rare although not very expensive. I bought my set from Germany for 900ish Euro with 150Euro air mail shipping. I note there is a set for sale in France (black) on audio-markt.de
Simon

[nycjazz]

Originally Posted by SimonYVR

I have been using a pair of Auditorium 23 Roiene DX200 speakers matched to my Cortese 300B. My understanding is that the speaker was made for the low watt SET Cortese and are 93/94db although I am unsure of the Ohms. The sound is sublime and throws an astonishing sound stage. They are vintage and rare although not very expensive. I bought my set from Germany for 900ish Euro with 150Euro air mail shipping. I note there is a set for sale in France (black) on audio-markt.de.
Simon

Thanks for the tip Simon. This prompted me to just put an offer on an Auditorium 23 / TQWT. An oldie, but hopefully goodie at half the price. I have seen some other auditorium 23s but they typically will not ship to USA.

[nycjazz]

Originally Posted by NeilNZ

I second everything Kev313 said. Whilst going down the Shindo speaker path can be expensive, it is worth it if you really want to hear what Ken intended. There is no doubt Shindo can sound spectacular on other speakers, but it isn't what brings 'the music mind' forth in the same way.

The Orangutan series are 10Ω. But definitely a good deal easier to drive than most out there. I love mine.

I do not see anything in the 10k that has the green swan on it, so I'll need to look for alternatives. The Os sound very appealing, but I want to see if others have had good luck with other speakers I may not have heard about. I saw some red tannoys that looked wicked, but again, I don't know how they pair with Shindo....