2. speakers
  3. 131598-96512

what speakers to buy

so this is my 1st time posting. the question is what speakers. i am going into this blind trying to put together a decent system on a budget. i live in a city where bose is considered the high end of high end and the nearest audiophile shops are hours away.
over the years i have owned a lot of vintage gear and still collect some of it. solid state and tube. some of the tube gear was marantz, macintosh, dynaco, heathkit, radio craftsmen, pilot etc. also the usual solid state marantz, pioneer, kenwood, adcom. speakers jbl, polk, altec (model 19 and vott), paradigm, klipsch, bozak, sansui, AR, advent. all the usual suspects
so far i have purchased a copland tube pre cta-305 and a pair of rogue audio m180 amps. all mint condition all under a year old for under half price of new. i also have a denon DP-60L TT 
(with sumiko pearl cartridge)
speaker budget is around 5000 give or take a 1000. if i'm patient i think i can find something that was originally in the 12-20k price range for what i want to spend.
so far i am leaning towards ew andra ii, dali euphonia 800, canton reference 3.2, revel studio ii. size is also a factor and all of these are within that limit.
i have a fairly large area open concept living /dinning and breakfast nook with high ceilings.
and i know "dont buy without listening" but not an option
so looking for some opinions/options

after speakers i will be getting tuner, cd and music server, current interconnects and speaker wire are all ZU mission


dragonbutx

Showing 9 responses by dragonbutx

dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
gotta add one more thing. the funny thing about this hobby is i can afford to spend more but i have to decide at which point i am willing to sleep on the couch or in the bed
dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
thanks for all the great responses. some answers to a few questions that were asked:

the room is aprox: 1100sqft with 11ft ceilings and not overly lively.

did not go crazy on cable (i do think they make a difference but at this point not sure its worth spending as much as the rest of the gear costs) - i have ZU MISSION speaker wire and  ZU MISSION rca interconnects

music is mostly hard rock and classic rock - pantera, avenged sevenfold disturbed, rush, ac/dc, judas priest, volbeat with a little bit of jazz, classical, mototown and pop thrown in depending on who is over

i now have some other speakers i had not looked at before though the focals seem to get the most love and i did have the focal 1038BE  on my short list. so what models focal & revels in the used 5-6k price range are best?

i want clean and clear, but dont need to hear the guys in the recording booth talking or every mistake on the recording - just want to enjoy the music- i love the dimensionality that tubes give.  the endless soundstage

someone mentioned being new to high end audio. i wouldnt say "new to high end" just new to the modern stuff.  i have a 3 car garage stuffed full of tubes, vintage speakers, amps and parts. well maybe not stuffed anymore since i have been selling it on that one site (am i allowed to mention that?)

anyways thanks for all the great help and ideas - i think i may do some posting in other categories. maybe about tube rolling?

thanks 




dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
chicago and indy both about 3hrs away.  the phono stage is in the copland cta-305 preamp with mullard cv4004/12ax7 tubes. 
dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
thanks again for all the input. still doing a lot of looking and reading (i know still not a substitute for listening) and checking out some of the other brands mentioned.
also think i will take a day trip to chicago in the next couple of weeks to really get an idea of what some of these brands sound like that way i can be more comfortable with whats out there.
at this point i think i may up the speaker budget a little.
short list right now is: 
focal 1038be  or sopra
dali euphonia 800 or epicon 8
revel ultima studio 2

also considering sonus faber amati homage

in my 1st post i mentioned EW andra II any thoughts on those

to all the maggie lovers i have heard some of older models and some others of that type and while i do think they sound good they are not for me on a daily basis. also ZU was mentioned and i seriously considered them for a minute but in the past i have never been happy with high efficiency speakers with more than say 50 watts.

i see all the brands and models everyone mentions and that is where the head starts to explode. so much to consider and there will never be enough time to see or hear it all. i did buy the preamp and amps by reputation and reviews and am extremely happy so far.

dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
hey buellrider97 great post. i really like the rogues and copland pre so far and feel i got really good prices on them. as for cables i am currently using zu mission 
 i keep looking at all the suggestions and reading. have to say i keep coming back to legacy, revel and focal. have a feeling it is going to be one of those brands there is a pair of legacy signature III fairly near me that are looking pretty good.
so much nice stuff out there (wow) but when it comes down to it i just want it to sound good not perfect
i once had vtl mono block kt88 amps with an early 1960s mac clone pre (brand gott big) on some 1970s yamaha middle of the line speakers. i was walking through the room and stopped dead in my tracks because i couldnt believe how nice it sounded. not a lot of money in it but just very pleasing. 
thanks everyone for the suggestion
dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
so looks like i agreed to buy a pair of legacy signature se speakers. going to pick them up next friday. think these will fit the bill. guess next weekend i will post my impressions and whether i feel i did ok or not. i'm pretty stoked about it. thanks everyone for all the great suggestions
dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
so i picked up a pair of legacy signature se that are about 3 years old that were updated several months ago with the latest midrange and crossover upgrade. mint condition in the premium rosewood finish. since i havent heard any of the other speakers that have been suggested i cant say how these compare to any of them. but my impression of these is very positive so far. i find i cant stop listening. good deep bass, very clean and detailed treble, the midrange is also clear and not overpowering which is exactly what i wanted. they seem to be well balanced. imaging is good with voices dead center. sound stage depth seems a bit lacking but still working a little with positioning and i feel pretty sure some of this is my room and where the speakers have to sit. overall i am pretty happy. 
dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
i have been living with the legacy signature se speakers for 6 months now. overall i am very happy with them. sometimes i am listening to something and find myself just sitting here listening in amazement at how good they sound. all of my initial impressions still hold true. great bass, sound stage, imaging, detailed highs, smooth natural midrange. i am sure there is better out there but i dont know that i could be happier. i think for the price i paid it would hard to do better. thanks everyone for their advice.
dragonbutx OP
12 posts
 
kdude66 what were your dream speakers? always like to know what other people like. did they live up to your expectations?
More to discover