Advice for Speakers to mate with McCormack DNA .5

Just writing to update and wind up this (now older) thread:

I finally bought a new set of speakers - a set of Gemme Audio Tanto v1’s.  The speakers sound great, and although I still have a long way to go to complete my system, I am very happy with the choice.  Thanks to the audiogon community for all the great information and suggestions!

Special thanks to Yakbob for suggesting the Tantos.  I may never have checked them out if were not for Yakbob’s suggestion.  And it really helped to know that they worked well with the McCormack - as well as all the other details.  They really do check off all my boxes!

Big thanks also to Nitewolf from whom I purchased the speakers.  Nitewolf was very patient when I came to listen to them and carefully helped me load them into my car.  Thanks for everything!

Finally, I want to give a big “shout out” and thanks to Robert Gaboury the designer. I communicated with Mr. Gaboury by email numerous times before and after my purchase.  He was very responsive and answered all my questions with some detail, even offering information I hadn’t asked about. It was a tremendous support which is all the more impressive as I was buying the speakers used and Gemme Audio (unfortunately) is no longer in business.

Next up for my system is a preamp, possibly some room “treatment”, and cables (not necessarily in that order)….

Unsound, thanks very much for the response. I can probably get close to 8’ as 7’ is an estimate and will depend on the footprint of the speakers, as well as their final placement (biggest issue is proximity to back wall). On the other hand, I’d prefer not to be locked in to too tiny a sweet spot. (I’ve always wondered, for example, how to listen together with a friend or spouse to speakers that only sound good if your head is motionless in a precise location).  Do you have any specific models of smaller towers you could recommend?

 

I could really use the help as this is probably the most important decision for the system. Perhaps I should have changed the subject to small towers with strong bass and big sound for a smallish room? Any more ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Swingfingers, 30-35 Hz might be a tad ambitious. If you could open that 7' triangle to 8' it might avail you to more options, and good ones at that. I too would prefer smaller towers to stand mounts.

Thank you, all, very much for the great replies – much appreciated!

Yakbob, the Gemme Audio Tanto V2 looks interesting and efficient.  Mattmiller, thanks for suggesting the various monitors.  Irish_tim, good to hear that the Vandersteens can handle hard rock.  Adg101, I like your ProAc pick.  Unsound, I hear your caveats including forward presentation.  Mesch, I appreciate your thoughts and encouragement.

Using smaller speakers due to my room limitations and speaker placement near the back wall makes sense based on space requirements for driver integration and issues with low frequency wave forms.  I hope to mitigate some of these limitations.  Speakers sit symmetrically in the room in an equilateral triangle with the listener of roughly 7’ per side.  I can tweak this placement a tad, sit a bit farther back (though I like to have some flexibility here), and potentially add some modest room treatments and eq down the line.

My biggest concern, however, is ensuring a full and authoritative bass. I don’t have pipe organ recordings to 20 Hz, but I am trying to stay fairly flat down to 30-35 Hz and get a full and big sound throughout.  I understand I may need to make trade offs to achieve this. I’ve read discussions on speaker and room size as well as subs vs full range and there seem to be a lot of differing opinions.  In general, I usually prefer the sound of bigger speakers (I guess I’m a bit old school?), but the current trend seems to support smaller systems for smaller rooms (for good reasons) and I’m willing to compromise.  Regarding subs, I’m willing to add a small one down the line if needed, but I’d like to try find the best solution without one first.

With all this in mind, perhaps I can seek a middle ground with smaller towers or larger monitors?  So far, I’d lean toward the ProAc Studio 200 or something similar.  Although the Dynaudio Special 25 looks sweet, I’m concerned with the rear port, borderline low end, and its higher cost. The Gemme Audio Tanto V2 looks great if I can get comfortable with its unusual build and single 6.5 mid/woofer, but it may be out of my price range unless I find a seller as kind as Yacbob!

I’d appreciate any more suggestions or thoughts!

I agree with unsound. I use a pair of 2-way monitors (Esoteric MG 10s) in a room very close to your room in HxWxD. I use a BEL 1001 MKV with a Jolida Fusion tube pre. Though I don't have the bottom octave, the bass I am presented with is very tight accurate and very suitable for most recordings (My musical tastes are also similar to yours). Highs are extended, character is somewhat warm, soundstage and imaging is holographic.

I believe there are many monitors, when used with appropriate stands, that would suit your needs and represent a good fit with your McCormack. 

 

Let me start by saying that I am a firm believer that one should start by choosing speakers first and working back from there. Your room is too small for true full range sound. The McCormack amp is a natural with Vandersteen's, but your room placement restrictions all but eliminate them, with maybe(?) the one series being a possibility, but they don't meet your "forward presentation" requirements. The McCormacks have already have a  forward presentation, tread carefully. A c-j  pre is a good consideration moving forward, and will give you a bit of that full lower midrange sound. It's good that you have been able to actually identify what your looking for but, tough to make a recommendation to fit all your criterion. Good luck.

ProAc Studio 200's and there's a set on here for sale right now. Great musical speaker and easy to drive.

I have the Vandy 3's and had the .5 Mccormack but I felt that it was it was a little under powered. I listen to 75% hard rock and heavy metal and these speakers do not inadequately reproduce that music in any way.  The sound of jazz is also outstanding.  I'm using Bel Canto ref 500m's and a CJ preamp.  I don't much like the look of the Vandy's but the sound is sublime.  

Hands down a pair of Totem Acoustic Model One Signature Edition, on some great stands. The McCormack will drive them beautifully! If you want to pay more then look at a pair of Dynaudio Special twenty fives or Contour 1.3 would be awesome as well. 

Matt M

I had a DNA 0.5 for a period of time and it was a fantastic match (also fitting all your requirements) with the Gemme Audio Tanto V2.  I no longer have that pair of speakers but really wish I had kept them. Super wide sound stage, excellent frequency range including bass, and very efficient. I'm a low level listener too and appreciated their full range sound even at lower volumes. I sold my pair for a little over a grand, so if you can find a pair, they should be in your price range. While Gemme has disbanded, the drivers are off the shelf units and available from Madisound. There is no crossover, so there's really nothing to worry about regarding future service needs.

highly recommended.