New Speakers or Amp?

Focal Chorus 706 $550 at MD
90dB Sensitivity

The NAD amp is perfectly fine, just find speakers that better match it.

 

Born and raised in Champaign, only thing that has changed is no Chief!

 

I will for sure look into these! You have experience with these speakers?

 

Different speakers is the way I am going I think, gave me many things to consider. thanks

 

You can have speakers with much higher sensitivity than that. A poster on the previous page suggested Klipsch and I agree that it would serve you well. They have a forward presentation most simply love and they also typically feature very high sensitivity ratings which is perfect for underpowered amps.

Here's a quick example. This pair has a sensitivity rating of 96db. They cost $500.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/klipsc...-speakers-pair-cherry/5708504.p?skuId=5708504

 

Have never thought of Klipsch, not sure why really. I will look at my local best buy this weekend thanks.

 

If you get one of those (or similar ones from Klipsch), I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at just how much louder music will be.

 

I don't but it meets your price point and higher sensitivity. My #1 choice would have been Epos Epic or Elan bookshelf, but I think those are fully discontinued. Those would mate well with the NAD I think.....You can try Audiogon see if they are available.

These Focal get good reviews......Do your research.

Focal Chorus 706V Loudspeaker

 

I was told the Focal 706 actually measured 88dB sensitivity.

 

I would think twice about changing either unless you are desperate. Sounds like a nice combination to me unless you plan to upgrade both speakers and amp at some stage. Put the money by and do both later when you've saved a bit more. Or go the "used" route.

 

88dB is still better than what he has......But always do your research.

 

I think the Focal 706 is edgy on the high-end. Wharfedale 225s sounded better to me. But, that is me and was not on my tube gear.

 

I think I will demo some speakers first to see if there is a difference. Its not something I am going to rush into. I do know that the amp is something I will change eventually.

 

I have the 807’s and I love them. That’s why my amp choice is based on them. Some people on here dump on that logic but tayloring your system to your speakers is common practice.

Focal makes excellent speakers.

 

Well, there will be a difference between speaker brands, as they are all "voiced" their own way. The question is if you will like a different speaker better than what you have now.

 

That is always the best thing to do, audition. Maybe Music Direct is close to you, they will let you demo plus I think they have a 30 day return policy.

I was 95% sure I wanted a pair of B&W 683 S2 when I went looking for new speakers. My dealer basically told me you will not like them, I had not even heard them yet?? So he set them up for demo and nope I did not like them. I listened to them on two different days, I wanted to like them. The voicing was not what I liked......Point is you have to demo speakers.

Have fun!

 

Yes that will be the question that needs answered. Maybe I am just being sucked into the rabbit hole.

 

Bwalk63, perhaps you could find a nice, used set of the 807v, which employ 7 inch woofers. And the 807V sensitivity is 92dB, which means that your NAD might sound a more dynamic and have a "fuller" sound. For a while, Focal also sold the 807W, which sported the "W" woofer cone from the Utopia series, although they are rarely found on the used market.

Edit: Actually, here's a set of 807v for $550:

Focal Chorus 807v

There are also some on ebay and Audiogon.

 

those are nice looking speakers, have to hope to look at some used, may be out of my league

 

Getting an inexpensive sub to get a feel for the difference is WAY cheaper than hunting that magic amp. But have fun shopping

 

I'll be interested in hearing your reaction to the Paradigm Mini-Monitors if you visit the dealer. It seems like they're rockers. Too bad they no longer make the old Monitor 3, with 8" woofer. 8" 2-ways seem to be like the unicorn these days.

Btw, I see Paradigm is doing some direct selling these days. $449 for the MM, with 30 day return.

 

What amp are you using?

 

My local Dealer has them for the same discount the MMV7 I believe

 

But I bet the tailgating still goes on strong, eh?

 

I vote for the Polk RTiA7's. I have the larger RTiA9's and they really can fill a room with sound. They are rated at 89-dB, which are fairly efficient. Keep in mind this speaker is a bit on the large size, weighing in at 55-lbs. They are just over 42" in height and just under 9" in width. But they are fairly deep at 17.875". Their -3 dB point is 35-Hz. and they will play all the way down to 20-Hz. Meaning that a sub is not really necessary.

There speakers retail for $1k but are on sale for $600/pr. That is a really good price for speakers like these. They are available in real cherry wood.

Here is a photo of the RTiA9's when they arrived.



The large grey speaker sitting next to the RTiA9's are legacy Altec Lansing A7, Voice of the Theater speakers. They are 103-dB efficient. I can run them at a room filling volume with as little as a 3.9-WPC tube amp that I have. Currently they have been running with a 36-WPC KT88 based PrimaLuna tube amp and more recently with a 35-WPC EL34 based Audio Note kit amp. Very efficient speakers usually sound their best when driven with tube amps. I drive the Altec's exclusively with tube amplification, including the preamp and the phono-pre.

All of my other tower mains, I drive with a 250-Watt Emotiva SS amp. The RTiA9's are currently put away and I currently have Polk LSiM 707's in their place.

Here is one out of the box. It is about 6" taller than the RTiA7. Polk also makes an RTiA5, which is smaller yet. It is about 2" shorter, has an efficiency of 90-dB and can play down to 40-dB at the -3 dB point. They will play down to 30-Hz. They are just under 16" deep and are also on sale of $240/ea, which is 40% off retail.

You might take note, that in the Stereophile article, the NAD was tested with Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speakers.

So the real power of your NAD amp is almost double the power listed. An increase of 3-dB's in efficiency is like doubling the power of your amp. So, the net result is like having an amp that would be over 100-Watts of power.

The klipsch would be louder, due to their increased efficiency, but I doubt that their sound signature would agree with some of your musical tastes, like acoustic and Jazz music. They will however, allow you to rock on, louder than with the RTiA7's.

The RTi's will have a sound closer to your Wharfedale's, than the Klipsch.

We might ask @F1nut to weigh in with his opinion. He is very knowledgeable about power use and he is also very familiar with Polk Audio products and has been known to favor the RTiA7's.