5 year speaker plan

[joeling]

I am sort of maybe looking for new speakers in the medium term future and would like some advice from esteemed members here.

My current system is listed in my signature.

I have had ProAc for the last 10 years and current pair for the last 5 years. Prior to that, I had DIY wide band driver Mitsubishi Diatone monitors.

I have a positive bias to warmer side of neutral. I listen to more vocals than percussions. I like soundstage and bass as much as the next guy but mid range / nice vocals is the 1st priority.

My room is medium / small measuring at (L x W x H) 25ft x 16ft x 10ft.

Budget is for now arbitarily set at USD80,000 - USD100,000.

Help me narrow the field of potential candidates. I loathe to change amps so candiadates have to match well with the Naim or Accuphase.

Much appreciated in advance for your advice.

PS : I may post similar requests in other forums so if u come across, please forgive me

 

[bonzo75]

What music do you listen to, and is it digital, analog, what kind of recordings

 

[BruceD]

I've heard both the Carbon 6's and 8's-- frankly for "much" more dosh I cannot think of any in a domestic envirnoment

that will better them-even in the price range you mention--

I'd keep 'em

BruceD

 

[joeling]

more biased towards vocals, pop, rock. Not much jazz at all. Would like to learn classical. Mandarin pop from the 80's etc

Have a bunch of 70's/80's/90's to current Lps

few hundred to a thousand CDs. A few SACDs

also exploring streaming

 

[bonzo75]

more biased towards vocals, pop, rock. Not much jazz at all. Would like to learn classical. Mandarin pop from the 80's etc

Have a bunch of 70's/80's/90's to current Lps

few hundred to a thousand CDs. A few SACDs

also exploring streaming

If you want to learn classical, and end up learning it, your speakers choice might change from pop rock. So, since you have a 5 year speaker plan, it depends how much you end up learning. Best way is to go to a lot of concerts and then at the end of the first year start demoing. Your preferences might change

 

[thomask]

If you like vocal music with tight and tuneful bass, then I recommend you to try Lansche 4.2 speaker with SET tube amplifier.

I am confident that few speakers can match vocal sound from my Lansche 4.1 driven by SET tube.

Elvis Presley and Eva Cassidy give spooky presence in my listening room.

 

[Ron Resnick]

For your priority of vocals, which is my priority too, as well as the warmer side of neutral, I recommend investigating Magnepan speakers (especially if you live in the USA) and Analysis Audio speakers (especially if you live in Europe).

If a smaller, European company does not worry you, I prefer the sound of the Analysis Audio speakers over the sound of the Magnepan speakers.

Driven by a high power tube amp or a high power hybrid amp I think either speaker would be magic on vocals.

For the ultimate in transparency and in-the-room presence of vocalists, in return for slightly less corporeal body and instrumental weight, I strongly recommend the MartinLogan Neolith.

I would drive all three speakers with the exact same amplifiers.

The Spanish company Alsyvox makes a ribbon loudspeaker which appears, by Munich show reports, to be very promising. I have not heard it myself, but I woukd like to audition it someday.

 

[Leif S]

I am sort of maybe looking for new speakers in the medium term future and would like some advice from esteemed members here.

My current system is listed in my signature.

I have had ProAc for the last 10 years and current pair for the last 5 years. Prior to that, I had DIY wide band driver Mitsubishi Diatone monitors.

I have a positive bias to warmer side of neutral. I listen to more vocals than percussions. I like soundstage and bass as much as the next guy but mid range / nice vocals is the 1st priority.

My room is medium / small measuring at (L x W x H) 25ft x 16ft x 10ft.

Budget is for now arbitarily set at USD80,000 - USD100,000.

Help me narrow the field of potential candidates. I loathe to change amps so candiadates have to match well with the Naim or Accuphase.

Much appreciated in advance for your advice.

PS : I may post similar requests in other forums so if u come across, please forgive me

Our rooms are almost identical in size. Your going to have fun!

I am sort of maybe looking for new speakers in the medium term future and would like some advice from esteemed members here.



Much appreciated in advance for your advice.

PS : I may post similar requests in other forums so if u come across, please forgive me

 

[Bodhi]

Given your room size and musical preferences, my vote goes to the Magico M2 @$63.6kUS (incl: MPod tripod stands). Those speakers can really do bass & hugely impressed at the recent Munich High End show. They have a similar sound signature to the M6, but would be easier to place & would not overload your room. Additionally, your Accuphase mono's would do a stellar job driving the M2's.

 

[KeithR]

For Naim and Accuphase coupled with a slightly warm of neutral speaker like your Proacs and a vocal/rock preference- panels and Magicos are far from the solution in my experience.

I'd recommend auditioning Wilson and Gamut - both are excellent on vocals and dynamic for rock/pop, relatively easy to drive for your amp stable. Gamut is warm, but not as warm as say Sonus Faber.

 

[joeling]

A few months have gone by and it seems that the 5 year plan has shrink to a 5 months plan. I have gone round to listen to a few pairs of potential candidates.

1) PMC Fenestria - a bit bright for my taste
2) Vivd Giya G1 Spirit - vocal good but room too big hence could not evaluate bass performance
3) Focal Stella Utopia - not on my list but dealer did not have the Stenheim so sat down to have a listen. Hmm, very nice. Going for round 2 next week.
4) Magnepan 3.7i - went to friend's place to have listen - very nice but I worry on placement and dipole nature of the speakers.
5) Magico S7 - went to friend's place to have a listen - largish room. Very impressive. Round 1 vocal a bit on the bright side. Round 2, vocals seems to have been tamed. Bass is fat and voluptuous. I like but may b too big for my room. Crazy fellow proceed to add 2 more JL top of the line subs. Will go to listen again next week.

 

[Cellindo]

Hi Joeling,

Just a "brain dump" ie. no order of preference, I would audition:

- Vivid Audio G2 (not as big as the G1, easier for room placement); extremely "coherent" from top to bottom
- Rockport Avior II; very good all-rounder for all type of musics
- Kaiser Kawero!; very "musical" and "fluid"
- Sasha DAW; Wilson brand is quite a good match with Accuphase Class A amps
- YG Hailey 2.2; very precise
- Verity Audio Sarastro IIs; very "natural" and lively
- Latest Kharma models without the ceramic driver

 

[joeling]

Cellindo,

Thanks for the list. I may also consider Magico M3.

Next Monday, dealer will set up Naim 500 series with Naim streamer & DCS front end for round 2 of Stella Utopia.

 

[Bobvin]

Are you in USA? If so, make a point to visit NYC & Bob @ Rhapsody Audio in Manhattan. He has the Alsyvox previously mentioned and also the Diesis “Roma”. Both I think are something you should hear if auditioning speakers in your price range. I personally was gobsmacked by the Diesis, and I am a R’n’R, Blues lover who enjoys jazz, pop, and a smattering of classical. And simple, delicate ballads of any genre particularly w great vocals.

 

[christoph]

Are you in USA? If so, make a point to visit NYC & Bob @ Rhapsody Audio in Manhattan. He has the Alsyvox previously mentioned and also the Diesis “Roma”. Both I think are something you should hear if auditioning speakers in your price range. I personally was gobsmacked by the Diesis, and I am a R’n’R, Blues lover who enjoys jazz, pop, and a smattering of classical. And simple, delicate ballads of any genre particularly w great vocals.

I fully agree about AlsyVox and Diesis

 

[Hipper]

Do you have any room treatment - bass traps and the like?

If not I recommend spending the next five years learning and implementing such things.

 

[Bobvin]

Do you have any room treatment - bass traps and the like?

If not I recommend spending the next five years learning and implementing such things.

I'm just gonna say... having a look at the system of the original poster, I am inclinded to think he's not a novice to the hobby or has gone about collecting the system he has without awareness of room dynamics. Given how great the Diesis speakers sounded in Bob's listening lab (Rhapsody Audio), which would not be considered an "acoustically optimized environment"... there are many speaker choices that can be made to sound terrific even if the room lacks "room treatment". In my experience, unless (and even if) you work with someone with experience with audiophile rooms and a great deal of knowledge of acoustics, adding treatment can make changes to your sound, not necessarily for the better. Sure, an optimized room will give you more of what your system is capable of, but great sound can be enjoyed without making the room look like the inside of an alien spacecraft.

 

[sbo6]

There are many great speakers in your price range and only you can decide what's right for you. I would also take your listening sessions with a grain or 3 of salt as the room, source, preamp, amplification and everything else will have a significant impact on the sound. Add a few grains for bass since all rooms wreak havoc where a speaker may seem to have "lots of powerful bass" in one room, the same speaker in another may seem "anemic".

That said, I went through a similar experience a few months back and I have a very similar sized room with similar taste, not too off from yours. I came away with (mostly in order of preference) Vandersteen 7 Mk II, Vivid Audio Giya G1, Magico S5 Mk II, TAD Ref 1s. I ended up with Giya G2 S2 and have 2 JLA F113s to complement the Giyas and am quite happy.

Enjoy your search, you'll have an excellent sounding system and don't forget the room treatment!


Happy listening!

 

[LenWhite]

I haven't heard the Borresen Acoustics speakers yet, but if I was currently in the market for speakers, this would be on my short list.
https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/borresen/

Roy Gregory also recently posted a review of the Raidho Acoustics XT5 I would look at seriously.
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/raidho_xt5.htm

 

[joeling]

Do you have any room treatment - bass traps and the like?

If not I recommend spending the next five years learning and implementing such things.

I have realized that the room is the single most important component in the system that most dealers do not talk about. Paid a lot of school fees to get to where I am today. I moved in to my current place 10 years ago. When I had my house built, I decided to have a bigger dedicated listening room built. For some reason, my younger self thought that that rock wool all around hidden under wooden panels would be best. Engineering floor boards for the room as well. The end result was totally no bass. Had to take them all down and started over with bare walls and tiled floor. Cost of lesson : USD30,000. From bare walls back to bare walls with nothing else to show.

Over the years, I discovered that I prefer diffusion on the first and second reflection points of the sides walls. I prefer diffusion at the back wall as well. Front wall is a combination of duffusion and absroption. Bass traps at the corners. DIY Helmholtz resonators to tune out the 60+hz standing wave.

As of yesterday, I have also taken delivery of a pair of JL F113s to bolster the low frequencies a bit. Quite a handful. Despite all the efforts, I still had a nasty bass null around 40hz prior to the insertion of the F113s. The F113s certainly helped but not totally elimate this null. Managed to push the dip to 30hz for now, Tuning continues. I use a software program from XTZ with an included USB mic.

I am based in Malaysia on the island of Borneo.

Anyway, next course of action :

1) Focal Stella Utopia - round 2 - I will fly to Singapore and audition the Stella one more time. Dealer showed me that he has setup the DCS Vivialdi to welcome me.
2) Magico M3 - I will visit my friend in the Capital City of Malaysia across the sea to have a listen to his S7 with Naim S1 pre 500Dr power and Naim ND555 + Kuzma Goldfinger front end setup. Since my last viist, the hardcore fellow as added 2 pairs of JL Gotham monsters. If this works out good, I will get him to introduce his Magico dealer to try for an audition for the M3.
3) Vivid Giya G2 - This is still at the back of my mind to find a suitable time to audition. Unfortunately, no stock available to places accessibly by me. Will need to listen to the G1 again in a home environment. There is one set of G1 + Naim Statement in Singapore where the dealer may be able to work out something.

Other suggestions also in consideration if they r available in the region.