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Help me choose a speaker match for my Line Magnetic 805ia tube amp under $10K

Since all of you were such a huge help in getting me to arrive at my decision to get the Line Magnetic 805ia tube integrated, I thought I would start another thread to discuss speakers to consider. I do love my Ascend Acoustics but after hearing the improvement that the Line Magnetic gave my system, I am wondering now if there is a reasonably priced but a better speaker that is a better match for my system. The only criteria is that the price be equal to or less than $10k. I am looking for a speaker that is not harsh in the higher frequencies but still has enough sparkle and snap that doesn't give up anything in terms of detail. The ability to deliver some low end, dynamic punch is something that I would be looking for as well as this is the one area the Ascend's lack in currently. 

My current setup is...

Speakers: Ascend Acoustics Sierra Tower with RAAL Tweeters and Ascend Acoustics Center Speaker with RAAL Tweeter
Amp: Line Magnetic 805ia at 48W x 2
DAC: PS Audio Directstream Junior
Primary Music: Jazz and Female Vocals 

Speakers that I have considered so far include (power requirements notwithstanding):
  • Magico A3
  • Dynaudio Contour 60
  • Focal Sopra 2
  • Sonus Faber Olympica 3
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
freesole
markmendenhall
173 posts
 
whatever harshness you heard through the Olympicas was not speaker related

recording, gear, or room related causes, but not the speaker

the Oly 3 has a unique ability to allow almost any recording to sound listenable; great recordings sound excellent, poor recordings manage to avoid being immediately changed out, it really is a remarkable feature of the speaker 

they are power and current hungry though, chintzing on power can leave you underwhelmed 
facten
931 posts
 
freesole
Realizing that you don't have Daedalus on your "updated" short list , they are in Ferndale WA. I don't know how close that it is to Seattle but it may afford you the opportunity to audition
freesole OP
146 posts
 
@markmendenhall I was initially quite impressed with the pace and dynamic quality of the low end but it was the high's which were somewhat piercing (I am fairly sensitive to high harshness). The Sonus was being powered by McIntosh and Hegel gear. 
freesole OP
146 posts
 
@facten I should give them a try. They are about 2 hours from me but I do travel in that direction once a month or so. Is there a particular speaker that you would recommend? 
markmendenhall
173 posts
 

freesole

does not coincide with my daily experience - I own the Oly 3's, run a Hegel cdp with a Pass amp and tube pre and the highs are anything but 'piercing'; I auditioned the Sopra 2's with the beryllium tweeter, and if you want to hear a bright sounding speaker, check those bad boys out

the upper end on the Oly's in my bright room, with the silk dome tweeter are smooth as butter; not sure what was going on in your audition, wouldn't even know where to go with your preferences, maybe a ribbon tweeter or panel speaker; best of luck

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