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Please help with speaker choices

Hi all,
Well the room and time has lead me down the road to upgrading speakers. A most exciting time, but alas, filled with choices and no possible auditioning for me.

So I must relie on this communities suggestions and help!!

First the current system:
Nick Doshi Preamp
Nick Doshi modded Lectron JH50
Amazon Referenze TT
Triplanar Tonearm
CDP-Don't have one yet
Focal 1007 Be Monitors-current speakers

Room Size:
21 by 13 with 8ft cellings

Music:
I listen to pretty much everything. Sorry for being so general. In one listening session I may move from Coltrane, to Cannonball Adderly, to Muddy Waters and Johnny Lee Hooker to Lucinda Williams and electric/folk Neil Young. Throw in some Dylan and then move onto the White Stripes, Beck, if I'm real rowdy maybe some Ramones or AC/DC, then come down with some Edith Piaf and a sip of 12 year single malt.

Reason for wantng change:
One is I find this a hobby. For me that means having fun with experimentation. So far I have only owned the Focals.
Two is now that I moved my system against the short wall and facing out to the long part of the room, the monitors seems lacking, like they are too small to fill the space, like it is too much effort. Three is I have nerver had a floorstanding speaker and the prospect excites me. Four is, sitting wise, I can only get about 9 feet near to the Focals. To place them closer puts them right in the middle of the living room. Not really acceptable. At 9 feet, the monitors just not presenting the soundstage I desire. At that distance with monitors, I am just not in the heart of the music.

Also something important to note is I like listening loud, but do not always have that option as my system is in the living room and out of respect for others cannot always listen loud so I must have speakers that offer low volume detail.

My choices so far (more of course welcome)
Sonus Faber Cremona floorstanders
Merlin VSM-Mxe
Verity Fidelio Encore
ATC 20's passive

At the higher end(only consider if HIGHLY recommended)
Verity Parsifal ovation
Sonus Faber Amati Homage

Monitors I might consider
Focal Mini-Utopia Be
Sonus Guarnari Homage

OK, sorry for rambling so much. Obviously I am putting a lot of thought into this. Any input much appreciated!

Peter
mariasplunge
gregm
3,021 posts
 
Peter, reading your & others' posts and noting yr budget, I don't think you can get what you're looking for, the way you're looking for it:
i.e.,
* one stereo amp, driving more or less full-range speakers (you listen to music that requires mid-bass, voice and hi-freq (cymbals, etc) -- including brass, etc).
* low amplitude reproduction that is acceptable enough to envelop you in the music (or trick you to focus on the music, as it were).
* reasonably sized spkrs, compatible with a family room.

So, I believe you would be well advised to consider somewhat less conventional solutions -- such being, active speakers, for example.
In this respect, many can fit the bill, the most obvious coming to mind being Linkwitz Orions or ATC.

I think $: 7k can buy you a pair of Orions ready made (i.e. you can also purchase a kit) including the amplification required to drive them and the electronic xover.

ASAIK, the Orions' reproduction will outperform the (very good) commercial choices listed at any volume level below 110dB spl; they are not that big; they have reasonable aesthetics (go to linkwitzlab dot com); they are very versatile -- i.e. easily set up in a room.

Many would give (their) right arm (for) a pair of 4345 JBL Monitors.
Maybe; I would agree these are interesting spkrs -- but they are huge and probably aren't practicable.
Cheers
johnnyb53
3,490 posts
 
I also have to second your interest in Sonus Fabers. I think they're fabulous speakers and would do great things with the wide variety of music and volumes you listen to. Their tonal balance is similar to Mirage. You may even want to look into some used Sonus Faber floor-standers. There is a pair of Cremona floorstanders in the classifieds for $6500.

Or, although stand-mounted, you might want to keep an eye out for some Extremas. Those were S'phile Class A when they came out and I'm sure they still kick ass.

One thing cool about the Extremas--they have all the dynamic and frequency range of a large speaker, but they present a small front baffle, which means they'd throw an image like mini-monitors. Best of both.
mariasplunge OP
174 posts
 
gregm, I appreciate the information. The active ATC's are on my short list for sure. I've heard great things. However, the Lectron is my first tube amp and I am sticking to it for now. This is the world i have choosen for the meantime so the active speakers will have to wait for awhile.

Of course, like you voiced, i do have concerns about getting the sound I want out of this amp, but I'll try for now and have fun doing it!! At the very least, i'll achieve some sound and be able to use it as a reference for where I want to go next, if anywhere.

Johnny, thanks for the vote for the Sonus Fabers. have you expereince with the Cremona's. Very good looking. I was wondering about the small front baffle and what that sounded like. Monitor like huh? Good to know. I suppose that puts me in range of the audio physic line, which also has a small front baffel. I've entertained thoughts on the Avanti III's but wonder if they are just too much for my space? Can you give me more feedback on the Cremona sound? Thanks and cheers folks. I'll be away for a couple of days but always appreciate the time and info you guys put into this thread so keep it coming!!
Peter
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Gregm,

Actually, Peter can do all the things you listed with this amp. If he couldn't I wouldn't have recommended it - promise! :-)

The Lectron does those things in my sytem with the relatively petite B&W floorstanders, as Dan said. (In fact, it's substantially stronger and more involving now than what Dan, Raul and other visitors heard, thanks to some recent system tweaks.) It does those things beautifully with the top of the line Merlins + BAM. It drives similar sized Audio Kharma floorstanders with a combination of power, finesse and clarity that stunned the importer of those speakers (way beyond Peter's budget, just an example to demonstrate how capable the amp is).

Your suggestions are good ones, I know several people who swear by the powered ATC's. But since he's already got the amp doesn't it makes sense to find a pair of speakers it's known (or likely) to work with? He can always move on, but at least he'd have a reference point.

Peter,

Based on experiences from Nick, Dan, ourselves and other owners, speakers with the following characteristics should offer the performance you're seeking:
* ~88db or higher efficiency
* nominal 6 ohms impedance or above (dipping to ~3 is okay)
* -3db point in the low 30's or above (not subwoofer bass)

A speaker that pushed the limits in one of these areas but left some leeway on the other two might also work fine. There are probably hundreds of speakers that meet these guidelines. You just need to find the size, color and sonic flavor that most appeals.

Doug
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,333 posts
 
Your short list has clearly selected some beautiful looking aesthetic speakers (Verity, Audio Physic, SF, Merlin etc.) These are all very good speakers and each has strengths and weaknesses. The one strength that they all share is that they all look really impressive (clearly expensive cabinetry).

Most recently, in your thread you state

Aesthestics are important to me as well. I want the speaker to disappear in the general decor.

Now we are getting somewhere....frankly, the ATC's stick out like a sore thumb on this list. As a purely functional box designed for acoustics with little regard to aesthetics, ATC's look quite ordinary and are the least likely to garner admiration from guests or spouse, even if you were to go with an expensive veneer. In private, ATC's may give you jaw-dropping mid range but, from personal experience, they will not even elicit a comment from casual dinner guests and the wife will probably keep them pushed well back against the wall and hidden or out the way.

My aesthetic preference is SF then Audio Physic. I like the pyramidal Verity's least and the Merlin's are a bit more conventional looking than the others ( score lower on the wow factor with guests, IMHO)

Since these are all very good speakers (nobody should be unhappy with the sound of any of these speakers), I'd go with what you will be happiest with in terms of your decor!

Perhaps others can suggest some very good sounding and aesthetic speakers such as Totem's (and not JBL's with 18" woofers)....my hunch is that these kind of speakers may be more appropriate for you and will not lead to regrets later on...
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