Audio Note AN-E LX owner here.
I'm a big rock and/or roll, metal, indie rock, electronica etc fan, and found that they weren't particularly wonderful with the OTO SE I had (albeit still very good!), when I upgraded to a 20w P/P New Audio Frontiers valve integrated with huge transformers, the upgrade to the bass, speed and finesse made me - honestly - giggle to myself. I thought I was listening to new speakers. The bass had real crunch and texture now, and felt like they went deeper, which was exactly what I was looking for. The kick drum on Deftones could knock your hat off; Nine Inch Nails had real venom now; Tool were mesmerising.
To OP's point, I think you can get what you want with the AN-Es, but I dare say it'll take an amp with real heft to get there. As suggested elsewhere, perhaps a top-notch class A SS, or something like a powerful Class A PP valve amp.
Saying that, all the speakers you listed are fabulous in their own ways, so Lord knows how you'll pick your way through 'em! Good luck
I understand and I have also realized the benefits of high efficiency. That's why I also like JBL and Klipsch and might consider them myself at some point. Big JBLs are excellent with dynamics and more complex music and offer lifelike performances if everything is right. They need a lot of space though. DeVore is also interesting but not much chances to hear them over here. Avantgarde Zeros also offer high efficiecy but might not be the perfect option if vinyl is the number one source like it is for me.Because I'm looking for a speaker with higher sensitivity then Harbeth speakers.
As you said you need and amp capable to drive them. You can use a Harbeth with a 25 watt valve amplifier but the sound with unnatural music is then a bit on the boring side and the dynamic is to limited.
There are roughly two groups in Hifi for me
A: Solidstate & mid - low efficiency speakers
B: Valve & high efficiency speakers
A is trying to replay as accurate as possible the sound on the recording while B is trying to fool you with an illusion of an live event in your home even when each instrument/voice was recorded separately in the studio.
I'm slowly moving from A to B but tonality is still very important to me.
I have heard some high efficient speakers that have had problems with tonality but were superior in doing dynamic, scale and weight/dense and I like the illusion of a live event in my room, even if it is because of the distortion of a valve amp.
I have never heard string instruments and voices sounding more real (to my ears) as played with a good valve amplifier.
The Odeon speakers which I have owned in the past have this live factor like Living Voice but are sounding way better with more complex music compared to L.V. but Odeon is more on on the "in to your face" side and less laidback as Harbeth or Living Voice.
Harbeth speakers are very good IME. It is still one of my favorite brands and they sound very natural to my ears but they let you take the position in the control room with non live recordings. Compared to LV they can play unnatural music better with a good ss amplifier.
I'm looking for something in between LV and Odeon. Therefor I mentioned DeVore and Audio Note because I have read that they are also more on the B side of replay.
If someone has advices for good matching valve amplifiers (max budget @ 5.000€ pre-owned) for Living Voice Auditorium speakers I'd be happy.
Thank you ver much for the advice @rescuest3ve . Unfortunately Shindo is way over my budget.
Which Audio Note setup do you use? Have you listened to Living Voice? If yes, how would you describe the difference between the two speaker types?
I can imagine the models in the ranges will sound different but I think there will be a Audio Note and Living Voice "house sound"
I have heard some high efficient speakers that have had problems with tonality but were superior in doing dynamic, scale and weight/dense and I like the illusion of a live event in my room, even if it is because of the distortion of a valve amp.