The Vandy's would be a great choice as they mate SOOOO well with that amp. I used that amp for years in a second system and got to use it with my Treo's and when I didn't push too hard, it really was magical. Too bad you can't spray something on the cloth that repells the cats, lol. Good luck.
$1000-$2000 Floor-standing speakers for larger room w/NAD 326bee
I’m looking for a set of floor-standing speakers for our main listening room. They will be 2 channel music only. They need to be "cat safe" (no fabric on front, or removable grills), able to fill a larger room (20x15 with vaulted ceiling) with decent volume (typical max listening level is 85-90db but a lot of listening is at low volume as well) and efficient enough for a NAD326BEE. Budget is ~$1000-$2000 for the pair. My old speakers in the room were open baffle design (Hawthorne Audio Duets) and I did like the relatively open sound stage they provided. I may move them to a different room or just sell them (they’re too wide for our current configuration in the room and they aren’t too high on the "cat safe" scale). I have a couple of Polk TSi400’s in the room now as "placeholders" until I decide on a permanent pair. Minimum distance between speakers is about 8-10 feet and listening position is about 10 feet from the speakers. The speakers will need to be within about of the wall behind them. The floor is carpeted.
Music is a mix of Jazz, Classic Rock and Classical and sources are turntable and streaming from a Roon server. I live in the Atlanta metro area and
I’ve been out of the speaker hunting game for a while so any suggestions would be very much appreciated!
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Thanks @tomcarr for the info on the Silver 8's. Any experience with PSB, are they less analytical and bright? And yes, @wolf_garcia my Hawthorne Duets are covered in the same cloth as Vandy's and they were starting to show "battle scars" from our two new kittens. I really liked the sound they put out (accurate but neutral to slightly laid back). I think I could go a bit more aggressive on the sound with the new towers but I don't want to go too far in the other direction. Actually, my placeholder $200 used Polk Tsi400's aren't sounding that bad at all once I played with the positioning. They have a decent soundstage and are brighter than my Hawthornes but not overly so. That's why I'm thinking the PSB Imagine might be worth a try since they are similar in speaker size and layout as the Polks. |
I’m of the opinion that Vandersteens are one of the least "cat safe" speakers made. I no longer have any cats around (not surprisingly as they eventually die or disappear) but back when I had a wonderful sounding pair of Vandy 1Bs with the seemingly irresistible "cat trampoline" on top (most Vandy models feature this, leading me to assume Richard Vandersteen at some point actually employed cats as designers), the cats thought they were a gift from the Scratching Post Gods. The "trampoline" was a fave cat sleeping spot, along with the also irresistible "cat claw cleaning" grill cloth. Eventually I sent the beleaguered speakers back to Vandy for restoration (actually worth it back then…mid 90s or so), and when I got ’em back I sold them to a catless couple. Whew. Great speaker however, and although the 1 series often gets overlooked when compared to other models, with Sound Anchor stands and good electronics they really shine. |
+1 for kalali. I still have the Silver 8s (in another system), but got Vandy 2Cs for my main system. Completely different sound. The 8s are analytical, somewhat aggressive, very clean, play very loudly, bright treble. Compared to the Vandys, they don"t: Image as well Disappear as well Speak as cohesively top to bottom Don't render timbres and tone as well IMO, the 8s are better suited to hard rock, high SPLs, parties. They are an excellent speaker, but they definitely sound different than Vandersteens. YMMV. Listen before you purchase... Tom |
I have a pair of rbh 1266 se/r. They’re rear ported and have side firing 12" woofers, so they move lots of air. I’ve got them 12" from the back of the speaker to the wall.. that’s what the room allows. At first, it was boomy as heck. I then put some 4" thick broadband absorbers directly behind the speakers and they’ve completely eliminated port noise and bass boom right off the wall. I obviously still need to deal with room modes, but these panels helped a lot since I couldn’t move my speakers any further out. |
i believe both the psb and monitor are ported in the rear, so very close placement to a wall is a consideration--without seeing your room i'd guess you'll be fine with placement of 2', though you might have to experiment with plugging the ports (they come with foam plugs) and/or position. soundwise, i hear the psbs as quite neutral/natural w/o a lot of coloration; i'm not sure if i've heard the monitors silver, so i'd defer to others, though i've heard the gold and had the sense of them being bright/forward and very good. |
Thanks for the suggestions! I've spent some time looking at PSB and Monitor and I like what I see in both (The Monitor Silver 8 and either the PSB Imagine T or X2t). Can anyone give some input on the "sound" of Monitor vs PSB (Neutral, forward, laid back, etc.) and any other significant differences I should be aware of? Any speaker I get will need to be fairly close to the front wall (1-2) feet, is one better than the other given that? |
"psb works particularly well with nad--you should be able to find something used in their imagine line within your budget" You took the words right out of my mouth. https://nadelectronics.com/nad-amplifiers-with-perfectpitch/ Bill |