Geez Guys. Look at his amp. Then look at the Vandy's 86db for a questionable inexpensive amp that is rated 50 wpc? Youi can't just call out speakers because they are good. The Vandy's are as are many others. But the amp won't drive them properly.
Please recommend speakers
I’m just starting my audiophile journey and want to make sure I pair the right equipment before going too far down the rabbit hole. I am coming into this as a complete newbie. I listen pretty much to everything but mostly pop, classical and jazz in a fairly large-ish lower level living room (maybe 20 x 20 feet square) and speakers sitting on bookshelves. I know they should be on stands or floor-mounted, but that doesn’t really work for me right now space-wise. So far I have Jamo 803 bookshelf speakers with newly purchased SMSL DA-9 amp and matching SMSL SU-9 DAC (previously was using an old NAD D 3020 V1 integrated amp with direct connection from iPad to internal DAC). Now I stream directly from an old iPhone/iPad via a USB camera adapter to the DAC which has balanced connections to the DA-9 amp. I pretty much stream music exclusively (currently on free trials with Tidal and Amazon HD). No other sources. No library to speak of. No headphones. The Jamos sound great to me, but I feel like I need something better to pair with the mid-fi DAC and AMP. So I’m looking for upgrade the Jamo 803s which were purchased on sale for $130. Looking to spend up to maybe $800 for a pair. Recommendations? Thanks in advance!
Edit: Here's what I'm considering so far. KEF350, Polk R200s, Audio Monitor Bronze. Thoughts on pros and cons? Anything else?
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@artemus_5, great point. I didn’t realize we were using a small chip amp here. Depending upon the psu used, they are typically good for half their published output. A high sensitivity speaker is likely the better choice. Klipsch, Zu, et al. Edit, have personally heard a number of examples from both brands. Lean towards Zu, but some models can be too forward so demo for sure to see of you like them. |
That is correct, but imo you also should not recommend gear ya have not heard just because it is high efficiency! The Vandy 2C suggested power is 100 wpc. I have very successfully run them in large rooms w a SS MC250 but it has…output transformers… They are beefy floorstanders w 250 k sold since 1977 and a later variant still in production. I would never recommend them with a marginal amplifier, the acoustic coupler plays quite low but requires and amp with some grunt. In the bookshelf size in a Vandy try the older model VLR without the more expensive carbon tweeter. Of course, i have heard them…..right atop…a mixing board… Best to all. Jim |
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