New speakers, which ones to consider?

Hi all!

After some system upgrades in the beginning of this year (went from a Rega P2 to a P8, and from an old Denon amp to an Exposure 3010S2D + Rega Aria) it will be time to upgrade my speakers towards the end of this year - exciting times!

My HiFi dealer already mentioned (when I bought the turntable and amp) some brands/speakers to consider like the Harbeth Monitor 30.1 and the Graham LS5/9.

Furthermore, I have read some good things about Fyne Audio (e.g. F502SP) and Spendor (e.g. D7) (though this one is not being sold by my dealer).

Some extra information:
- Budget will be around 5,000 euro's
- Listening area is 5.15m x 3.70m (~16.4feet x ~9,8feet if I am correct), but also has a similar sized area adjacent to it. Both 'area's' are connected with each other on the 3.70m side with an open space of ~2.50m

Of course I will plan some listening sessions with my current dealer - just here for some pre-investigation

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

ATC SCM 19v2 or SCM 40.... and call it a day

 

Buy the ones you love! (regardless of what anyone else thinks) Harbeth and Spendor are excellent starting points. Focal, PSB, Sonus Faber, and Kef are a few other suggestions to audition.

 

5000 euros? There's a ton of good to great speakers within your budget.

Perhaps, to narrow it down some, you might wanna post what kind of sound you're looking for/have loved in the past? And what kind of music you like?
.

 

This is definitely a starting point!

 

More like questions:
- Are you putting these up on shelves? Or would consider towers? Or are tower-averse for some reason?
- Subwoofer yes no maybe?
- Do you have any provision for room correction? (I know some folks are averse to that feeling it is corrupting, but sometimes-see graphic below-the physical situation just needs some help).
- How do you feel about your Dali Zensor 1s? What do you like or not like?

Buchardt room correction in action.

 

I've found, ie owned and ran for a while, models from ProAc and Kudos worked well with Exposure 3010. For its price that Expo takes some beating, for my tastes and ears, and its partnering CD player is possibly better, making the "D" version especially attractive.

 

Haha, yes I bet there is indeed - that's one of the reasons I posted here

And I will try to answer your questions as far as possible:

Sound, until now I have always been pleased by (keep in mind that most of my listening experience comes from my very entry level speakers!):
> a more analytical, 'neutral' sound - e.g. the reason that I have chosen the Exposure 3010S2D
> a clear and strong midrange - e.g. not per se looking for a lot of bass

Kind of music:
> the rock/pop 'classics' (e.g. Beatles, Stones, Dire Straits)
> prog rock (e.g. Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Camel, APP, ELP)
> and since lately been buying some Jazz (BN80s, Tone Poets, etc.) (and I like it so far!)

 

I am partial to European speakers, you should at least listen to the high-end DALIs, B&Ws, Focals, Dynaudios, Kefs as a starting point.

 

- No, not on shelves. Current speakers are on stands and 100+ cm from the back 'wall' (which is also a big window, I know, not the best idea) and 50+ cm from the side walls. Not tower-averse --> bet my girlfriend would even be pleased to see towers
- No, perfectly happy with 2.0
- Yes and no, can make changes, though listening area is also living room. And might be we will be leaving in a couple of years. With that in mind I would prefer to not make any room improvements for now.
- Always been pleased with the Dali's. However, I feel/know that I have a lot to gain in the 'size' of the sound. The Dali's don't really fill the room and are a bit flat compared to some other speakers I have heard.

 

To be more precise:
- Focal Kanta serie
- Kef reference
- B&W 805 (or 70x towers)

 

Hmm... that does seem to fit the profile of what ATC speakers do best, as per McCoy's earlier suggestion.

/

 

Same boat as you ...I am going to audition some speakers in the same budget to see if my 30 year old speakers can be bettered. And I certainly plan on auditioning the Graham Audio Ls5/9f and/or Ls6f. If you are going to audition the Ls5/9, I would be interested to hear your impressions!
Maybe the Russell K speakers would also fit this category ?!

 

A nice pair of Spendors!

 

Well, I think Dali make fine speakers. If you're pleased with them, I'd try upgrading within that although there are many fine speakers at your price.
(1) But your bookshelf models have just one 6.5" woofer, which physics says cannot fill the room with really low bass.
(1b) An obvious move is a subwoofer, which some avoid due to integration can be tricky.
(1c) The other obvious move is towers...whose bass is sometimes STILL not good unless you are lucky with room placement.

(2) And of course there are more expensive models, of Dali or others. Speakers do tend to sound better and better as you spend more and more money.

Whatever you get, my biggest recommendation is that it must have a reasonable return policy, since it may not sound good in YOUR space.

 

I agree with @head_unit about a subwoofer (or 2). You talk about 'filling' the room which equals pressurizing the room. Subs are very good at that (while you would need big speakers, costing more, and be very lucky with placement to achieve that room-filling-loading sound). I understand your hesitations but it really is a case of 'once you go sub, you never go back!'.
Also ask your dealer to audition them at home!

 

Dali Rubicon 6 with an extra sub ?

 

ATC SCM40V2.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

Yes, will make sure that I will be able to return/audition them at home (I know that my current HiFi dealer has this service, which is nice)

And one the sub, for now it will definitely be a no... got both downstairs as upstairs neighbours, with wooden floors (and already had complaints from the upstairs ones that they had problems with my bass - even as the Dali's don't produce any)

 

I have had the Harbeth 30.2 XD's, very nice speaker's worth a listen.

If you want to keep the bass to a minimum but have great sound, the P3ESR XD's would work well.

 

Try to audition the Spendor A4s and A7s. The best all-around small towers I’ve heard and they play feep enough that you won’t need a sub.

The Grahams are very nice too — designed by some of the best ears in the industry.

 

I agree with this statement 100%

I have one system without a sub and want to add one but there is no room and my wife would be upset if I stuffed a sub in the kids current school room. Subs set low are the best just to get that room pressurized.

 

Well, what a budget
Tannoy Eaton is it then (the new ones), try to haggle for Cheviots. Recently auditioned
and absolutely in love (only that at home are Tannoy Monitor Golds from 1970).

Harbeth M30.1 or .2 (quite similar) are definitely better than Graham’s (forget them), but
i owned them and the do not really make happy (somehow they have no Soul)
Spendors should be pretty nice, about the Fyne I can’t say anything
Not so sure about KEF, forget Dali, Focal, B&W ... shrill cold sound

Still, the Tannoys should fit the bill also with your music taste (mine is the same) and after a
long search with many speakers ended up with vintage Tannoy ... they have got it just right.

You could also think about vintage Tannoy, but the cabinets of the 15inch speakers are HUGE,
so 12inch should be the right ones. They even can stand at the wall, made for that.

 

I'd look seriously at the Xavian Stella Esclusiva in that range, solid oak cabinets (no MDF), series crossover with Mundorf caps and resistors, custom drivers, sand-filled cabinets. I've been very interested in listening to some of their stand mount speakers in that Natura line, especially the Perla Esclusiva, but sadly the only N/A dealer is in Canada. Still might take a chance and order a pair, there's a very good 6-moons factory tour showing their speaker building operation, really makes it seem a product of the love of music ...



6moons industry features: Xavian factory tour

 

Subs don't cause complaints, BASS causes complaints, especially as it is almost impossible to block. From a sub, from a tower, from a boosted bookshelf-complaints. The only sure ways around that are I suppose headphones and "bass shakers" in your seating.

Now here's a different thought-a friend was in a similar situation, apartment and neighbors. He got Buchardt A500 and is quite happy overall. The calibrated loudness functions to make listening at low levels have a fuller sound, and the room correction filled in a huge hole (see below).
OR, to keep the energy only in your room and not in the neighbors IS actually possible. However you will have to increase your budget:
Anya - EAW: Eastern Acoustic Works


Buchardt A500 room correction in action, no wonder my friend felt his previous speakers had no bass!!!