What's Next

A friend has Tekton DI's and I don't like them.

My budget is below $35K. My system is listed under my profile.

Of curse I’m going to listen, that’s why I looking for recommendations to listen to.

james_514,

I still love my speakers, but curious to listen to others. That's why I specified recommendations to listen to.

Iprules1962,

Thanks for the compliment and recommendations. I've listened to Avior's several times and thought they sound good, but not my preference. I will look into the Egglestonworks Savoy.
I'm trying to figure out if there is a speaker that does everything the PL500's do(big soundstage, image well, no fatigue), with a little more detail. I understand most speakers have trade-offs and I may conclude that I don't want to give up what the PL500's do very well.

Thanks...Vivid’s are on my list, but may be out of my price range.

I absolutely love the Von Schweikert VR55s, but their $60K.

audiotroy,
I appreciate your participation in my thread. Please send me a PM with your recommendations.

Regard,

Richard

I've listened to Joseph Audio and think their great speakers. I don't like them well enough to replace my Monitor Audio PL 500's with them. 
I'm looking into a couple different options, including listening to different amp/preamp combinations.

keithtexas,

Thanks for the compliment. I understanding what you're saying about MIT cables; however at this point $13K is way, way outside of the range that I could spend on speaker cables.

I recently had a home audition of Shunyata Sigma, Audience A24 SX, Clarus Crimson, and my Wireworld Silver Eclipse 7. I preferred the Clarus, followed very closely by Audience. In my system the Clarus provides the best detail without being forward, presents a wide and deep soundstage, and great front to back placement.  
My interconnect cables are Audioquest Fire XLR and my power cords are Wireworld Silver Eclipse 7 with Platinum plugs. I recently compared Shunyata Sigma power cords to the Wireworld and decided to keep the Wireworld.
Cables are really a crapshoot and the only way to know what's best is to evaluate them in your own system. The problem is there are endless combinations and it's impossible to evaluate everything. 
 

Are there any Clarus Crimson speaker owners on Audiogon? If so, what  other cables have you compared them too?

Again, everything is system dependent... Surprise...I had Wireworld Platinum in my system and compared them directly to AQ Niagara and preferred Niagara. Since the Niagara isn't current, I decided to get a home audition of the Fire. In my system the Fire had more detail without being bright. I submit my system is neutral to the dark side of neutral and the Wireworld made my system sound too dark, consequently I lost details further in the soundstage. 
Honestly, after hearing the Shunyata power cords(that are supposed to be significantly better than Wireworld) I'm content with my power cords.

I did compare the Audioquest Diamond USB cable to the Wireworld Platinum USB cable. I preferred the WW, because the bass was more articulate, soundstage was bigger, and just a more natural and detailed USB cable.

leeagc,

It was very nice talking to you last night. Thanks so much for the links!

4425,

I’ve owned Wilson Sophia 2s, 3s, and Sasha 1s. I’ve listened to Sasha 2s. I’ve moved away from Wilson and don’t know if I’ll ever own them again. When I owned them I argued with many people about how I thought they were the best. After being exposed to different speakers, through owning several speakers after the Sasha’s and visiting RMAF a couple of years ago, I realize I don’t like the sound of Wilson speakers.

pops,
Thanks for the compliment! I haven't decided on a speaker change. I was thinking out loud and posted a question looking for suggestions on speakers to "listen" to as possible replacements. It's been a couple of weeks and I'm keeping my speakers.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond. I'm keeping my speakers, but I will continue to tweak my system.

Audiotroy,
I recently compared my Jeff Rowland 625 S2 to the PS Audi BHK 300 amp, Ayre, and Bryston amplifiers. I prefer my 625 S2. I'm interested in comparing different preamps to my Jeff Rowland Corus preamp, but I need something with HT bypass. I think my requirement for HT bypass prevents me from getting an integrated amplifier.?

After several months I think I can finally say I'm done. I asked what's next at the being of the year and this is what I've been doing:
I listened to several amps, speakers, and different cables over the past five months. The amps and cables were auditioned in my own system. I listened to several speakers to include Paradigm Persona 7Fs, Wilson Audio Sasha 2s, Legacy Audio, and a few more. I submit several of them sound really good, but nothing in my price range that made me want to change speakers. My next venture was with amplifiers. I evaluated the PS Audio BHK 300 mono-amps, Bryston 4Bsst2, and the Bel Canto ref 600 in my system. I listened to the Gryphon 300 and T+A at an audio show. My amplifier experience really earned my respect for my Jeff Rowland 625 S2 amplifier and I decided to keep it. Finally I started auditioning cables, to include power cords. I ended up changing to Audioquest Hurricane and Tornado power cords. I went from Wireworld Platinum XLR cables to Audioquest Fire XLRs. The only thing left to explore were speaker cables. I had Wireworld Silver Eclipse 7 speaker cable. I listened to Shunyata Alpha and Sigma, Audience AU24 SX,  Audioquest Oak, Audioquest Redwood, and Clarus Crimson speaker cables. The Clarus isn't well known and was recommended to me by a Monitor Audio Distributor. The Clarus Crimson worked best in my system and I purchased them. It's been a long and fun process! I'm pretty confident that I'm done for some time to come!

I agree with you! The only way to know the sound quality of amps is to compare them in my system against the Rowland. I've compared several amps to the Rowland in my system and decided to keep the Rowland. There is one part of the equation that I also consider that I haven't talked about. When I evaluate components as possible replacements, I also take into consideration is it worth losing money on what I currently own to get something new.  e.g. I listened to the Paradigm Personas 7F and submit they sound good. Is it worth me selling my speakers at a loss and paying an additional $10K or more to get them... my answer is no. Now, if I could sell my speakers and pay $2K-$3k for the Personas 7Fs, that changes the equation. When I evaluated cables, because of the sonic differences and relatively minor cost to change from the Wireworld to Audioquest, it made sense to me. When you already own decent gear a change only make sense when the sonic benefits outweigh the cost. 

What are the other components in the system with the PL500s? The PL500s are voiced on the slightly dark side compared to many of todays highly talked about speakers. In my system the PL500s have as much detail as any other; however it doesn't hit you in the face. If you like a forward sound, you won't like the PL500s.

smcampbell,
There are no absolutes in Audio, only preferences. I've owned Wilson Audio Sophia 2s, 3s, and Sasha's. I've owned Audio Physics, Revel, Aerial, Artemis EOS, Mirage M1s, and listened to Dynaudio, Raidho, Magico, YG, KEF, Paradigm 7Fs, and Vivid Audio speakers. I purchased the PL500s because I had the opportunity to listen to them in my room, with my own equipment prior to purchasing. I recently thought about replacing them, but after listening to several speakers, the only speakers that I preferred over the PL500s were $70K Vivid Audio G1s and they are out of my price range. I personally wouldn't take Dynaudio C4s over MA PL500s.

Speakers are about finding the right components to compliment them based on an individuals preferred sound. To my ears the PL500s are very close to neutral or maybe on the slightly dark side of neutral. In my system, in my room they are chameleon like, with the recording dictating what type of sound they produce. They can sound dark, bright, big, or small depending on the recording. They disappear, have great detail, great soundstage and imaging. More importantly to my ears instruments have great tonality and they are very musical. The big mistake we make is letting someone tell us what sounds good based on popularity or what's hot in audio. A dealer recently told me don't let anyone convince you that the PL500 speakers aren't very good. All that being said, only yours ears can decide. I hope this helps!

I realize that you only listened to the PL300s. My question should read, What  will the system consists of when you audition the PL500s?