Young audiophile metal head looking to level up speaker choice


Hello Audiogon,

I'm a pretty new to the world of audio and looking to make a signifiant upgrade from my first self purchased speaker, the Q Acoustics 3030i.  I was encouraged by an audiophile friend to join Audiogon and post a question regarding what speaker would be best.

I decided to pick up a much nicer amplifier last year, upgrading from a Cambridge AXR85 to a Rogue Sphinx V3. This 2024 I am wanting to make a similar upgrade to my speakers.  I wanted a more dynamic amplifier and found the Cambridge to smooth when combined with my Q Acoustics.

I have my own listening room but it's rather small 11ft x13ft.  I listen to mostly heavy metal/rock music at 70-85 decibels.   I have looked at been cross shopping the Buchart S400 mkII, Dynaudio Evoke 20, Zu DWX, Arendale 1723 - but have also heard good things about vintage Usher speakers..

Thanks for your consideration and advice here.

cheers

killingforcompany

That's true, that's another $300......though I usually assume the stands are not included for any speaker

Great job @deep_333 on the performance characteristics of the speaker required for metal. Also, nice suggestions by others and for @fthompson251 for going into detail on Legacy Audio. I am an authorized installer for Legacy and prior to becoming a dealer by trade, I owned Legacy Focus SE and Legacy Aeris speakers. They are higher up the line than what you might start at, but now having smaller Legacy speakers on my floor, I can attest that even the Legacy Studio HD can do a great job in filling a medium sized space and still deliver the clarity and speed for metal. 

I’d be happy to discuss options on the Legacy line if you’d like. They deliver great price to performance ratio. 

Another speaker line that I carry that would do a great job with metal is Perlisten. I just picked them up a few months ago, and they are very punchy, and very detailed.

Look at JBL speakers,  they have something for everyone and something in every price range.

All the best.

@newfzx7  , this is an interesting thread I stumbled upon.  In light of our previous conversation, I meant to ask you how efficient your speakers have to be to get what you want out of metal with 4 wpc of SET?

@amtprod ,

"Personally what I love about these speakers is that they make me want to listen to ALL music---though they can rock, they aren’t a one trick pony, meaning they don’t fall on their face or are deficient in other areas with different music."

That is the key right there - Legacies play well with everything. I have the Signature SE’s and I drove them with a 15 wpc SE tube amp just for kicks, and they can sing with that little power.

Many great brands have been mentioned here but not all play nice with all genres, or with little power. My foray into audiophile world was with Dynaudio.....they are a great brand, but they just do not make speakers for low wattage amps, nor do they play well at low volumes. They are typically a heavy and complex load. I would stay away from Dyns for small spaces, and if you are "starting out". I learned the hard way.