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Speakers for my Audio Note OTO

A

al2813

Active Member
Over the last 12 months I built an Audio Note based system. My amp is a 5 year old OTO line SE Signature. I changed the stock valves to Telefunken ECC83 and the biggest joy and surprise the EL84 HARMA CRYO BURST from Watford Valves. They took some time to arrive (thanks again Brexit...), but unbelievable value.

My speakers are a 20 year old AN E L. One of the drivers was replaced, but I am starting to feel they need a serious refesh (or replacement). The second issue I have with them is that my current audio room is small and the speakers are probably oversized. I also do not have a perfect corner on the left side as the room is under our roof. We're building an extension to the house which hopefully will be there late next year and will also have a bigger audio room.

While I do that, I would like to get a pair of speakers that will fit better my current space, but do not want to change my amp. This mean I need more compact speakers that can give the Audio Note a run for the money on an Audio Note amp. I already thought the Js but wanted to hear if anyone is using none Audio Note speakers as well
 
Have heard Heco Direkt sounding excellent with an older oto, they didn't overload a smallish room, however obviously physically larger.
 
Metlor said:
Have heard Heco Direkt sounding excellent with an older oto, they didn't overload a smallish room, however obviously physically larger.
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The Heco Direkt indeed have been intriguing me. I cannot find a way to listen to them, but they are out of production and German sellers are clearing them for very low prices. What scares me a bit is exactly that in fact- that they need to give them away for less than half the retail price.
 
In the UK they generally sell around £1000 second hand.
If they had the looks of say the Devore Orangutan then I imagine they would be one of the most desirable speakers around.
 
I tried the Ref3a Veena when I had an Oto. The result was a very loose, flabby sound. There wasn’t enough control over the bass.

WLM La Scala sounded nice on the end of my SE.
 
as the OP says that his current audio room's small I'd highly advise him against a Direkt or a J - rather, safest bet (and kinda factory recommendation in such rooms, that I can also testify being so) is the K which, depending on budget, can be up to the (price-wise) esoteric SPx-SE> https://www.audionote.co.uk/an-k-speakers
 
lordmortlock said:
Small room … Would an LS3/5a spec speaker work with 10 watts? Anyone ever tried them with the Oto?
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this is the interesting question. My idea is the get bookshelves until I get my new audio room (next year but with the rising costs of renovation any forecast is risky right now). Sensitive bookshelves are rare and I actually want to try a non AN speaker. In my new room I’ll get Js or Es again….
 
Reference 3As are great speakers. But I would go for LS3/5as. Despite lowish sensitivity, the impedance is benign, and they will easily go loud enough with the Oto's 10 watts, unless you want crazy volume (in which case small monitors are probably not going to be a good choice anyway). For my taste they're head and shoulders above anything else of their size, especially in small rooms
 
Spendor Classic 4/5 are a sealed box and very tube friendly. Only downside is the 84db sensitivity but maybe enough in your small room. Oh, and the price which had recently risen quite sharply.
Perhaps the A1 might do?
 
Listening to the Rogers/AN Oto combo right now, and very impressed with the synergy. Qobuz>Roon>RPi with Pi2AES>AN 2.1x DAC>Oto SE Sig>speakers. I’ll have to say the AN speakers have better synergy, deeper bass, richer harmonics, just more weight, as would be expected, i guess. The Rogers are small speakers after all, but I could definitely live with this combination in a small room. I had been using the Rogers nearfield with Ncore class D amplification which I liked quite a lot. I think the Oto lends itself well to different pairings assuming the speakers are not a difficult load. That’s my experience anyway.
 
I would also think Js or Ks would be first choice.

A bit leftfield, Shahinian Super Elfs can be a lot of fun in a smaller space. Not sure how the Oto would get on with them - they are not very sensitive but not an especially challenging load. They tend to quite a lively/dynamic presentation.
 
Have used a number of speakers with an OTO se including AN-K, AN-J, LS3/5. I thought the J's almost too much of a good thing bass wise and preferred the K's. The LS3/5's were very nice indeed and had no problems with being fed with 10 watts.
This may suit, I recently bought from Wilmslow Audio their Heybrook HB1 replica which is rated at 90db efficiency which would suit the OTO. You can choose the cabinet veneer, upgrade the tweeters and have fancy caps fitted and built by them all for less than £1300. I rate the performance very highly and the OTO would love them.
 
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