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Help me narrow down some speaker choices

Had the opportunity to listen to a bunch of well-known brands with my XA30.5 and DirectStream dac/pre and at the end of the day, left even more confused of what direction I wanted to go. I tried:

Totem Sky - Great air and high extension, fun, slightly forward from neutral, but too boomy and midrange wasn't working for me.
Focal Sopra 1 - The BE tweeter was making my ears bleed.
Opera Seconda - Great impact, dug deep, beautiful construction but on the opposite end of the focal, way too warm and congested (relatively speaking). It was definitely a fun speaker that wouldn't offend anyone but left me looking for more clarity and air.
Reference 3A MM deCapo - Really enjoyed these overall in the 2 hours I listened at someone's home but the BE tweeter again was wearing on me in the long run. Acoustic guitar and Gregory Porter's voice sounded absolutely stunning though.
ATC SCM40 - Great extension on either end, very accurate, guitar and voices sounded very real, in the room type of feel, not hifi. Lacked impact and wish it was a little more forward, otherwise very enjoyable and one of my top choices. I think my amp might be part of the limiting factor here.
Verity Audio Finn - Didn't sound coherent at all, top end was very overpowering. Each component was working fine but seemed like I was hearing each individual one rather than a blend, was very unusual.
Harbeth SHL5+ - Wrapped me in music, nice and cozy. Laid back speaker, female vocals sounded great but male voices didn't have the grunt I was hoping for. They left me a little snoozy and wooley sounding (but not signficantly so).

Looking back, I'd like the high-end extension and instrumental texture of a deCapo BE but a notch-back of the sizzle, with a more forward sounding SCM40 that can generate some impact. 

I'm looking at all sorts of options at this point and wondering where to go. Looking at internet direct options as well from PranaFidelity Bhava, Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Sig Floorstander, Salk Sound Song3, Tekton (would have to be the Lore References, I can't stand the sight of the tweeter bug-eye array no matter how they sound. Wife wouldn't let them in the door either).
msommers
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david_ten
2,509 posts
 
@msommers   The shipping to Canada shouldn't be an issue as Eric is shipping to a number of countries overseas. If you are worried about length of time, I'd order an available pair after confirming with him that it is. I can relate, since I am waiting on a custom order that is taking longer than expected.

You have a number of really good options to choose from. Looking forward to learning about your final choice and how it works out for you.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,333 posts
 
ATC SCM 40 have massive impact when powered appropriately. They need about 150 watts minimum.

ATC have more dynamic impact than most any other speaker except bigger ATC.

If you really like the sound you should try them with appropriate power not flea power.

Where in Canada are you?


audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
1,621 posts
 
We sell the ATC and the Legacy, the ATC SCM 40 are wonderful speakers they do like power and perform beautiufully with 30 watts but won't play loud without the amp going into some compression.

We also sell the Legacy line and they might be perfect for you we compared them to the SCM 40 and felt that the Legacy was a stronger value for $7k over the SCM 40, but it still have some different strengths. Love those ATC 40's as well.

The Legacy Signature Se has a lot of the things you seek:

1: they are 92db efficient so they will play loud on 30 watts
2: they throw a huge soundstage
3: the Heil AMT midrange and tweeter are both silky smooth and have good detail
4; they have deep full bass down to 22hz.
5: they are a managable size big enough to sound room filling with a huge soundstage but not so big at to dominate
6: they are a very reasonable price $7k
7: they come in many different wood finishes

Currently they are our favorite overall performer for under $10k, unfortunatly Legacy is a very small speaker company so they may be hard to demo in Canada, they may have a dealer there though.

If you are ever in the New York metro area for business, we can demo a lot of great speakers for you, PSB T3, Legacy, Dali, Kef, ATC.

Hope that helps
Dave owner
Audio Doctor NJ

mofojo
517 posts
 
I picked up a used pair of Vapor Stiff Breeze about a week ago. Impressive but need some power to come alive. This was the first time I heard a Raal tweeter. Really like the presentation of these. I couldn't really see this tweeter offending anyone. 
soix
2,133 posts
 
Pair of Joseph Audio RM25XLs for sale here now that should check all your boxes and will work well with your amp.  Best of luck. 

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