There are a pair of Celestion SL-700s for sale that are worthy of consideration. You could use the rest of your budget to upgrade electronics.
Great bookshelf or small towers suggestions
I'm looking to upgrade my main speakers for home theater/music setup.
Currently have Sound Dynamic 300 ti's that are about 16 years old. I have a Marantz 5009 AV receiver and some Orbs for side and back channels. I have a sound dynamic center speaker too. The room is 11x15 with a fairly low 7' ceiling. I want to replace the LR main and Center speakers. Budget < $5K.
floorplan: http://tinyurl.com/zd68dqf
Soundwise I am after improved brightness and up front treble and mids. I am not the biggest bass nut - a) I have downstairs neighbors and b) I've played drums for 40 years and have heard it all. I hate being bounced out of my seat every time stuff explodes and mainly want to hear dialog better for TV and clearer more sparkly acoustic pianos and spangalang of cymbals like they're in the room with me.
So far from what I've heard in stores, I liked the Magnepan .7's a lot. But they just won't fit the space. Too wide and didn't pass WAF. I listened to a few other speakers - mid level B&W's, Golden ear, martin logan, and so far little compared to the magnepans except maybe the BW 805D3's - which are way over my budget. I thought about looking for used 805d2's. I did like a pair of Focal 714's and could probably live with them. But this is the last pair of speakers I ever want to buy. So I keep coming back to thinking about the new 805's or something close.
I've been interested in a lot of the factory direct speakers like the Sierra Tower & 2's but it bothers me to buy speakers I can't hear first.
Any advice appreciated.
Thx!
Currently have Sound Dynamic 300 ti's that are about 16 years old. I have a Marantz 5009 AV receiver and some Orbs for side and back channels. I have a sound dynamic center speaker too. The room is 11x15 with a fairly low 7' ceiling. I want to replace the LR main and Center speakers. Budget < $5K.
floorplan: http://tinyurl.com/zd68dqf
Soundwise I am after improved brightness and up front treble and mids. I am not the biggest bass nut - a) I have downstairs neighbors and b) I've played drums for 40 years and have heard it all. I hate being bounced out of my seat every time stuff explodes and mainly want to hear dialog better for TV and clearer more sparkly acoustic pianos and spangalang of cymbals like they're in the room with me.
So far from what I've heard in stores, I liked the Magnepan .7's a lot. But they just won't fit the space. Too wide and didn't pass WAF. I listened to a few other speakers - mid level B&W's, Golden ear, martin logan, and so far little compared to the magnepans except maybe the BW 805D3's - which are way over my budget. I thought about looking for used 805d2's. I did like a pair of Focal 714's and could probably live with them. But this is the last pair of speakers I ever want to buy. So I keep coming back to thinking about the new 805's or something close.
I've been interested in a lot of the factory direct speakers like the Sierra Tower & 2's but it bothers me to buy speakers I can't hear first.
Any advice appreciated.
Thx!
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- 77 posts total
If I was in the market for a diminutive floor-standing speaker, I would, almost without question, order a pair of PSI Audio A215-Ms. You’ve no doubt never heard of them. They are very high-end professional studio mastering monitors made in Switzerland by an offshoot of Revox, no less. They aren’t fancy (but should have a good WAF), and they may seem rather expensive @ $3150 apiece, but they’re an "active" speaker, meaning the amp is built into the speaker. Thus, not only do you not need a separate amp, the amp is designed specifically for that speaker, and each speaker simply has an XLR and an IEC power cord input. OK, but how do they sound? I don’t directly know. BUT, I use a pair of PSI A-21s in my mastering studio, and they are stunningly open, precise, detailed and yet VERY listenable. Frequency response is essentially flat throughout their range. By almost all accounts, that is true of the entire PSI line. If it’s clarity, sparkly and "spangalang" cymbals you’re listening for, I’m certain you couldn’t do better for the money. You can find several reviews on-line, but I would pay the most attention to the comments on Gearslutz. Those folks are pros. I can recommend this dealer; there are also rumors of one in NYC. http://www.zenproaudio.com/psi-audio-a215-m |
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Wolf, I was in your shoes over a year ago, somewhat tired of my existing speakers, but not sure which way to go. I did much research on the net, and kept coming back to the Sierra 2's. For a bookshelf, anything decent from the traditional retail market was well over 2000, and these internet direct companies seemed to be able to offer much better bang for buck. So a tried a pair on the free trial they offer, and they were so superior in the theater system to my Paradigm Monitor 7 that I moved the Sierra 2 into my high end 2 channel system. Airy highs, detail, lush vocals, they blew me away. I ended up with 3 Sierra 1 across the front of my theater and I'm an Ascend fan for life. If you can feel a little adventurous, it's really worth it. The Raal ribbons are spectacular. In your cozy room you really don't need more than that, save your coin, maybe upgrade the surrounds if so desired. |
- 77 posts total