there are speakers that make a small room sound big - monitors - not towers. Your budget is a big range, you can look at real sweet boutique brands. Are there dealers near you?
What now?
At the risk of repeating a question that has been asked and answered a few times, let me tell you my story. I am an old-time audiophile (now 79) who has to adapt to new circumstances. For the past forty years or more I have listened to music on two pairs of Snell type A speakers (A and AIII), one pair in my living room and another pair in the studio where I paint. I have moved to a smaller house. I had to sell the Snells because I don't have room for them (they went to a good home). I also have sold some fairly high end equipment that powered them. I now have two Marantz 60009 receivers and a nice vintage turntable. The turntable is in a small (about 12x15) room, with a piano. I need to find floor-standing speakers I can put on either side of the piano and close to the wall behind them. I want to find them used, but not too used - I don't want to need to repair them anytime soon. I am used to good sound and my hearing is still pretty good. I listen to some classical, some choral, some solo voice, some guitar, etc. I like what might be called a "warm" tone - without wanting to get into a debate about what that means - just don't want treble that is on the edgy side. My budget is flexible, but not unlimited - maybe from $700 to $3000. I do care how they look. Some years ago I had a pair of Acoustic Zen adagios, which were OK, but I always preferred the Snells (maybe I was just used to them). So - what do you recommend? Adagio? Vienna Acoustic Bach? Tannoy? Sonus Faber? I am not in a place where I can easily audition speakers, and many of the ones I would consider are no longer sold new anyway, so I need to rely to some extent on the judgment of others. What do you think?
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@twilightround: without mentioning my age, based upon your affinity for your Snell speakers and some of the other things you mentioned, I suspect our ears may be somewhat kindred audiophile spirits, so to speak. With that in mind, I offer this bit of nostalgia and two cents worth of feedback in the hopes it might be helpful to you. In my audiophile coming of age, so to speak (i.e. early 70s), my ears were quite fond of loudspeakers such as: EPI, Ohm, Klipsch, Cerwin Vega, AR, ESS, Advent, JBL and others. My first pair of serious speakers were small Studiotech. All I could afford, back then, as an impoverished college student. As I recall, Studiotech was manufactured by Bose at the time. I quickly upgraded those to a pair of Ohm C and, many years later, to a pair of Paradigm Studio Monitor 9, which also served me quite well for many years. My ears have always gravitated toward a sound signature that is accurate but not too accurate. Acoustic guitar and piano need to sound as live, to me, as possible, and high frequencies need to be relatively smooth, accurate, detailed and not shrill or fatiguing after long listening periods. Several years ago, I embarked on a quest to upgrade my entire two-channel system as sort of a retirement bucket list. This upgrade culminated, at least for now, in a pair of Revel F206 speakers. The amp (McIntosh MA5200) was first on my upgrade list, replacing a trusty stalwart friend of some 20+ years, a Sansui 2000x receiver, and an equally loyal and enjoyable TT, a Philips 212. I spent several years of serious research, reading and dedicated & orchestrated critical listening time. I tend to be compulsive, that way, as I think most serious audiophiles are. During this quest, there were, of course, speakers (and other components) I heard that impressed my ears more than what I bought. However, I don't have the deepest pockets and forced myself to stay within the realm of a relatively sane, self-imposed budget considering the dimensions and acoustic properties of my sound room and component matching issues. Staying within your specified budget range (i.e. new and gently used) and not knowing, more specifically, the dimensions of your sound room, room placement constraints, acoustic properties, component-matching constraints, etc., I think your ears might like Monitor Audio, Revel, Martin Logan, Paradigm, Focal and others. If you're interested and if you have the stamina to deal with the method to my madness, check out "Time to Upgrade Speakers" and "Sequel to "Time to Upgrade Speakers; in the Stereophile Forum. I think I may even have posted a few things here in Audiogon, seeking guidance on this quest. Good luck! |
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