looking for best speakers to match with small 25w

bluemike,

No but I remember them fondly, I have my Audio Note kit 3 speakers in the corners not in the middle of the room like the Trentes demand. I find even with the Audio Note amp the Trentes tended to sound better - the Kit 3 is more picky of input source...

all the best

Phil

I have to disagree with most of what has been suggested. But, to be fair, it's not so easy to meet the requirements put forth by Rapogee.

Most of these speakers are quite sensitive, yes. And, some are even tight in the lower end. But, he also states he doesn't like forward sounding speakers, and most of what I see here definitely fall into that category. That seems to be the case with more sensitive speakers in my opinion.

I parted with my trentes as well ...

I now have a pair of Tonian acoustic monitors
Very similar to the trentes only faster and much more musical ..if that's at all possible

To my ears they are natural sounding and very realistic

overall i'm quite impressed

Trelja,

The Trentes are supremly musical and not the slightest bit forward or bright and also extremely forgiving and detailed beyond belief. They offer a very well balanced sound going down to about 45 hz and ignore their 88db rating they lit up with my 18 wpc Soro SE amp.

Bluemike,

I have not heard of the Tonian speakers but all the best to you and what you land with... I may finally be settling down on my stereo adventures but find it hard to give up the 'gon' :)

Philjolet, I'd gladly tip my hat to you if I gave them a listen and found myself in agreement with your perspective. They would certainly win my recommendation without hesitation. For now, I'll just give you the benefit of the doubt...

Though my experience shows scant few efficient loudspeakers that are on the relaxed side of the fence, I'm coming to terms with the opinion that room, amplifier, and cabling has perhaps much to do with the speakers sounding forward or not. Still, I say what I say from an "all things being equal" stance.

I want to acknowledge you bring up a stellar point in that the numbers game in terms of sensitivity and impedance curves should often be tossed out in favor of how things work in the real world. A lot of speakers are way too optimistic, and many a match is found in not reading ad copy but in listening.