9/9/99: In Stereophile Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 8

In the August issue, Sam's Space, the following comments about our Chicago HiFi show display appear by Sam Tellig:

"Not recommended above 25W"

Oh, how sweet those words are. The SM-2A3, an exquisitely styled minimonitor speaker from Soliloquy High Fidelity Loudspeaker Company, retails for $1595/pair, including very substantial stands.

Three watts is all you need to get them going, according to Bernie Byers of Soliloquy.

The speakers were running on Cary Audio Design SE 2A3 monoblocks ($3495/pair) with the KR Enterprise 2A3 tube, which I know to be a great tube - I'm using a pair in my Audio Electronic SE-1 stereo amplifier.

On hand was Dennis Had of Cary. I asked him about the SE 2A3's power rating.

"FIVE WATTS!" Dennis trumpeted.

His partner, Bill Wright, shook his head.

"Four watts plus", Billy demurred.

"Round it off to FIVE!" roared Dennis.

Who the heck cares how many watts the amps put out when the sound is this immediate and involving? There will be more to come - this combo is headed for Sam's listening room, pronto.

One of the great things about home theater is how the wife and offspring take over what once was the listening room and banish you to a smaller room where you can set up an SET system and transport yourself to heaven on 31/2W. Or 4W. Or whatever. Remember, the smaller your listening room, the less power you need. Power corrupts. Therefore space does, too.

Look at the speaker's specs: Sensitivity: 91dB. Impedance: 10 ohms nominal."