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Speaker suggestions

Greetings,

I know this is a difficult question to answer, but any opinions are welcome.

Here is my situation. I listen mostly to pop and classical, including many symphonies. About 15x25 feet (5x8m) untreated room. 20wpc Decware amp currently driving 15 y/o LSI 15 polks. Polks are doing fine, nothing wrong with them. I am the 2nd owner.

I am considering an upgrade to my speakers. Would like to have full (or near full) range speakers, no sub, strongly prefer something made (assembled, not just designed) in the US, with 2-3k budget.

One option is to refurb/upgrade the Polks. About 1k gets me new premium crossover, new damping material, full inspection, and cleaning with some cosmetic finish work at a local well regarded audio shop.

The other option is buying something new. I plan to keep the system for at least 15-20 years, so need something well built, with solid fit/finish, and good internal electronics so I do not need to recap for at least 15 years.

Prefer new but will consider lightly used option if find something specific I like.

Have been looking lately at Tecton DI and Impact towers. Some posts mentioned that they do not measure very well, but I did not see any charts on the forums or on their site. Mostly great user reviews,
Other options are Ascend Acoustics Sierra towers, Klipsch Reference, SVS ultra towers. I think those are all US made. Spatial audio has great reviews, but not sure how well they handle complex classical music. 

Can you please provide comments/suggestions? Any other options worth considering. I am not much of DIY person.

Thanks much.
sophie999

Showing 3 responses by mzkmxcv

mzkmxcv
558 posts
 
Only reference quality, full range tower under $4000 is the Philharmonic Phil 3. It is 88dB efficient from 30Hz up, same as your Polk’s.   
 
The Sierra Tower (especially with the RAAL upgrade, making it ~$2800) is probably one of the 5 best towers under $4500. It however is not full range (34hz). A subwoofer would still be recommended in my opinion. 
 

Stereophile has measured Tekton. Due to its tweeter arrangement, it has a very narrow sweet point in the vertical realm, meaning going from sitting upright to slouching causes a decent change. However, they are pretty accurate with good imaging/soundstage. I would still take the Sierra+RAAL over them though. 
 
You could just keep your speakers and spend say $1000 in room treatment (<$500 if DIY).
mzkmxcv
558 posts
 
@sophie999 
 
Most of the Salk’s are 88dB effienct, meaning 20W will make it 101dB, room gain will make it about 104dB (at 1 meter). 
 
The Heresey’s are rated with corner-loading, meaning instead of 99dB they actually are 93dB efficient, a decent amount over 88dB, but then you have to account for the Salk models being arguably better sounding. If the current Polk’s are fine volume wise, then so will the Salk models, and you can always move them a bit closer or move the seating forward a bit.
mzkmxcv
558 posts
 
The Sierra towers with RAAL is probably my choice for towers below $5K if deep bass isn’t needed. Salk is great too, and better looking usually. 
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