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Recommendations for HiFi Listening Room

Newbie here.  Wife and I are looking to turn our Great Room into a listening room.  It’s roughly 21’X’19 and has a cathedral ceiling that is 11’ tall at the wall and 20’ tall at the apex.  Spoke to a good hifi dealer in the area who made the following recommendations/proposal and I’m curious if this group may have any input for getting maximum bang for my buck.  Basically, with a budget around 35k (or thereabouts) would you buy something similar or are there any components you’d add or swap out?

Paradigm Persona 3F

McIntosh MA8950

Pro-Ject Xtension 9 w/ Ortofon Black Cartridge 

Sony ES DSD Music Server (this one concerns me a touch in that it appears to be an 8 yr old product line).

Thanks so much in advance for your collective expertise.  My wife isn’t going to let me drop money into this for another 15 years so I need to get it right the first time. 

If it matters, our musical taste is quite varied: classical, jazz, classic rock, alternative, hip hop.  My mother complained in my youth that if i had 10 bucks I would just buy a CD with it.  She is still right. 

128x128brewerslaw
spenav
413 posts
 

You cannot go wrong with the Persona 3F. I would spend a couple of hundred getting a dedicated line to the room to make sure I got the foundation right. I can’t comment on the rest. Good luck although you are already lucky to have her. 

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,126 posts
 

Look for speakers than amplifiers first. As you might have guessed, there’s a ton of them out there!  Knowing what kind of music you like and how loud do you listen will help in deciding on speakers.  Also some of that money set aside for treating your room.  It’s money we’ll spend!

All the best.

 

audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,588 posts
 

We are a persona dealer the 3f is a fantastic speaker you need a really good sub or they wont work well in that space also due to their extreme resolution they can be too bright in an untreated room, 

 

Also you can get a far better amp then a macintosh tonally nice with the personas

 

t+A is a german company that makes some of the world's best gear

also the krell k300i will outperform the macintosh 

also the 8-year-old Sony server is laughable you want a Roon based server

 

please reach out to our store and we can guide you 

 

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

paradigm krell T+A dealer

importer of high-end servers 

 

 

mesch
3,394 posts
 

The first thing you need to do is listen to some systems to get a feel of your sonic preferences.

Purchase a copy of 'The Complete Guide to High End Audio' by Robert Harley.

Take your time.

Some statements of general guidance on a a path to take:

1)The room is a major component of your system. Having a dedicated one is a luxury. Think through system placement and room treatment. 2)Find a speaker that mates well with the room and your listening tastes. Listen to many. 3)Find the amplifier that mates well with the speakers, sonically and for power. 4)If employing both a digital and vinyl front end you might devote half of your budget on these components.  Sources must be on par with rest of system. 

I would be interested as to the questions the dealer asked you prior to making this recommendation. Was there a discussion about your room, sonic tastes? Did he have you listen to speakers having contrasting characters? 

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