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Back to it - Practical speaker upgrade

I am looking to upgrade my family room system. I have a mid-fi setup that includes a Rega Mira amp and decent digital sources, cables, etc.. that I use for both TV and 2 channel audio. This is in the family room and the amp must do double duty and be reliable. I have older Infinity Beta 40 speakers (which surprisingly sound ok) but I have been looking to upgrade (and not getting around to it). I demoed Rega RS5 recently, and while it was nice, it didn’t strike me as a significant enough upgrade. I listen to jazz, acoustic music, some rock, some classical. I value timbre and timing, and I don’t need a ton of bass. I don’t like analytical sound or fake hi-fi “detail”.

My room is an open concept 14’ x 25’, with 8.5’ ceilings and approximately 10’ listening distance. There is a half wall that opens up to a 20’ x 14’ kitchen area.

I also have a 14.5’ x 18.5’ living room/library where I could potentially add a second system.

Here are the options I am considering:

1. Upgrade my speakers in the family room and spend $3-5k. I’m open to upgrading the Rega as well but would need something with enough inputs to accommodate other sources (TV, DVD, etc…)

2. Take the same money and set up a second system in the 14.5’ x 18.5’ living room/library with another amp and speakers — For example, a tube or hybrid integrated and nice bookshelf speakers, for example.

Any thoughts on which direction you would go? And, any tower speaker recommendations for 5k and under with good WAF that would work well with the Rega? The new Focal Aria line looks nice but I haven’t heard them.

Thanks.

braudio7
samac's avatar
samac
419 posts
 
braudio7, you have some great equipment in your family room. Speakers I would suggest for either situation would be the Monitor Audio Silver 8 and the Bowers and Wilkms 683 S2.

if you go the route of setting up another system I
 can highly recommend the Arcam FMJ A19. Good luck with your decision.

Cheers,,

Scott
terry9
931 posts
 
I think you should make a point of listening to Magnepan speakers before you make your decision. Planar speakers like Magnepans and electrostatics sound different. Some people can't stand them - but I won't live without them.

bassdude
194 posts
 
If it weren’t for the WAF, I would suggest you will find it impossible to obtain better sound than you can obtain with the Linkwitz Audio LX521 Open Baffle Speakers - very few speakers, if any, sound better. There was a pair with the crossover and amp available last month on Audiogon - may still be available. You can also get the kit on Madisound. I have the Linkwitz Orions, which sound about the same, but are more expensive.

Another great choice, which sounds just as good, are any of the Pure Audio Project open baffle speakers.

And... if WAF must be a factor... the Spatial Audio open baffle speakers, followed by the Magnepans.

These open baffle, dipole speakers will have sound that you can not match for less than $20,000+, if that. And will not be matched by any box speaker, without "semi-open" baffles.

This is not just my opinion, but the opinion of many who have tried both, and many very expensive alternatives.

The advantage of the Pure Audio Project, Spatial Audio, and Magnepans is that they do not require bi/tri-amping and external crossovers - they’re much less complicated to drive than the Linkwitz speakers. And the Maggies require quite a bit of high-end power. That’s not true of the others mentioned, which are more efficient and easier to drive, and they have a bit better dynamics and bass than the Maggies.

For the money, nothing can really rival these.


braudio7 OP
35 posts
 
Based on the number of responses, I think I wasn't clear on the question. I thought there would be more interest in this. This isn't a gear question so much as an approach question. I'll restate it a different way:

The options I am looking at are:

1. Invest my budget into a nice speakers for the family room and leverage my existing setup.

2. Invest in a second system for another room where I have more flexibility with amp, placement, etc...

Option 1 leverages existing gear, but introduces constraints; for example, I need to have a reliable amp that will do double duty for multiple sources, including TV.

Option 2 offers increased flexibility -- I can get another amp and speakers -- but a second system means splitting the same money over two systems.

My question then is really which tradeoffs make the most sense? Obviously I know this is something I have to answer, but curious as to see if others have made these choices, and what their outcomes were.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jdl57
14 posts
 
What you are asking is actually a very personal question that only you can answer. If it were me, I would go for the second room. There is someone selling a pair of Magnepan tympany 1 speakers for $1200 on Audiogon right now. I'd buy them myself if I had any use for them. Its been a long time now, but one of the best systems I have ever heard was Tympany 1's powered by Mark Levinson electronics (ML-2s) I don't remember the turntable (this was pre-cd). I still remember it to this day. They do look like room divider screens.

There has been no real advancement in speaker design for 50 years. Don't think newer is better, but don't take that to mean all speaker designs are good. (I gave the Avantgarde horn speakers a tryout at a distributer demo--and hated them.) I use Sound Lab A-2s, purchased used in 1985. Still haven't found anything I like more. My second system (same room, I turn my chair around) uses the Altec 755a, made in 1957, and a 2 watt homebuilt single ended triode amp. Except for orchestral music and rock, I prefer the second system.




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