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Floorstanding Speakers for Bluesy Rock 5-10k ?

I currently have a sweet little apartment system (Naim/Harbeth/Michell). This system has been wonderfully versatile in the sense that it's compact, highly musical, excellent at low volumes, and provides a very natural and organic presentation. My only gripe is the dynamic range and bass response, but you can only expect so much from a mini-monitor with a 5" driver. I can't change the laws of physics.

I hope to purchase my first home in the near future, and with it, a proper full-range hifi system. This time, I want to get floorstanding speakers that can really bring ALL of my music to life.

I listen to two genres EXCLUSIVELY:

1. Bluesy Rock (Black Keys, White Stripes, Dead Weather, Spoon, Hendrix, etc.)

2. Indie/Folk/Acoustic (Feist, Cash, Conor O'berst, M. Ward, Ben Harper, Sufjan Stevens, etc.)

My current system handles the Indie/Folk/Acoustic music beautifully, but lacks the dynamic range and bass oomph to really bring that bluesy rock sound to life. I'm looking for floorstanding speakers in the $5-10k range that will excel at BOTH of these genres. I still want the immediacy, delicacy and clarity for tracks with solo vocals, but I also need something that's capable of handling that big, fat, crunchy blues sound. In other words, I need floorstanding speakers that can make these 3 albums sound as best as they possibly can:
- Black Keys: Chulahoma
- Feist: The Reminder
- Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake it's Morning

To save on costs, I would use my existing electronics and simply move the Harbeth P3ESRs to a different room with a small inexpensive integrated amp. That means the floorstanding speakers would be paired with Naim gear (Nait 5i or XS range) and the Michell TechnoDec. I wouldn't mind UK speakers, if only to keep the British theme alive.

So, what are the likely candidates given my criteria? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
jferreir
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I was going to recommend a pair of Vandersteen 3's. It's an incredibly good all speaker. They're pretty much exactly what you are asking for. That said, I think you should consider another amp before you do anything. I had a 5i myself and found it very overrated. It sounds OK with speakers that don't have a lot of detail. When you listen to it driving more detailed speakers, it fall apart. Also, it doesn't have a lot of power.

If you know anyone that will let you borrow an amp, put in your system and compare it to your Naim. Doing so should give you some good info on where you need to go.
musicophile's avatar
musicophile
58 posts
 
Tannoy with Naim will give rock and roll.
soix
8,683 posts
 
I'd take a look at the PMC floorstanders in that price range that have been getting some very good reviews (I remember seeing one in Soundstage not too long ago). I think they feature transmission line bass that should satisfy your need for more complete bass response, and as the company has professional speaker roots I'd think they'd offer up good dynamics across the upper ranges as well. Not sure how they'd mate with your amp, so that's something to check out.

Since you like your Harbeths the other option would be to add a couple high quality subs from the likes of SVS, Rhythmic, etc. Of course you'd need to spend some time and $$ on integration hardware to get it dialed in right, so not sure if that's something you'd like to get involved with but it's another option.

Anyway, hope this helps and best of luck.
jferreir OP
45 posts
 
I contemplated adding a sub before, but it's not for me. Aside from the fact that the Nait 5i doesn't have the requisite input, I don't particularly want additional hardware, and it would take a considerable amount of time to properly dial everything in. The room acoustics are challenging enough!

To clarify, I would use my Naim electronics during the interim to offset the high initial cost. After 3-5 years, I would then purchase a suitable amplifier to match with the speakers and TT. It wouldn't make sense to buy $5k speakers and then pair them with the Nait 5i-2; I wouldn't be realizing their full potential! I quite enjoy the Nait 5i/CD5i combo, so they will eventually be reunited with my Harbeth speakers. This means that I don't need ultimate synergy with Naim, but I do need SOME synergy - I wouldn't want to listen to a poorly matched system for 3-5 years!

So, with that in mind, can someone please provide a list of perhaps 5 of the top speaker manufacturers or models given my stated criteria? I'll be doing a whole bunch of research before I actually audition anything. This opens the door to upcoming models, too!

On a separate note, has anyone run an SET amp with high efficiency horn speakers? I've never heard a horn-based system, but I'm curious to know how the sound would differ. Which musical genres would be best suited for such a setup?

P.S. I plan to make this purchase in about 2 years, so I'm still very much in the preliminary stages. This is going to be a carefully matched and well thought out system, which is why I'm soliciting input now. Thanks again!
jferreir OP
45 posts
 
I should have mentioned that I'm not interested in a horn-based system, just curious. I can't imagine the bass response to be anywhere near sufficient for blues/rock. I'm very curious about the mid-range, though. In my experience, the ultimate challenge for speakers is accurately reproducing solo vocals and piano. Curious to know how horns would do...
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