Happy Holidays! Good to see Jim Tavegia and Cheapskate still here. I'm back after nearly a year of being unplugged from various audio fora. But... as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Except, perhaps, the fact I've been smitten with thermionic valves over the course of my absence and have jumped ship from solid state. And, of course, my non-audiophilic friends think I'm even crazier than ever.

Holiday/fiscal year end bonus permitting, might be time to think about new speakers. I'm still not quite within the median Stereophile reader's income bracket but fidelity of music reproduction means a lot to me... and spending money on gadgets and doodads to assist with this is one of life's guilty pleasures.

Four... nay, three, speakers I'm looking at:
- Opera Callas (is this still a current production model? Don't see it on their site anymore...?)
- Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor
- System Audio SA2K Master

Haven't listened to any of the above three connected to a PrimaLuna ProLogue Two or similar, relatively low power tube amp. I have heard the Sonus Faber and the System Audio connected to various transistor amps and I liked what I heard. Alas, I have not been able to find any Opera dealer in my area.

Regarding that deleted fourth choice... I liked the Totem Mani-2 but have doubts a 40-watt tube integrated can drive it the way it needs to be driven. Maybe I should have kept my chunky solid state amp...

Any thoughts? First hand through third hand experience with such a setup or similar?

Thanks in advance for any input!

Edit: typos and poor grammar... which is still not 100%.