Joseph Audio Pearl 2's if budget allows - or Joseph Perspectives and a REL sub
Dynamic speakers for Marantz SC-7s2/MA-9s2 $10K?
Looking for suggestions and recommendations for a new pair of speakers.
I'm running a Mac into a Benchmark DAC-1 USB into a Marantz SC-7s2 preamp and MA-9s2 600w monos. The room is 24' x 12' x 9' (~2600 cubic fee), irregularly shaped, full of furniture, with hardwood floors and a wall of glass on one side. The room is moderately live, more so at high volumes.
The speakers are roughly centered on the long wall about 10' apart, baffles 26" from back wall. Due to furniture and space constraints, the speakers have to stay in this position - I can't pull them farther away from the back wall.
I listen to all genres to some degree. I focus on classical orchestral and piano, acoustic jazz and classic rock. I also listen to scratchy historical recordings and occasionally dance & techno music for parties and such. I'm a trained classical musician and have an excellent ear. Naturalness of timbre is my primary priority, followed by dynamics then imaging. I want something accurate which will excel on the classical/jazz and not be obviously compromised on any type of music. I've owned high-end gear for 10 years or so now (Bryston, Revel, ARC, REL, Sonus Faber, Dynaudio, Marantz, etc.) and am reasonably well-informed.
I am a big fan of Revel speakers and started with a pair of F52's. This particular pair had tweeters/mids damaged in shipping; even with that I felt they overloaded the room with bass (even in Boundary position) and simply couldn't disappear because they were too space-constrained. This makes me feel I need some "lighter-weight" speakers for best results, though it could have been the damaged/distorted midrange that made them so fatiguing.
I am in NYC and have access to many audio stores, so I plan to spend some time auditioning and will likely buy a new pair from a local dealer. I'd like to spend $3-5K but will consider up to $10K if I feel the value is really special. I tend to keep my speakers for a long time...
I'm considering:
Revel F206/F208/Studio2
Sonus Faber (Cremona/Olimpica)
B&W (800 series)
I'm ruling out:
Dynaudio
Electrostats
Planars
Would be very appreciative of other suggestions for auditioning. I feel there must be a perfect match for those beautiful 600w amps...
Cheers!
I'm running a Mac into a Benchmark DAC-1 USB into a Marantz SC-7s2 preamp and MA-9s2 600w monos. The room is 24' x 12' x 9' (~2600 cubic fee), irregularly shaped, full of furniture, with hardwood floors and a wall of glass on one side. The room is moderately live, more so at high volumes.
The speakers are roughly centered on the long wall about 10' apart, baffles 26" from back wall. Due to furniture and space constraints, the speakers have to stay in this position - I can't pull them farther away from the back wall.
I listen to all genres to some degree. I focus on classical orchestral and piano, acoustic jazz and classic rock. I also listen to scratchy historical recordings and occasionally dance & techno music for parties and such. I'm a trained classical musician and have an excellent ear. Naturalness of timbre is my primary priority, followed by dynamics then imaging. I want something accurate which will excel on the classical/jazz and not be obviously compromised on any type of music. I've owned high-end gear for 10 years or so now (Bryston, Revel, ARC, REL, Sonus Faber, Dynaudio, Marantz, etc.) and am reasonably well-informed.
I am a big fan of Revel speakers and started with a pair of F52's. This particular pair had tweeters/mids damaged in shipping; even with that I felt they overloaded the room with bass (even in Boundary position) and simply couldn't disappear because they were too space-constrained. This makes me feel I need some "lighter-weight" speakers for best results, though it could have been the damaged/distorted midrange that made them so fatiguing.
I am in NYC and have access to many audio stores, so I plan to spend some time auditioning and will likely buy a new pair from a local dealer. I'd like to spend $3-5K but will consider up to $10K if I feel the value is really special. I tend to keep my speakers for a long time...
I'm considering:
Revel F206/F208/Studio2
Sonus Faber (Cremona/Olimpica)
B&W (800 series)
I'm ruling out:
Dynaudio
Electrostats
Planars
Would be very appreciative of other suggestions for auditioning. I feel there must be a perfect match for those beautiful 600w amps...
Cheers!
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