New house, wife reveals she hates my Maggies- looking for stand mount speaker suggestions

@rbstehno On stereo Rels, and @whitestix  on growing a pair (so to speak)

l have a pair of Rel T9i’s in my system. I also have a “better half” who has no interest in hi-fi. We both have a house and shared interests but not hitched, or joined at the hips.

During covid we decided to decamp in one property to live within the regulations. We talked it through and l set up a CD based system at hers to stop me from going mad without my music. I respected the fact it was her home and bought speakers that would not need a sub. I left my records and decks at my place. Compromise.

The Rels were a bridge too far and leaving the LPs and a turntable behind was a great solution. Everyone happy. We still live between our two properties, hers in Summer (big garden) mine in winter (by the sea). Some of our friends say it is the perfect scenario.

l can not say for sure l would be still in this relationship if she had said no to me invading her space, but compromising is key to understanding everyone’s needs.

The stereo Rels l knew would have always been a deal breaker. LOL

The upside of the story is respect and tolerance proven by the fact the extra hi-fi is still at hers and no issue….. the music l play however is…. Ha Ha!

Live and let live but know where the boundaries are. Never settle for less than 50/50 

Well no worries ther speaker is going to sound as magical as magnepans when they are setup correctly. So your question is interesting in that you’ll be going towards a completely different sound. I think if you love the sound of magnepans, then keep them somehow. If you can’t then very good  conventional speakers should be fine. I own Magnepans along with conventional speakers along with monitors and I have Electrostats as well. I own also the speaker you mentioned, the LS3/5a.  I think this speaker only really shines and works best as near field in a midsize to small room. Also, I have a tight suggestion on this speaker. I have owned many versions throughout the yrs and the internal crossover parts and drivers are different depending on the serial numbers. Only serial numbers 4,000 to 11,000 on the Rogers LS3/5a would I recommend using a tube amplifier. Outside those serial numbers I prefer a Solid State amp.  Aside from the LS3/5a speaker, a friend of mine just upgraded his QLN monitor speaker to the $25,000 monitor version. His previous QLN prestige monitor retailed for somewhere between $9,000 to $12,000.  His Prestige is available for purchase if interested. I think he asking around $5,000 and it’s a really nice sounding speaker. 

Order a pair of Tektons, the largest you can afford, and get it over with.

Revival audio’s Atalante series offer some nice options. I have the standmount 3s in an almost nearfield config with sugden amplification and they are extremely satisfying top to bottom. Read some reviews they have an interesting pedigree and technology.

The PS Audio speakers look intriguing but not sure they’re a good fit for your amp given Stereophile’s measurements, just fyi…
 

PS Audio specifies the Aspen FR5's voltage sensitivity as 83.5dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was slightly lower, at 82.6dB(B)/2.83V/m, the same as my Rogers LS3/5a. The Aspen FR5's nominal impedance is specified as 6 ohms, with a minimum value of 5.6 ohms. The impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) was higher than 6 ohms over almost the entire audioband; the minimum impedance was 5.89 ohms at 144Hz. This suggests that the FR5 will be an easy load for the partnering amplifier. However, the electrical phase angle (fig.1, dotted trace) is high in several frequency regions; as a result, the effective resistance, or EPDR (footnote 1), drops below 4 ohms from 39Hz to 46Hz, from 78Hz to 139Hz, and from 2.78kHz to 3.75kHz. The minimum EPDR values are 3.5 ohms at 43Hz, 2.6 ohms at 96Hz, and 2.78 ohms at 2.8kHz. The Aspen FR5 needs to be partnered with an amplifier that doesn't have a problem driving low impedances, and this will be exacerbated by the speaker's low sensitivity.