The new DALI Oberon 5 at $1,100 would sound fantastic for that music! I heard the Oberon 7 at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and they blew me and my buddies away for the price($1,400). BTW, you can get them on Amazon.
Another "Help me choose my speakers" thread
Just looking for some suggestions on upgrading speakers for a 2 channel music setup.
I'm currently using a Marantz 2230 and I plan to keep it around for awhile.
My room is rather small, 11.5ft x 9ft, 7ft ceiling.
I listen to jazz, rock, and bluegrass inspired music.
I won't spend more than $1000 or less than $500
I have been reading many forums and just about loosing my mind with indecisiveness. Some of my considerations have been floor standing, like the Klipsch RP-6000F, Wharfedale Diamond 9.6, or the Fuance Signature Series. Some have been bookshelf, like the Martin Logan Motion 15, Wharfedale Denton, or the Focal Chorus 706. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I'm currently using a Marantz 2230 and I plan to keep it around for awhile.
My room is rather small, 11.5ft x 9ft, 7ft ceiling.
I listen to jazz, rock, and bluegrass inspired music.
I won't spend more than $1000 or less than $500
I have been reading many forums and just about loosing my mind with indecisiveness. Some of my considerations have been floor standing, like the Klipsch RP-6000F, Wharfedale Diamond 9.6, or the Fuance Signature Series. Some have been bookshelf, like the Martin Logan Motion 15, Wharfedale Denton, or the Focal Chorus 706. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
19 responses Add your response
What speakers are you using now? Do you have any experience with the listed speakers at all? Some lines of speakers have a known sound quality, like the Klipsch are known to emphasize upper-end due to the compression driver. They are also generally sensitive speakers that are easy to drive. So do you want a mellower sound or more of a "live" sound? Also your receiver is 30 wpc so you would want to get some more sensitive speakers if you wanted to drive them harder, probably 90db and above. Finally are you expecting decent bass response? Bookshelves won’t touch the lower end with authority without a sub. Some towers in that price range might also cut off around 50hz. But if you are after accuracy and soundstage in that sized room I would go for book shelves over floorstanders in that price range. Used would open up a lot of possibilities around $1k especially vintage. I would go that route before newer big box offerings personally. |
Right now I have Bose 301's... I have read terrible things on here about them, but there were a huge upgrade from my Cerwin Vega Re25's. Obviously, I'm kind of new to the idea of spending $1000 on a pair of speakers. I do not have experience with the speakers I listed. Honestly, the best setup I've ever listened to is a NAD 2500 pushing Klipsch KG4's. The owner of this setup was told by an audiophile that he needs to upgrade his speakers to something more in the $1000 ballpark and the difference would be very satisfying. Klipsch was the first brand I started researching, until I found a thread on here that basically said Marantz and Klipsch don't pair well together. I don't need something that sounds perfectly natural and flat, I'd like something that sucks you right into the music without any harshness. As far as bass response, I would like it much upgraded from the 301's, but I don't want to put a lot of emphasis on that when deciding. It's not that important to me. I won't be running a subwoofer... At least not for a few years |
I had a similar budget for a secondary system in an 11x13’ room. I bought the Tekton Lore Reference speakers and loved them! They are paired with a Musical Fidelity intergrated and an older Sony ES CD player. In fact, I was so impressed that I then bought the Tekton Double Impacts for my main system. Fabulous speakers! I would suggest looking at the Tekton line of loudspeakers, for sure. |
There is a pair of Audiokinesis Prisma for sale here right now that would work pretty well. Heard them at the Axpona show a few years ago and found them to be a good sounding speaker. They are efficient enough to work well with a 30wpc receiver and would be a substantial upgrade from the 301s. No affiliation with the seller. |
Here ya go. Just buy these. FANTASTIC all-around speakers and not fussy about upstream electronics. You’ll be thrilled! https://tmraudio.com/speakers/full-range-floorstanding/silverline-audio-technology-sonatina-floorsta... Or, if you really want to overachieve and blow your own doors off, there are these beauties... https://tmraudio.com/speakers/full-range-floorstanding/silverline-audio-technology-sonatina-floorsta... Frankly, the latter are probably way above what you're looking for or expecting, but if and when you eventually upgrade your electronics, these will reward you in spades. If you're aspiring to truely better and high-end stereo sound, stick a crowbar in your wallet and just buy these. You can thank me later. |
Thanks everyone! This is the first time I’ve actually participated in a thread instead of just reading through them, and it was unbelievably helpful. I purchased the Spendor s6e’s as the price was right, I’ve always like two way speakers (I have much more experience in car audio), and all of the reviews I could find seemed to pinpoint exactly what I was looking for as "pros". Big shout-out to @yogiboy |
First of all, try to listen to as many as you can, since it is easy for us to recommend what we own or like. We are all different. On that note, look for a pair of " B " stock Klipsch Heresy IIIs. They will work with your Marantz ( very efficiant and an easy load ), are very dynamic, fast, melodic, coherent, and overall a very fun and musical pair of speakers. They can be placed near, or further, from a wall, whichever you like, and can image and soundstage as well as anything. Horns are popular in Japan, and they are making a resurgence here ( although I have preferred them for 50 years over any other design ). Read the reviews, by reviewers. Enjoy ! MrD. |