Opinion on new speaker search

The one thing I miss when I lived and grew up in Binghamton, NY is visiting McIntosh Labs and Audio Classics. I am thinking of upgrading my PMC FB1+ loudspeakers to a larger, full range, loudspeaker. I have decided to make the 11 hr. trip back home to audition a few speakers at Audio Classics later this month. Two, in particular, I will audition are Legacy Signature SE's and McIntosh XR200's. I have read many great reviews on the Legacy's but there isn't a lot of reviews on the XR's. One concern I have is the size of my listening room. This is a dedicated room for 2-channel listening, 70% vinyl and 30% cd & hi-rez. The room is a rectangle measuring 15' x 12'. I have treated the room with GIK Acoustics tri-traps in each corner and a combo of bass traps and diffusor's on the side and rear walls. I am concerned that the room might be too small for larger loudspeakers......any thoughts? Power is not an issue, they will be driven by a McIntosh MAC6700 that outputs 2oo wpc. I currently use 2 SVS subwoofers to handle bass but I am not happy with the integration of these. I just can't seem to get them to blend as well as I want. Audio Classics carries other brands as well, B & W will get a listen while I'm there.
Anyone with experience using larger speakers in a similar sized room or with Legacy and McIntosh speakers, please chime in.

Thanks Chazz

 

My room is nearly as narrow as yours. I chose a directional speaker for that reason. But mine is also low, with a 7-ft ceiling.

I don't know what dealers are in Columbia. There are advantages to dealing near home . . . one is a home trial of components before you buy. IMO, that's more important for speakers -- which interface closely with the room -- than for almost any other component. It is really hard to know what speakers will sound like in a room before trying them, partly because the construction and configuration of the room are important, not just the size.

I hope you have fun, and I wish you good luck with it!

 

The only real advantage is that I have know them and have made many purchases with them over the years and can get I really good deal because of that. I know that my room will sound very different than one of their listening rooms. My room on the 2nd floor of my home, carpeted floor, sheet rock walls and 8ft ceiling. The closest dealers near Columbia that offer anything I might be interested in are an hour North of me in Charlotte.

 

Just got done listening to some vinyl through the PMC's and they image so well. Hoping the Legacy's and the XR200's image this well. Any thoughts on the Legacy's air motion tweeters?

 

Called Legacy today about room size concerns. They told me that the Signature SE's would be well suited for my room size. Can't wait to audition them and the Mac's!

 

UPDATE......
Got a chance to listen to a pair of Focal Aria 948 floorstander's. Very detailed, nice midrange and tight bass. They definitely have more low end oomph than my smaller PMC's. A little concerned about the tweeter, I am kind of sensitive to brighter speakers and the treble on these is prominent. They didn't sound harsh though, the treble actually added to the detailed sound. I love the build quality of the Focal's as well, beautiful finish! Anyone have these? What do you think?

Thanks,
Chazz

 

Floorstanding 2.5 Way

 

Dont think you can go wrong with Focals, I have some old 716 floor standers that are fantastic, the inverted tweeter is smooth and detailed and don't fatigue IMHO.
I am looking forward to your thoughts on the Legacy speakers, I've always wanted to hear some. Happy hunting.

 

See if they have any PMC or ATC actives...worth a look I'd say.