@Melbguy1 - OP has been mostly overwhelmed with the quality and amount of kind & detailed advise he has been getting. After the time delay it takes to get the post reviewed, I only noticed on Monday that this thread had grown into a wonderful treasure trove of information.
@Whart, @ Audiokinesis - I can't believe the amount of time you have taken to provide me the advise you did. Thank you so much for taking the time to do so. Both of your advise also centers on finding the speaker I like more than finding the right speaker for the amp I have right now. I will definitely keep that in mind.
@Whart - thank you for the reading recommendation. I will certainly give that a read.
To all the other people on this thread that have been so generous with your time, I will need to take some time on Saturday to read each of your posts and reply back to each of you. In the meantime, please keep the advise coming. I am literally soaking it all in - at times resorting to jotting down the advise in my notebook so that I remember it. This is - as many people point out - something that appears will take me a little while to decide. So the information will be welcome. |
Some other points I should have mentioned is some details on what kind of speakers I have now and where I live - in case that plays a part in your recommendations for dealers.
I have floor standing speakers made by Energy - specifically the C-300. http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Standing-Speaker-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B0012004K8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
I live in San Francisco - in the city. I am currently talking to folks at AudioVisionSF (http://www.audiovisionsf.com/) on California St & Polk St. There are at least a couple of others in the city (and Berkeley) that I think I should hit up. |
@Whart
I have enquired with some of my local dealers and most have said that they used to allow customers to try the speakers out at home, but that they no longer do that. I have not enquired as to what made them change their minds, but at least they seemed to really want me to bring my amp along and were willing to move all the pieces I wanted to audition to one room so that I can compare them all relative to each other without much variation in the surroundings. I think this might be as good as I can get in the San Francisco area.
The book is ordered and is on it's way. I look forward to reading that!
As for horns, you are not the only person suggesting that. I had a friend also suggest that I try some of the older Klipsch horn-loaded speakers. I have no idea how to try out the JBLs - but I will try and see if there are vendors around here that I can try them out at.
Thank you once again for your advise! |
@ZD542
My amp is an older JD202 model. It is an integrated amp and delivers 40W. My source is a Sonos (without the W4S mods) and while I mostly play FLAC files from my local library, I also stream content from Spotify on occasion. |
@Ghosthouse - most of the dealers I have spoken to have been extremely positive to the idea of me bringing the amp along. So I will definitely be doing that. My amp incidentally is the 202a - and an integrated as you guessed right. I did roll the stock tubes and replaced them with the Mullard EL34 though. |
@Mt10425 - dual subs seems like a wonderful idea if I can find the space and money for it :) At the current house rent rates in San Francisco, I would be in a pickle if I needed to find an apartment big enough for that amount of equipment :) |
@Newbee - that sounds like useful advise. What speakers do you know of that sound "linear"? I am not sure I am familiar with what that term means. Do you mean that they sound good and have good grip and response at low/medium volume? Any suggestions for examples of good speakers that demonstrate this behaviour? |
@Celtic66 - the merlins seem to be a bit out of my price range. Am I mistaken about that? |
@Melbguy1 - that is a brand I had no heard of at all - but the reviews of the piece do make it sound great. I don't see any dealers for Proac in the BayArea though. Might need to see what I can do about that. Also - the price point for a new set is way out of my budget - but perhaps I should keep an eye out on this site to see if any go on sale.
Thanks so much for that tip! |
@Yashu - Unfortunately I am nowhere near Nashville- but hearing the second recommendation for Proac just makes me even more eager to audition them! |
@Serge_s, @Wim1983 - thanks for those tips. |
@Audiokinesis - once again, thank you so much. As you might have guessed, I am going about this as a three pass process - in which steps 2 & 3 are the same as what you proposed!
a) Collect recommendations/suggestions from this group and see if I can find a place to audition things that come highly recommended from here.
b) Do a first round of listening to a combination of what the dealers think would be a good idea and the suggestions from here and see what sounds best with the wide variety of music I like to create a shortlist.
c) Take my amp around with me and do a deeper listen from the shortlist.
This does sound like it will be a long process - but I am quite excited to get started :) |
@Mesch Is there a reason you suggest restricting myself to bookshelf/monitors over a floorstander? |
@Soix- thank you so much for all those recommendations. I will see if I can seek them out. |
@Phusis - I don't know how I missed that review. I usually make it a point to read all their speaker reviews especially if they are reasonably priced. Thanks for pointing those out to me! |
@Stringreen I think you may be right. The Sennheiser HD650 and the Etymotics are very very different though fantastic sounding headphones/earphones. The HD650, I find quiet, laid back and dark. The Etymotics on the other hand are transparent beyond words. While they are both detailed, I must admit, I use them for very very different kinds of listening - and what I am looking for in my speakers is probably something closer to what I get from my Etymotics than what I get from the admittedly gorgeous sounding - but very dark Sennheiser. |
@Zd542 A new DAC is definitely on the cards - but for a little bit later. I would rather get really good speakers now and invest in a proper outboard DAC and maybe a synchro-mesh device later. I have been looking at DAC+headphone amp combos - and might look into the Benchmark DAC - but not for another year or so after I have saved up some more. |
@Mesch ah- thanks! I think I missed the emphasis on the isolation bit. I have actually heard some bookshelf speakers which really do give floorstanders a run for their money (the Totem Mani-2, specifically). But apart from that, I had always thought that their bass-extension was less than floor standers. That said - that was before I realized that what I wanted most from my speakers was speed and transparency in addition to just plain old bass extension. So I was wondering if you were pointing me towards any specific bookshelf speakers with that in mind. |
@Mesch That will be happening next weekend. I am calling a couple of dealers up today and tomorrow and setting the listening sessions up! |
@Audiokinesis Those pads do sound perfect. In my case, I am lucky in that there are just two residences in my building and the lower level is a cafe which plays music all day long and I don't need to worry too much about them. :) Also my music listening levels tend to be bwteeen low/moderate - with only rare bouts of extreme exuberance :) But if I end up hearing any complaints, I will know exactly what to do about it - after I first turn down the volume of course - hahahahahaha :D
It is really cool that your son makes music. What kind of setup do you have, if you don't mind my asking? |
@Zd542 Ah - I suspected that might be the case and was surprised that no one mentioned it. While I am not looking to replace my amp right now, when I get around to it, should I even look at tubes or should I switch to solid-state? |
@Jazzman463 Thank you for that. I think the limited power I have from my amp might not be enough for electrostatic speakers - which I have heard are power hungry beasts. So I kind of eliminated the Maggies from my consideration.
At this point, I am thinking of the Focal Aria, Triangle Antal EZ, PSB T2, Totem Arro, Sonus Faber Venere, KEF R700, Golden Ear Triton & Revel Performa F30.
I would like to try the Proac recommended on this thread, but the price of new ones is out of my budget.
In addition, I would like to try out some Dynaudio & Dali speakers, but I have no idea which ones I should even try out. Yet. Fun times :) |
