So a little over a year ago, I purchased a new pair of Klipsch Heresy IV’s that paired very nicely with my McIntosh MC240 tube amp. This past month, I moved into my girlfriend’s house. When I set up the Heresy’s, I could see here cringing. They definitely filled up the space where I put them. My listening space is transitioning from a large loft-style apartment with very high ceilings and large brick walls to a smallish room in a 150 year old Victorian. I’m looking for a good set of small speakers to replace my Heresy IV’s. Their current stand-in’s are a pair of B&W 686’s which sound great, but I know I can do better. I’m looking for a good set of bookshelf size speakers to pair with a McIntosh C28/MC240 setup. I predominantly listen to classic jazz, classic rock, and classical guitar on both vinyl and hi-def digital. My budget is sub $3K. I’m currently looking at KEF R3’s, Bowers & Wilkins 705 S2’s, Focal ARIA 906’s, Wharfedale Denton’s, and MartinLogan Motion 35XTi’s. I’m open to any suggestions, including vintage. Thanks!
Why? Are they actually going on shelves? Or your girlfriend prefers the look of stands over tower speakers? Is a Wharfedale Linton Heritage too big of a "bookshelf"? I really was crazy impressed with the Monitor Audio Silver 300s, and want to hear these babies Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G loudspeaker One system we have Focal 936/CC900/SR900. Great but double your budget for the L/R. Not sure the current inflato-price on the MA 500 7g. - We did a lot of listening and found we preferred 3-way designs. 2-way can be very nice but let me say as a loudspeaker engineer crossovers always have problems, and spreading them to each side of the vocal range does have advantages. - There are a lot of good speakers out there for $3k. Since your opinion counts for nothing, try some that your girlfriend likes the looks of, and then the sound of. This will help the Blissfullness Index. Your ear/brain will get used to whatever you get soon enough, this is called "break in" ha ha. - I'm not fond of really ancient designs by and large. The design and production technology has advanced a LOT since the old days.
LOL. Thanks for the great feedback! The Heresy's were just too big for her. Because of where they were positioned, I had to put them on risers and they ended up filling up a lot of space in her bay window. She likes the look of the cherry B&W bookshelfs on matching cherry stands. While the B&W's sound very good, I figured I could pick up a great pair of small or bookshelf speakers and sell the Heresy's to defray some of the cost. I love the Linton's, but they are only slightly smaller than the Heresy's.
You could audition the Paradigm Founder 40B, a very elegant and nice looking small ls. Personally I do prefer the sound of the older Signature series, but that's a matter of taste.
Richard would suggest Audio Note. My suggestion is one of those Harbeth XD (C7 would do or even why not the tiny great sound shoebox P3 ).
You're making this too difficult. Move back to your own place and ditch the girlfriend. She's already too much trouble and you obviously don't know how to train her. Thank me later.
There are a nice pair of Audio note speakers for sale on this forum's "Hardware for Sale" section. They are priced at less than half of their cost if purchased new. They are also very nice to look at.
Which are those? I looked a bit, could not find such. If she likes that I get you feel you might get a better bargain but I'd sure try the thing she likes. Some places (Crutchfield I hear) have inexpensive return shipping if you don't like something. Then, once she's happy, you build custom subs out of 2' diameter concrete former tubes, 7.5' tall...
No no my friend. It's a subtle induction process, beginning with letting her pick speakers she likes...but pushed to one size bigger than her natural preference. Then in comes the subwoofer. Then a second one "for balancing the sound." Then you gift her "even better!!" speakers...which happen to be bigger, or tower versions. Then your uncle (who she never met) dies and leaves you his gigantic and expensive speakers which you couldn't possibly sell or give away as they are a sentimental reminder of great days with your kind uncle in your youth...
KEF LS50 Meta and a REL T7i subwoofer. The LS50s sound absolutely magical with a tube amp and will play quite loudly despite people thinking it is not a match on paper. Much better sound than the R-series KEFs.
Unfortunately their standard lineup of speakers doesn't come close to matching their heritage series.
Life is full of compromises my friends. I'm willing to downsize the speakers, but I drew the line at giving up the cat. He's a total d*****bag, but he's my d*****bag and she's slowly warming up to him...
impressive specs, real 41Hz bass and 88db efficiency, magnesium tweeter. flat curve. i would like to hear them.
I plan on buying a pair in black ash. I have only heard them in passing but they sound a lot bigger than they are.
Inquiring minds want to know the cat's opinion on how much difference cables make, and the cause(s) of "break-in"...
For what it’s worth, my name is the sole owner on our property title, and I still check with my gf when it comes to big purchases, including audio equipment, that are going into living spaces. I guess I’m not “man enough” but I see no issue with the OP’s decision to consider different speakers. Also, as much as sound quality matters, aesthetics count too, especially in non-dedicated listening rooms. Nothing wrong with factoring in visual appeal into audio purchases. Good luck with your search OP!
