These would be really hard to beat for the price, (they are 50% off right now). I bought a pair back when I first built my ACA because what I had on hand, just wasn't efficient enough. They are back-ordered right now direct from Klipsch, but Best Buy has the same price!
These work well and sound really good. I've never been a Klipsch fan, but they are perfect for the ACA.
R-51M Bookshelf Speaker (Pair) | Reference Series | Klipsch
These work well and sound really good. I've never been a Klipsch fan, but they are perfect for the ACA.
R-51M Bookshelf Speaker (Pair) | Reference Series | Klipsch
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While I agree that the Pioneers are excellent speakers, ( I have a pair of the 22s and 41s), they did not work well with a single ACA. They are rated at 6ohm/85db. I could barely even get a squawk out of them. YMMV
Here are the tech details on your Pioneers:
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com
I'd think that as long as you're not expecting to rattle the window panes with heavy bass, that you'd do ok. Sounds like you're not. All good.
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com
I'd think that as long as you're not expecting to rattle the window panes with heavy bass, that you'd do ok. Sounds like you're not. All good.
Yep, got all that info, and info on some other possible speakers all organized in a page on Notion.
I actually already own a pair of Pioneer SP-BS22-LRs...they're great for the money, however, I bought mine back in 2013, and one of the drivers has gone bad.
I'll try my paralleled monoblocks with my Harbeth 40th Anniversary 40.2s "reference loudspeakers" and I'm going to build up a pair of Danny Richie's GR-Research XL-S Encores.
I only listen in a range of 68-74 dB with my Harbeths,...if the music starts getting above 77-78dB, I'm turning the volume down.
So, I don't anticipate any "issues".
I actually already own a pair of Pioneer SP-BS22-LRs...they're great for the money, however, I bought mine back in 2013, and one of the drivers has gone bad.
I'll try my paralleled monoblocks with my Harbeth 40th Anniversary 40.2s "reference loudspeakers" and I'm going to build up a pair of Danny Richie's GR-Research XL-S Encores.
I only listen in a range of 68-74 dB with my Harbeths,...if the music starts getting above 77-78dB, I'm turning the volume down.
So, I don't anticipate any "issues".
Haha! Yeah, what crappy speakers! LOL...
I live in a small townhome and listening space is accordingly small, too. I sit in one setup about 7 feet in front of the 'Beths with them spaced about 6.5' apart. They are also 3 feet in front of the front wall and 4 feet from the side walls. So, the medium sized Harbeths work really well in my small space. I don't have room for panels.
The Harbeths are great for what I listen to and the levels I listen at, and they are very accurate and neutral but also very, very musical and natural-sounding. Alan Shaw of Harbeth uses human voice to voice each pair of speakers and they are sold in matched pairs.
I also have some really nice Dynaudio floorstanders, Contour S3.4 with upgraded Esotar 2 tweeters, but those need more power than the ACA can deliver (the Dyn drivers have 3" voice coils). I drive 'em just fine with my Conrad-Johnson LP70S tube amp, though.
I live in a small townhome and listening space is accordingly small, too. I sit in one setup about 7 feet in front of the 'Beths with them spaced about 6.5' apart. They are also 3 feet in front of the front wall and 4 feet from the side walls. So, the medium sized Harbeths work really well in my small space. I don't have room for panels.
The Harbeths are great for what I listen to and the levels I listen at, and they are very accurate and neutral but also very, very musical and natural-sounding. Alan Shaw of Harbeth uses human voice to voice each pair of speakers and they are sold in matched pairs.
I also have some really nice Dynaudio floorstanders, Contour S3.4 with upgraded Esotar 2 tweeters, but those need more power than the ACA can deliver (the Dyn drivers have 3" voice coils). I drive 'em just fine with my Conrad-Johnson LP70S tube amp, though.
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Hi, I have a pair of Klipsch bookshelf speakers (RP-150M) that I bought used for $100 which I power with my ACA. The sound stage and separation is amazing, and I have yet to run the amp at full power. If anything, the Klipschs are bright, very precise at the high end (startlingly so for some music) and can be a bit fatiguing- the sound is not unlike an arena, except without a lot of bass. If you can find a pair for cheap I think this is a really good match for this amp.
Speakers
Along with all of the other good suggestions. From our perspective the ACA is a really good match with the the ESS speakers. It can drive ours: in the original configuration from the factory to a comfortable enough listening level and beyond.
You can also use an active crossover and connect the AMT's directly to the amps output and drive your woofers with something else. That requires level matching as the AMTs are pretty efficient. They like to be crossed at around 800 cycles. We prefer the ACA in the balanced mode when we use them like that.
In that configuration where each AMT has an ACA to do nothing else but drive it from 800 cycles up. It is pristine clear. The efficiency of the driver keeps the amp down in its first few 10ths of a watt (again at some reasonable level). The clarity and sound stage is stunning.
Just another opinion to add to the mix!
Along with all of the other good suggestions. From our perspective the ACA is a really good match with the the ESS speakers. It can drive ours: in the original configuration from the factory to a comfortable enough listening level and beyond.
You can also use an active crossover and connect the AMT's directly to the amps output and drive your woofers with something else. That requires level matching as the AMTs are pretty efficient. They like to be crossed at around 800 cycles. We prefer the ACA in the balanced mode when we use them like that.
In that configuration where each AMT has an ACA to do nothing else but drive it from 800 cycles up. It is pristine clear. The efficiency of the driver keeps the amp down in its first few 10ths of a watt (again at some reasonable level). The clarity and sound stage is stunning.
Just another opinion to add to the mix!
Great idea Steve, especially for people who want to experiment and see if it works for them.
The thing is good sound is addictive and we will always try to "improve" it.
Someone wants more bass or treble extension, or more liquid midrange, or more slam, or more...
And Voigt pipes can be as complex as anything else, see Troels projects for example:
TQWT-
DTQWT-212-mkIII
High Efficiency Speakers
The questions will always remain.
But, but, your suggestion is brilliant.
The thing is good sound is addictive and we will always try to "improve" it.
Someone wants more bass or treble extension, or more liquid midrange, or more slam, or more...
And Voigt pipes can be as complex as anything else, see Troels projects for example:
TQWT-
DTQWT-212-mkIII
High Efficiency Speakers
The questions will always remain.
But, but, your suggestion is brilliant.
Thank you everyone for comments and suggestions. I have to say I went with my choice of these not very efficient Sensations from SoundImports. Just because I am in Europe and I am not much into woodworking though I'm fine with soldering, so I wanted to make some quality audio stuff from the kit. ACA is a perfect fit and it's ok to order it from US (and the case goes directly from Italy). But I also wanted to build the speakers. And I found a lot of interesting candidate kit, but - without the cabinets 
So, well. I am not so picky and do not want to lift a roof with my sound, so I'll try these. If I will not like them - I will have a challenge to find some other speaker kit with the cabinet in Europe. Any suggestions are very welcome. Though perhaps there is some better thread to ask about that?
So, well. I am not so picky and do not want to lift a roof with my sound, so I'll try these. If I will not like them - I will have a challenge to find some other speaker kit with the cabinet in Europe. Any suggestions are very welcome. Though perhaps there is some better thread to ask about that?
You can get a Frugel-Horn XL flat-pak with Mark Audio Alpair 10p from KJF Audio in the UK. An excellent match with the ACA.
dave
ACA 1.8 - Length of 39K Resistor Lead
Just received my ACA 1.8 and am currently working on the wiring. Per the new wiring diagram I am installing the 39K resistor from the switch to the black speaker connection. There seems to be no way to make the actual connection with the provided resistor as the leads are not long enough. I added a short length of 22ga wire to make it work, but as I'm not an experienced builder, I was concerned about any effect this would have on the circuit / performance.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thx.
Just received my ACA 1.8 and am currently working on the wiring. Per the new wiring diagram I am installing the 39K resistor from the switch to the black speaker connection. There seems to be no way to make the actual connection with the provided resistor as the leads are not long enough. I added a short length of 22ga wire to make it work, but as I'm not an experienced builder, I was concerned about any effect this would have on the circuit / performance.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thx.
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