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Please help with speaker choices

Hi all,
Well the room and time has lead me down the road to upgrading speakers. A most exciting time, but alas, filled with choices and no possible auditioning for me.

So I must relie on this communities suggestions and help!!

First the current system:
Nick Doshi Preamp
Nick Doshi modded Lectron JH50
Amazon Referenze TT
Triplanar Tonearm
CDP-Don't have one yet
Focal 1007 Be Monitors-current speakers

Room Size:
21 by 13 with 8ft cellings

Music:
I listen to pretty much everything. Sorry for being so general. In one listening session I may move from Coltrane, to Cannonball Adderly, to Muddy Waters and Johnny Lee Hooker to Lucinda Williams and electric/folk Neil Young. Throw in some Dylan and then move onto the White Stripes, Beck, if I'm real rowdy maybe some Ramones or AC/DC, then come down with some Edith Piaf and a sip of 12 year single malt.

Reason for wantng change:
One is I find this a hobby. For me that means having fun with experimentation. So far I have only owned the Focals.
Two is now that I moved my system against the short wall and facing out to the long part of the room, the monitors seems lacking, like they are too small to fill the space, like it is too much effort. Three is I have nerver had a floorstanding speaker and the prospect excites me. Four is, sitting wise, I can only get about 9 feet near to the Focals. To place them closer puts them right in the middle of the living room. Not really acceptable. At 9 feet, the monitors just not presenting the soundstage I desire. At that distance with monitors, I am just not in the heart of the music.

Also something important to note is I like listening loud, but do not always have that option as my system is in the living room and out of respect for others cannot always listen loud so I must have speakers that offer low volume detail.

My choices so far (more of course welcome)
Sonus Faber Cremona floorstanders
Merlin VSM-Mxe
Verity Fidelio Encore
ATC 20's passive

At the higher end(only consider if HIGHLY recommended)
Verity Parsifal ovation
Sonus Faber Amati Homage

Monitors I might consider
Focal Mini-Utopia Be
Sonus Guarnari Homage

OK, sorry for rambling so much. Obviously I am putting a lot of thought into this. Any input much appreciated!

Peter
mariasplunge

Showing 3 responses by dougdeacon

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Peter,

As Dan_Ed said, Nick's modded Lectron is far more capable with a wide range of speakers than anyone could guess from the specs. It has the transparency to play cleanly with horns and the oomph to handle tough crossovers and efficiencies in the upper 80db range, like our B&W's.

As you probably know, Nick drives ATC monitors with a Lectron that's pretty much identical to yours. There are no problems with volume or amp stress in his system. He can rock without distortion at chest crushing SPL's, and his listening room is *much* larger than yours.

The ATC's aren't my cup of tea and I'm unfamiliar with most of your other speaker choices, but from the description of what you're seeking I'd keep them on the list. The Merlins also work really well with the Lectron. A little less weight and body than the ATC's, better for Edith Piaf and the single malt I think.

I did notice that your idea of "everything" in music was missing a little from the classical side. For real music you need real speakers, not them head bangin' ATC's or those seductive Merlins. ;-)
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Gregm,

Actually, Peter can do all the things you listed with this amp. If he couldn't I wouldn't have recommended it - promise! :-)

The Lectron does those things in my sytem with the relatively petite B&W floorstanders, as Dan said. (In fact, it's substantially stronger and more involving now than what Dan, Raul and other visitors heard, thanks to some recent system tweaks.) It does those things beautifully with the top of the line Merlins + BAM. It drives similar sized Audio Kharma floorstanders with a combination of power, finesse and clarity that stunned the importer of those speakers (way beyond Peter's budget, just an example to demonstrate how capable the amp is).

Your suggestions are good ones, I know several people who swear by the powered ATC's. But since he's already got the amp doesn't it makes sense to find a pair of speakers it's known (or likely) to work with? He can always move on, but at least he'd have a reference point.

Peter,

Based on experiences from Nick, Dan, ourselves and other owners, speakers with the following characteristics should offer the performance you're seeking:
* ~88db or higher efficiency
* nominal 6 ohms impedance or above (dipping to ~3 is okay)
* -3db point in the low 30's or above (not subwoofer bass)

A speaker that pushed the limits in one of these areas but left some leeway on the other two might also work fine. There are probably hundreds of speakers that meet these guidelines. You just need to find the size, color and sonic flavor that most appeals.

Doug
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Peter,

Nick's components are essentially neutral, neither warm and fuzzy nor cool and analytical. Of course like any tube component you can easily make them a little (or a lot) warmer simply by switching tubes.

It's easy to add warmth to a system. In addition to tubes, there are warm sounding interconnects, speaker cables, cartridges, turntable belts and tweaks of every description.

It's not so easy to remove warmth (or any coloration) if it's inherent in a major component. I could make my system sound warmer in a hundred ways, many of them quick, inexpensive and easily reversible. (If I used an Amazon turntable belt instead of my mylar tape I'd add warmth, to name an example you can look at.) But to make an inherently warm component sound natural, neutral and transparent usually requires replacing it.

I guees I'm just saying, be careful not to go too far. High end analog doesn't require added warmth to avoid digital nastiness. Go warm only if you're sure that's what you want.
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