Switch from Genesis V to ???

Jim--
I had V's and found them an excellent all 'rounder, not cheap to surpass overall. As you're a musician,here's my opinion.

OPTION 1 is to change spkrs, going for "better" rather than "different".
Target should be: increased "dynamics"/ transient impact + better rendition of detail (and tweet extension, if possible). One easy rule to follow is (apart from the actual tuning any speaker) to short-list a more sensitive (+94db/1w/1m) design, OR choose active spkrs. Remember, sensitive spkrs will easily play "loud" before reaching their mechanical & electrical limits.
Target COULD also be: open baffle /dipole (the V's are a bipole design).
Finally, subwoof in stereo is essential (you have that, presently).
CONCLUSION: a few ideas are, the Genesis 6.1 (expensive), open baffle like Bastanis "Air-force" (cheap and excellent performer; check Bastanis out @ AA), or the Linkwitz "Orion" (active & expensive, but outstanding sound -- far superior to our V's -- site). OR, a monitor + sub combo, of which there are many (ATC comes to mind, but myriads other choices out there). Expensive solution.

OPTION 2: play around w/ yr Vs before you send them packing.
Turn mid-range control to 1, the bass to default vol ~20, phase to 0, hi-pass to 25-30, lo-pass to 80, and the tweet to 12". Place spkrs 75-80" apart & about the same fm back wall (measuring fm middle of front woofs). Tune the sound for the best sounding bass & treble detail -- moving the spkrs closer together or vice-versa in very SMALL increments. When you've found the best compromise position, THEN play with the spkr controls to further tune the sound to yr liking.

I'd of course go for option 2 before considering 1 (but I guess you've already done that!). CHeers

I had Genesis V some years back in a problem room, and found them to integrate better in that room than several other speakers (BTW, The Genesis are dipoles, not bipoles). You need to give more details about the room, your equipment and the problem your having.

If you have a suspended wood floor, you may be getting bass boom that's 'muddying' the mids. I'm not sure a monitor/sub system will help you here. The servo-controlled, dipole bass in the Genesis is one of the cleanest around, and tends to work better than most in a narrow room. I found that putting a 1.5" thick square of polished granite under the speakers, and some Aurios or Nordost points between, helped quite a bit.

Something else to try, if you can, is putting the speakers on the long wall, but the Genesis weren't really designed as close listening. I had some Dunlavys I set up this way, sitting against the back wall with the speakers far apart, and it worked pretty well.

Much of what you're probably up against is the room itself, and you may have trouble getting anything to sound as good as in your previous place. The room is as significant a contributer to the sound as anything else in your system. You may find some luck with bass traps or diffusers.

I tried different cables and amps to tame my congested mids, and had eight Room Lenses in my room at one time, along with Echobuster bass busters. It all helped some (until my wife nixed the experiment). My ultimate solution, however, and the one that helped by orders of magnitude better than anything else I tried, was to get a Tact 2.2x for room correction. It really opened everything up, like a blanket was lifted from the speakers.

Good luck.

Consider a TacT Audio RCS 2.0S room correction system.
I have a complete Mark Levinson system with Magnepans
and the TacT was by far the greatest improvement in
my system. It will dramatically improve the coherence
and imaging of most systems. I've heard Genesis V's
and they are a lovely system. I'd look at fixing the
room before dumping the speakers.

You may want to experiment with tuning the room. Go get some compressed fiberglass Owens Corning seven hundred series panels from an acoustics supply company. I got them for about $5 each. Place them in critical areas around the room. You'll get a feel for how they absorb reflections. It should at least tell you if tuning the room will make a big difference. I would guess it will. If it doesn't, you haven't spent all that much. If it does, you can go ahead and cover the panels with material of your choice, and it makes an aesthetically pleasing tuning solution to the room. I found that tuning the room with sound panels (did by self, didn't hire in a pro) was one of the most inexpensive, yet profound improvements in my system.

Thanks for the responses, guys. To answer a few questions, the floor is commercial grade vinyl plank flooring (sounds cheesy but is actually nice) over concrete. I am limited in speaker placement as there needs to be a walkway to a door behind the system (in the right corner of the room). Also, and I know this is a BIG no-no with dipoles, there is an armoire in between the Vs that houses the television and some of my other components. In the move, I had to consolidate my 2 channel and theater setups. I have moved my speakers as far forward as possible, but they are barely in front of the armoire - this is another reason I am considering the change. I'm afraid I may have painted myself into a bit of a corner with this setup. I was thinking of possibly going with a dlp or plasma screen to eliminate the furniture in-between.

Thanks again.

Jim

Jwilt
1) You'll never get the Genesis sounding good in that position. Dipoles NEED room to brrrreeeeeathe, with nothing in between.
2) Definitely get rid of the armoir if you can't pull the speakers into the room (or at least put a blanket over it). A plasma would be a good start, or a projector even better.
3) If you can't move the speakers further out into the room, I'd consider changing speakers. I'm a recent convert and fan of line arrays, which load the room in a benign way.