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2ch Upgrade for Unfocused Listening

I'm not much of a talker on this forum so forgive me for my rash introduction. I'm a father of two young boys, loves music and has little time to really focus on listening. That said, I am toying with the idea of upgrading my system to something a little more grown up. Current setup is a super modest, running a NAD D3020, pair of B&W bookshelves (10 years old), and a small Martin Logan sub. This system sits in the living room and is predominantly used for background listening though the occasional "sit back and relax" kind of listening does happen from time to time. If I'm not listening here, I'm at my desk working and listening to a pair of KEF x300a's. 

My big thought is to do a full upgrade, albeit a slow one, to something a little more special. Currently I have my sights on the Naim Uniti Atom and a pair of floorstanders (CM10 S2 really catch my ear), taking away the need for the ML sub. The big question is this however, will an upgrade like this where music is played more often than not when I am running around with the kids be something I notice? We all like to listen to music, but if we arent planted in the sweet spot am I wasting my time thinking we can achieve great sound throughout the space, making for a worthy investment at this current life stage. 

I welcome your input. And thank you greatly in advance. 
bgrimes
rocray's avatar
rocray
1,542 posts
 
"Then there is this deeper urge to hear more" I totally get that. I think that is the driving force in this hobby. Very well put. 
   I also agree with exposing your kids to well presented music. While growing up,there was almost always music playing. My folks never had anything that resembled a "hi fi", but the music was there. This is what got me started in the pursuit of better sound. ( For better,or worse!)
audiokinesis
2,798 posts
 
"Omni-directional: It really is raising an eyebrow. The fact that there have been several suggestions to go omni-directional does get me thinking." 

Imo the argument for a quasi- omnidirectional system in your situation is this:  

Good timbre largely comes from a) the first-arrival sound being spectrally correct and b) the reverberant sound also being spectrally correct.   So an omni system has the basic characteristics you need to get enjoyable timbre pretty much throughout the room.  Yeah it would be nice if they can be positioned well out in the room away from the walls, but they won't suck if that's not possible.   By way of analogy consider this:  An unamplified acoustic guitar sounds good from every direction (kinda like an omni), and it doesn't suddenly suck if the player is up against the wall. 

Duke
melvinjames
416 posts
 
Ohm speakers are designed to work close to walls. If I'm not mistaken I believe a mere foot from the wall is even recommended by Mr. Strohbeen. I had my MicroWalsh Talls this way for years and they sounded wonderful. If memory serves, the reason they work so well close to walls is they are psuedo-omni:

https://ohmspeaker.com/technology/#coherent-line-source-driver

A nice feature for those with kids .. the drivers are housed in a metal can so those little fingers can't poke them. 
jafant's avatar
jafant
21,605 posts
 
bgrimes
The pairing of B&W monitors and a  Martin Logan subwoofer is perfect.IMO, step up to a pair of B&W 805 monitors and improve upon the electronics as desired. This will give you options to sit in the sweet spot or listen on the run.  Keep us posted on this development. Have fun!
Happy Listening!
bgrimes's avatar
bgrimes OP
8 posts
 
@jafant Very interesting idea. I've actually eyed the CM6 S2's as an option in this same kind of subwoofer-needed configuration. I'm guessing there is no comparison between the two, but how would place the CM6 S2 next to 805 monitors? I will sometimes waver between truly full-range towers vs monitors and sub with this idea that a single package, i.e. a tower producing all frequencies would produce a more harmonious sound. Thoughts?
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