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3way replacement for my 2way

I’m thinking of replacing my Triangle Comete EZ Bookshelf speakers with some 3 way speakers and seriously considering purchasing either 2nd hand or new.

My Triangles are good about 85% of the time, they’re somewhat forward, not very forgiving and lack that warm feeling of a 3 way.

My Triangles currently are on the company’s accompanying stands about 24” from the back wall and about 20” from the side walls and towed in projecting to my couch’s center. My room is 12’x 11’ w/ a 10’ ceiling, in addition the room has a tray in the center giving the center an additional 1’ of height. The floor is carpeted, no furniture other than a couch against one wall facing the equipment and record storage racks on the other wall, one window on the side wall is treated with thick room darkening curtains, basically the room sounds pretty good.  

I’m running a Carver Crimson 275 Amp that’s hooked up to a Parasound ZPre3 Preamp. I mostly listen to vinyl on my Orbit U-Turn TurnTable equipped w/ a Ortofon Super OM20 Cartridge stylus that’s hooked up to an IFi Zen Phono Preamp. 

I get that it’s a “Mid-Fi” set up but it lacks some warmth that I feel is a result of my 2 way’s extreme forward output. 

Like I mentioned prior, my Triangles sound great at times, they just always have that in your face high going on, sometimes more than others. 

I’m looking for 3way speaker recommendations in the $2k - $3k Ballpark that have a nice balance of Highs, Mids & Bass. 

I know there’s some really great speakers out there and not to sound obnoxious, but please don’t recommend some great pair of used speakers that even if I spent six months full time searching the internet I won’t be able to locate. 

Not into Klipsch,No B&W’s or Polks. My music tastes are Blues,Jazz, Big Band, Reggae & Classic Rock if that helps. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts.


flasd

Showing 13 responses by flasd

flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Thanks for your suggestion…Funny, I’ve been researching those as well as the Warfdale Lintons, although the reviews are good on both I thought the KLH’s could be a little bass heavy. I preferred the Lintons over the KLH’s but fear the mid range and tweeter could get harsh on certain recordings from the reviews I’ve read.I do have to say, if I was just starting out both of those speakers would be no brainers, but being exposed to more accurate speakers through the years I’d like to move up the ladder as much as my budget will allow. 
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
  • Thanks Elliott, I do have a sub as noted in my post. Personally I feel most of those “tune in adjustments” on speakers at that price point are more of a gimmick, I may be wrong, but was never really ever to hear difference when messing with them.
My Parasound ZPre3 Matches up well with My Crimsom 275 and I considered a all tube track to my output, but feel tubes also can be iffy with each other and could come back with “doesn’t play well with others on the playground” written on the report card.
I like tubes being in one place. Besides, the ZPre3 has bass management w/sub outs.I have been considering a used pair of Vanderstern 2ce’s, The 1c’s are a 2 way and after discussing my set up with the folks at Vandersteen, they agreed the 1c, although sounds great, would prob not get me away from the 2way sound that I’m looking to ditch.

flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
For me I’m not going into this as an upgrade due to it’s not much more than I dropped for the Triangles 3 years ago. It’s more of being able to enjoy my system without the occasional cringe. If I do manage an upgrade, hey bonus !
I have listened to and owned numerous 2 ways and always felt something was missing… Yes some sound really good, 85% of the time has been my experience. In the past I’ve owned Paradigm Studio 20’s, Had B&W DM220’s & 602 s3’s, had Ohm E2’s, heard Klipch, Polks, Kef’s and all just are not doing it for me, although the DM 220’s were pretty good, back when B&W was B&W, but age took their toll on em and had to put em to rest. Note: I do have a KEF R60c Center Ch on my AVR theatre set up that I love, but the R3’s & LS 50’s just didn’t do it for me. I like treble but not so much in my face.
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
I hear ya 😂
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Any thoughts on Focal Chora 826’s ?
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Or are 20 year or so old Vandersteen 2ce’s worth looking into. I seem to remember somewhere in the model changes it was mentioned the foam surrounds were improved to correct the drying out issue associated with aging.
Can anyone elaborate?  
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Good question, I’m up in the air on Vandersteens now after all the reading I’ve been doing… But the Signature 3’s are just too much for my room. I may just hold off and wait for the Tampa Hifi Expo and listen to as much as I can while there….Already got my tickets, but in the mean time I’m gonna hit the area hifi houses and start showcasing their offerings….
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Ummm ?
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Ummm ?
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Thanks to all who responded to the post, some great suggestions and I reseached every one 👍

And so the journey begins… 🔊

I ordered a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300’s with a 30 Day Home Trial to see how it sounds in my room and if there will be any synergy with my equipment. 

I’ll post my findings in a week or so …
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
I’ve had the Comete EZ’s for 3 years now, tried every position possible… Just a Very Bright Speaker… Room has good acoustics, I know the room inside out,I’ve done bass crawls, have tried with 3 different AVR receivers (Marantz, Sony ES & Yamaha), & 2 different tube amps, measured levels with my sound meter, etc., and pretty much too forward for my liking.
The speakers are great like I said in my post about 85% of the time…The imagery & sound stage at times can feel like a near religious 3D experience,  but just can’t seem to tame that tweeter, more forward than I like. It’s like there’s no consistency as to when it’s going to be fatiguing or not. 

My only concern at this point is will I miss that forwardness in my new speaker choice? As for now, kinda looking forward to a little warmer of a sound.

Hey if you’re interested, my set is White Gloss in “MINT” Condition with the matching Triangle Stands…have all the original boxes, paperwork, etc., We can talk…
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 
Wow ! Only 3 days into the home trial and so far the Monitor Audio Silver 300’s are checking all the boxes and sounding better each day !  Still in the break in period but these just may be keepers…👍

Really a sensational speaker, my set up never sounded so good, really has become quite a comfortable listening experience. 

This is not a sales pitch, just observations from my listening experience so far and how these speakers have addressed the forward output I was tolerating from my previous speakers.  If you haven’t given these speakers a listen, highly recommend doing so and I certainly can hear why they’ve received the awards and accolades they have.
flasd's avatar
flasd OP
89 posts
 

Monitor Audio Silver 300 Observations so far …

1st let me say I listen to all genres of music but picked out a few of what I felt were very forward sounding recordings from my collection to test the taming ability of these speakers.

1st. Track (Source: Flac Recording)

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra. I chose this track due to it’s mixture of a strong bass line mixed with the vocal chorales, as well as the hitting of the bell done several times during the track.

The sound was much more relaxed and listenable, heard nuances I never heard before being was now not overwhelmed with treble, one issue I noticed was the bell was not as pronounced as with my Triangles, but the rest of the treble audio spectrum was perfect. It’s crazy how that high frequency is buffered and the rest gets through… Overall the very pleasant listing for a track off the hard drive.

2nd. Warren Zevon’s Live Stand In The Fire - LP.

I received this record just prior to switching out the speakers, played it once and was a total treble mess on the Triangles, unlistenable and figured it’s a sell on my next visit to my local record store. Well the Silver 300’s made it a totally listenable and quite enjoyable listening and wow I could have traded away a great album. Made me wonder, how many other great albums I ridded myself of being I thought they were horrible recordings ?

3rd. Another Treble Mess … Roger Hodgeson’s Solo LP, “Hai Hai”

I’m a Huge Supertramp Fan …

Note: Side one of this LP is great, Side 2, man all I can say is some woman must of ripped this guy’s heart out and just too depressing to listen to more than once, but Side 1 is very Roger Hodgeson if you like that Supertramp sound.

It made this LP magical to listen to actually traded overwhelming treble to depth & warmth…Perfect Highs with no Clipped Distortion or Ear Drilling …. Amazing !

LP’s like my numerous John Mayall stuff, James Cotton LP’s, John Klemmer LP’s, Savoy Brown LP’s, Louis Armstrong LP’s, Glen Miller LP’s, Miles Davis LP’s, Papa John Creach LP’s and the many other albums from my eclectic collection of all genres that I had no issues with prior, all sound Fantasic on the 300’s… Just a very comfortable listen, but I can hear why some very treble hungry listeners may need a more forward speaker. I myself would rather a more consistent listening experience.

I did notice these speakers do not take well to you adjusting the tone control, maybe it’s they’re still in the break in period, but they really like to be left as they are, which is fine with me, but when needed they will accept no more than a nudge, a notch or two on the treble but thats it.

Compared to the Triangles, the sound stage is nice but not as far reaching beyond the outer side of the cabinets. Magical in the center, but not getting as much 3D effect as the Triangles. i do have a small room (11 x 12), so with my seating arrangements, the sweet spot pretty much hits my whole couch.

The Silver 300’s play well with tubes (Carver Crimson 275 Amp w/ Tung Sol KT 120’s) and they really like vinyl & streaming but I wasn’t knocked out with CD playback, possibly my cd player, an old Sony ES 5 disc Carousel, not really what I’d say you’d want judge any speakers by, but to be truthful, if I played a half dozen CD’s in the past year that would be a lot and really see no need to upgrade.

I plan on auditioning other speakers not in my home but at various local hifi stores, but gotta tell ya, these 300’s set the bar pretty high meeting my listening desires and will be hard to beat for the money.


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