Ideal speakers for Cary SLI-80?

I use the Merlin TSM-MMe's with mine and love them. I've also used the Tyler Acoustic Taylo monitors with great success. I actually prefer the amps 80w ultralinear mode. Be sure to experiment with both. Given the specs of the Salks, I would concur with Jburidan that they are not the best match for the Cary, especially if you're committed to running the amp in triode mode.

Look at the AudioKinesis Jazz Module or Dream Maker, or the T5 speakers from Classic Audio Reproductions.

Basically, what you need is a speaker with a sensitivity of 89+dB (or higher depending on your room size and listening volume), and a flat impedance curve that does not dip below 8 ohms. That's the basic formula for a good speaker match with any tube amp, and one with relatively low power.

The speakers from Merlin, Acoustic Zen, Devore Audio, Zu Audio, and Coincident also meet these requirements to a large degree.

silverline or coincident are a match made in heaven

silverline or coincident are a match made in heaven
Pehare (System | Threads | Answers)

The specific Silverline model is important. I would not mate the Sonata III, which I own, with an 80wpc tube amp. I know Silverline suggests this it is possible, but my experience with two tube amps (VAC Standard 160 Musicbloc, Atma-Sphere M-60) was not as favorable as with solid state (Belles 150a Reference monoblocks, NuForce Ref9V2 SE, Bel Canto Ref1000, Pass Labs XA-30.5).

tvad, you're right. i should have been more specific to be truly helpful. i run coincident partial eclipse 2's & a buddy of mine runs silverline sonatina 3's w/the sli-80 & they're both great combos. i have no real world experience w/other models within those 2 brands.