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5-10k budget... so many choices

So its that time of year where I get to combine my tax return and annual bonus.  I am looking at stepping into the world of hi-fi and the more I research the more questions I have.  I am mainly looking at creating a 3.2 soundstage for 50/50 home theater and music listening.  I originally started out with a budget of 5k but after listening to step ups I am open to increasing my budget to ~10k.  I have listened to the B&W 702's, 804's, 803's the GoldenEar Reference, the Focal Kanta 2's, and Martin Logan 60t's.  After listening I was quickly able to eliminate the ribbon style of the Martin Logan, as for the GoldenEar's and the lower B&W's I was impressed with the accuracy and composure of both speakers and could have otherwise been quite content but it all changed once I heard the Focal's and 803's. I truly felt them, they gave me that indescribable goosebump feeling and I dont know if I can go back.  So far if I had to pick one, I would hands down go with the Focals, but since I am starting from the ground up I want a speaker that can grow with my setup.  Initially I will be using a Marantz 7012 AVR but will eventually add either 2 channel or dual mono block amplification.  At any rate I was curious what other speakers in this range give that feeling of experience and presence, the goosebumps.  Ideally I would like to be able to incorporate a center channel and dual subs but at this point I put more priority on the quality and clarity of the towers as they are the stars of the show.  Anyway I appreciate and thank you for any feedback and ideas.

Cheers
lowspark
lowspark's avatar
lowspark OP
10 posts
 
Willem, I really want to stick with 3 channel setup.  I totally get the rationale behind the 2 channel configuration and that may be how I start but I love movies and I dont know if I could do without the center.

As for the equipment / demo discussion I totally agree and I have been taking that into consideration.  Another thing that I am trying to be cognizant of is how forgiving/unforgiving a speaker is.  Out of convenience most of my music comes from Spotify, on wifi I listen to as high of quality as I can but its still compressed.  Whatever speaker I end up with needs to be able to still sound good even with less than perfect material, sadly this is not an area that favors the Focals, the beryllium tweeter is quite revealing.  I wonder how much a good DAC would help there.

I found a Vandersteen dealer about an hour away so I am going to try and get down there this weekend to have a listen.  The closest Paradigm Persona dealer is down in Portland ~3 hours away so that will be another trek.  Its really kind of sad how few hifi shops remain out here.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
1,457 posts
 

The Kanta's were only introduced very recently, so it takes a bit of time for them to trickle down into reviews and showroom floors.  Looking at the adverts, I began to suspect that they were an expensive "lifestyle" model built for higher WAF.  Glad to be apparently proven wrong.

@lowspark When you say "forward", where would you say the front edge of the soundstage is located?  On a plane closer to the listener than the plane of the speakers, coincident with the speakers, or behind the plane of the speakers?  How far back does the soundstage extend?

gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
...I really want to stick with 3 channel setup. I totally get the rationale behind the 2 channel configuration and that may be how I start but I love movies and I dont know if I could do without the center.

You mentioned you heard the Golden Ear Triton Reference but preferred the Focal's and 803's. Keep in mind Golden Ear also makes (very good) center channel speakers. 
lowspark's avatar
lowspark OP
10 posts
 
twoleftears, their may be a certain influence of "lifestyle" in their overall design but technically they really have a lot going for them.  They bring down a number of influences from the Sopra and have even gone to a flax fiber cone that gave a good tight natural feeling punch.  As someone who is habitually single WAF has played zero roll in my thought process.  Regarding the soundstage I would say they presented themselves closer to my listening position, they didnt have the depth as the B&W 804's but I felt like they had more height and projected themselves further into me if that makes sense.

gdhal, if I was going strictly for home theater the golden ears would probably be my primary choice.  The center I heard was fantastic.  That being said I also thoroughly enjoyed the B&W diamond center as well.  Word on the street says that Focal will be putting out a Kanta center at somepoint and I know the Sopra line has one as well. 
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I never felt the need for a centre speaker.
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