@soix
The Silverline Minuet Supreme Plus look gorgeous! Appreciate your suggestion.
The Silverline Minuet Supreme Plus look gorgeous! Appreciate your suggestion.
Requesting Advice on Speaker Upgrade
@returntomusic Have you listened to the ELAC UB-5? Nice balanced sound with excellent imaging, detail, and bass for the size/price. Throw in Dayton Audio 24" metal stands for a little over $60 shipped, (Parts Express). Use some black Goriila tape to fill wire holes on center column and fill all three with sand. Blue Tack the speakers- I'm using a NAD D3020 amp & sounds great to my ear. Music Direct gives you 60 days to check them out with your room & system, if you can't get a local shop to give a home trial. I haven't listened to Elacs. I understand they are pretty incredible for the money. Thanks for the tip regarding a budget stand option. Cheers! Matthew |
@glennewdick Proac Tablets or just about anything from them can find used in your price range. _____________ Example of something that would fit your room. Thank you! Loving your suggestions and really like those ProAcs!! |
BUT Im not sure the Rotel is musical or sweet sounding enough for that option. I say upgrade the amp first, then speakers will be easier to find that will work for you. @mattmiller Hi Matt, I’m curious if you have any thoughts regarding the Marantz PM8005 or PM7005. Last week I posted a thread in the Amp forum asking for Marantz recommendations. A lot of folks suggested to keep my Rotel and replace my Polks first. Now I am having second thoughts regarding that choice. A local shop of mine had the Totem Dreamcatchers powered by the 30 W per channel NAD D 3020. I thought they sounded very musical powered by that NAD (which I also own). Do you think the Dreamcatchers will work well with the RA-12? Thanks for your input! Cheers,Matthew |
@kenwood61 Thanks for explaining. Helps me understand a little more about the Wharfedales. I really like Quad's aesthetics and there are good deals out there for the 11Ls and 12Ls. Really wish I could demo them locally though. But oh well! Kef LS50s are great too! I demoed them at a local shop listening to jazz. They were very musical. Without a grille, and the high gloss finish, I am hesitant to have those with my 18 month old around. That said, I have read that the Kef R100s share similar specs as the LS50s, but offer a wood cabinet and grille. Thanks again for all your input! |
@gdnrbob // @willowbends Hey guys, Thanks again for all the feedback and suggestions. Long term I might be thinking Quads will be my speaker of choice. Money-wise, I ended up shifting things around to account for bigger summer/house project expenses, and decided to hold off on my main speaker upgrade. To help satisfied the itch I did score a pair of Kirksaeter Silverline 60s for only $100. And they are in perfect condition. They're easy to drive, and really musical for my taste. Plus the grilles aren't the easiest to move; ideal for my (now) 20 month year old who is very curious. The wood trim offers some style, but I'm not too concerned about the MDF cabinets with the toddler playing around them. I know some of you may be scratching your head. Wondering why I would prioritize my speaker choice with a toddler in mind, but the stereo is in a shared family space, and don't want to invest up to $1000 when I'll mostly be worrying about a hyperactive little boy playing around them. So figure I'll keep saving, keep listening, and one day will start building a next level system. Thanks again. And always be open to more input as I grow my system. Cheers! Matthew |
@gdnrbob I believe those retailed for around $700. A local dealer to me has a used pair for $400: https://echohifi.com/details/11209/ Gosh, I wish I could score a $2k speaker for $100. That would be amazing! |
@gdnrbob Ha! Thanks for that. These little speakers are really nice. Can't complain for $100. The Stereophile review is pretty accurate to how I hear them too. Little dude is definitely interested in what's going on with the stereo. It'll be so much fun as he grows, and maybe, enjoy listening to music with his dad. We'll see! |
@willowbends Totally. It's not so much a money thing right now, but a timing one. With these summer months ahead it definitely makes more sense for us to prioritize the budget towards exterior house projects, small weekend trips, and so on. It also gives more time to really think about a system I want to put together. I'm still learning a lot, and have always piecemeal-ed components. But if I wait it couple be plausible that I'd be able to afford speakers and matching amp at the same time. |
@rackon
Thanks for the Triton recs! . Happy with the 8005 so far. Been swapping out with the Rotel RA-12 depending on my mood. Both have very different sound from one another. I'm noticing that I prefer the Marantz with older recordings, especially jazz, and more laid back, mellower music. The Rotel shines with electronic and higher processed oriented production. For me, at the moment, I am mostly piecemealing because of budget constraints. I'll keep saving, and hopefully will be able to purchase a decent speaker pair and amp combo at the same time. |