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Advice on Speaker upgrade vs System Component Upgrade

Hi Audiogonners,

I'm getting a bit of an upgrade itch, and looking for some advice about which direction to go. My current system is in my profile - small room 11x11x8 but sounds pretty good. Dynaudio Heritage Specials with DIY Aleph 60s i just built (fun!) - nice warm mid range / bass which i've enjoyed (mostly speakers),  also have a Parasound JC5+ which is nice too. I'm tempted by some of the following speakers but not sure on room size being a challenge for full sized towers. 

I listen to a lot of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bowie - classic vinyl, but mostly on the roon rather than my turntable as my vinyl collection is really small. I love the sound of both digital and vinyl - but my digital is pretty warm with the R2R and the 

Looking at stepping up to speakers in the 10-20k range new but buying second hand;

Wilson Audio Sabrina's - $10K ish on Audiogon

Sonos Faber Olympica Nova ii - $7K used at local dealer

Or would i get a better result upgrading something like the DAC or Streamer. I'm just a bit unsure. And yes I know that the two speakers are very different sound character with the Wilsons being super revealing and probably very hard to set up in my small room. I have Kef R11s in the living room with the JC5, which are much more neutral than the Dynaudios, but they also sound great. 

Anyway - just looking for some perspectives - I'd like to move up a level with detail / clarity while still keeping that musical mid range..

Thanks in advance

 

 

gmdodd
ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,449 posts
 

OP,

👍. I agree. You have really great components… speakers included. What can be done with room treatments and careful thought is amazing.

I remember one of the most amazing systems I have ever heard was in a closet sized room. The images of say a big horn was huge, hanging in the air above the system in space. The creator had put plywood under a sheet sub-parallel to the floor… sloped down ward towards the listener in both horizontal axes… it kind of looked cool. I asked about it. He said the images were too low, so this treatment moved them up two or three feet so they were suspended below the ceiling… but well off the floor. I think the electronics were Cary… or VAC. 

This system was so involving and real with a panorama of imaging taking up the entire 1/3 front of the room.

This demonstrates what room treatments can do in the hands of someone who learns to be a master. Hopefully, knowing this… can help you… you can make your system incredible, right where it is. I think you have all the makings.

vthokie83
1,224 posts
 

OP,

As several have said, treat your room as the dimensions aren't great.

I won't buy my next set of speakers without auditioning the Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene speakers. I've got some time to save up yet, but I'd also throw in Tannoy's, Fyne Audio, and Borreson X3s.

erik_squires
17,543 posts
 

If you like SF, I saw recently 2 pairs of Stradivari, and IMHO very few speakers come close to bringing the recording venue into your room the way those do. 

elliottbnewcombjr
7,748 posts
 

I suggest you add the second woofer before you do room treatments.

A stereo pair of subs is a very different experience than 1.

skinzy's avatar
skinzy
204 posts
 

I would upgrade your speaker to a floor stander which will have better frequency integration than an sat/sub. brand is your preference.  I love Wilson.  Just upgraded from Alexia (with two subs) to Alexx V (no sub) and realized big SQ improvements.

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