After the thrill is gone

Agree with all the responses regarding Maggies. Recently tried floor-standing (floor sitting?) Klipsch Heresies. Not my cup of tea. Kept my 1.7s and sold the Klipschs. I’m quite happy with that decision. 

Serjio says "if you had PBN Montana ref speakers + the right room, your search would be over."

I guess I am done because that's exactly what I got! See house of stereo system. Love the dynamics of the PBN. I need all the dynamics I can get for the type of music I like best: prog, alt prog, metal prog and starting to even get into electronic. And fully retired at 68! No ethereal speakers for me, even recently went from Lyra Kleos to Sumiko Starling to that effect. I need slam! Rock on, age does not apply, in my case anyway.

A bit like looking over the fence when you've been with wifey a while.  But the relationship with wifey should deepen over time as you get to know each other even better.

Can this work with speakers or an audio system?

I have 2 systems - my 1988 Kappa 9's + 2 Metaxas solitaires +LP12

and my Laptop Streaming system +ELAC Navis .

1988 wins by a mile - Kappa 9's properly powered are the dogs bollocks

I'm happy with my Klipsch Cornwall IV's........ driven by a little flea-watt amp SET amp made by Dennis Had, built around the marvelous 45 tube.  1.75 watts per channel- LOVE IT!! 

One reason we don't get full satisfaction from our expensive audio setup is it produces unreal (thick veiled) sounds. Human ears adopt to these bad sound. Still we get bad listener fatigues. We have no other choice because all reproduction sounds same unreal and veiled.

Audiophile Junkie (Ytube ID) recorded many rooms at the show in same day with a same microphone. In my room (#407) the human voice and audio sound are at same tone and timber. Wavetouch sound is very close to real sound (no veil).

In other rooms, the human voice and audio sound are so much different. In below video human voices (from 5:00) sound real and feel nice. When the music starts from 7:50, it sounds so much different from the human voice. It sounds veiled and makes me feel very uncomfortable. All other rooms sound veiled like this regardless of price.

Alex/Wavetouch

 I have Audio research tube amp/preamp/McIntosh CD player350 connected to Focal scala V2 as my primary speakere;very other week I switch speaker cable to connect to C27A and GAT2 preamp-cardas speaker cable.

 Got my end game speakers 5 years ago when I retired.  Built up both systems over the following year  in 2018 and I am done, done, done.

the classic way out of the situation is a pair of good headphones...

probably you are in close price range...if you had a PBN montana ref or Aries Cerat Symphonia + the right room...the search would be over...yes it's expensive but what can you do.

Ooo, the retirement end game selection. 

Bought my end game speakers over four years ago, with no desire to change them. Very very satisfied with them.

For me, nothing has sung like Magico.  There is always the thrill.

I've had my current speakers for almost 4 years now and I still love them as much as when they were new. Large two way monitors are perfect for my small listening space.

Appears that hanging around for 65 years still hasn’t dissuaded me from hunting unicorns.

Other than possibly age I don’t think that makes you any different from 95% of the people here.

Spoiled by rooms I had in past houses with no real constraints. And curse of being a (recovering) engineer over-analyzing everything.

As an engineer, maybe a more empirical approach will help with the overthinking part. Rather than focusing on which speakers sound best with which music, which sounds maddening to me, maybe focus on one or maybe two top speaker properties you really couldn’t live without and let that be your guide. For instance, I was seriously considering Maggies myself years ago for all the amazing things they do right, but what they couldn’t do as well was bring a heft, weight, oomph, etc. to the sound that dynamic cone speakers do quite well. By comparison the Maggies sounded a little more diffuse with less dynamic thrust into the room, and that’s when I realized I couldn’t live without having that more direct, dynamic impact and never regretted my decision. That’s just my experience however you might be able to translate it to your tastes/situation to maybe help quell your analytical brain a little and hopefully make this just a wee bit easier. FWIW…

About 8 years ago moved to Maggie's 3.7i no regrets only sheer pleasure rediscovering what I had been missing in all my recordings, no desire to change.

Best way to avoid buyer's remorse is to move up in a big way don't make a side-step or small improvement, make a huge jump. 

Ooo, the retirement end game selection. 

Aside from your audio tastes just remember you gotta look at whatever it is you end up with for some time.  

Good points all. And not unexpected that folks have ended up in different places. But I wasn’t expecting a clear answer emanating from a burning bush. It is a very subjective hobby/passion. 

I think both @mikelavigne ​​​​ and @soix sorta nail my dilemma … I listen to such a wide range of content that no one type of speaker is intrinsically equally adept, and  a little skeptical that I can achieve what Mike has in this room. Just like the designers, I may have to make a decision on acceptable compromises that apparently I’ve been reluctant to make. Appears that hanging around for 65 years still hasn’t dissuaded me from hunting unicorns.
 

Maybe like @jjss49 I need to keep multiples around 😁 (well, I already do that with some vintage setups). Fortunately, I married a saint, and she actually suggested I buy a couple different ones I THINK I could live with, play with them for a while, and sell off the loser (if there is a clear cut winner). And honestly, she probably won’t care if I keep them both. Just would rather put the effort/expense into optimizing the main rig.

Spoiled by rooms I had in past houses with no real constraints. And curse of being a (recovering) engineer over-analyzing everything. I used to be happy listening to anything over a little AM transistor radio, and hot $hit with a 5” Aiwa reel to reel deck. First world problems, I know … 

Ohm Walsh speaker owners seldom have this problem. 😉

I haven’t had too many speakers where the honeymoon was over , it was more due to wanting to try something “better “ and most of the time the speaker was better but not always     Some I kept and others were sold to finance their replacement 

I think that so many people dont give the speaker best setup to get most out of speaker.That happened to me,was ready to move on to next speaker...wasnt until i got off my arse and did what i should have done in first place.Great imaging/timber and soundstage never gets old.

Agree with @mikelavigne — it’s all about getting your preferences and a design’s trade offs to play nice together, and every speaker design has trade offs.  So, from that perspective you damn well better choose the design that works best for your particular tastes or you’ll likely be back on the merry go round again.  That’s all I got, and best of luck. 

GHD…..tubes for me too, more musical and involving for my ears and taste

I haven't changed my speakers for many years, and they are very good not hardly super duper level gear like the stuff out there these days.  Just Epos M22 floor standers with a Naim Nait XS2.  But the music is wonderful, totally enjoyable.  The thrill comes from the great music, not from the stereo, it is just the vehicle.  Yes I have heard more elaborate systems but mine is completely satusfying for me.

I don’t ever remember being disappointed after a time with speakers. They typically sound good when I get them, then sound better as I work to optimize them. Maybe that is a personal thing.

I was initially enamored with planar speakers and over 30 years had three different pairs. But I went through a period of intense learning, listening to acoustic instruments and symphonies every other week and concluded the ethereal sound I was chasing made some stuff sound better but compromised the sound of most stuff (this is the classic chasing details and slam). So, I reviewed all the auditioning I had done and realized one sound stood out… really stood out as natural and coherent top to bottom.

They were Sonus Faber speakers. So, I bought a used pair as a test. Within a couple weeks I ordered a brand new pair of Olympica 3 (dynamic floorstanders)… from the first shipment from Italy. That changed everything. I started upgrading the electronics in preparation for retirement.

I have been fortunate and was able to upgrade again in retirement to Sonus Faber Amati Traditional and all Audio Research Reference electronics and ditched the subwoofers. This system is far better than any of my previous systems by a long ways and makes all music sound better and all recordings. It is musical above all… yet all the details are there, they are just not pushed to the forefront. The soundstage is wide and deep… but mostly it is really hard to tear myself away from it… after two or three hours… I don’t want to go.

When I was working 45 minutes or an hour was a lot of time to spare to listen. At first when I retired, I would listen for 45 minutes and get bored and go do something else. My system was really good…. detailed, great slam… but a bit dry (only obvious in retrospect). I didn’t realize it but I was listening mostly to the system, not the music. This was with Olympica speakers (not the problem), but Sim Moon 650D with 820 power supply ($18K together), and a Pass 350 amp… all good stuff. But these two were both too detailed with a lack of midrange bloom and musicality. When I swapped out the amp, and DAC with Audio Research equipment the character completely shifted and became musical and immersive.

Each system has a tipping point. Also, everyone has different tastes. But for me, what put me on the right path was going back to dynamic speakers and the tubes all around.

I didn’t realize I was going to write a book. But I don’t think I had fully thought this through. But the first step was the speakers which made the sound I wanted  possible, then it was adding much better tube components that captured the musical essence where I had dry - detailed components.

I started with acoustic suspension box speakers, went to various open baffle for at least fifteen years, to ported acoustic suspension, finally to horns.

Once I heard open baffle, box speakers always had boxy, or closed in sound for me, the move back to box for short period of time was never fully satisfying, heard my present horns, can't imagine going back to either previous designs.

68 and retired....End game system is here for me.

Big tube power ...... Maggie 3.7s cover the vocals.

Lower $ system (under 10K) still produces Big Thrills.

So I just wonder what your experiences have been once the initial thrill is gone? (Especially if you moved from boxes to planars)

for me, i am very very happy with my maggies

when the thrill of a change is gone, i swap, as i keep multiple speakers around - i will change in my big spendors or harbeths for a different window onto the music

agree on the room being the hard part with dynamic cones and boxes.

cones and boxes can have all their advantages as far as authentic full range, complete top to bottom seamlessness and cohesion, and without non musical characteristics. horns and planers have attributes and flaws too.....but are less room sensitive with their dispersion patterns.

i’m all in with my room, so my dynamic cones and boxe speakers are able to come close to matching horns at dynamics, and planers at being coherent and transparent, but also retain the advantages of dynamic cones. but it’s a huge commitment for my room.

where do you want to compromise? what are your priorities?

are you looking for the quick hit thrill of change for changes sake? do you just want a different set of challenges?

if you want it all, then it’s dynamic cones and all in on the room.

and i can tell you that the thrill is not in any way gone......in the least.

I don’t think there is an ultimate solution, because it’s so much depends on the room you have available. I have tried quads and Maggies  in my listening room, and although I like them quite a bit in other spaces, dynamics seem to do better for me in this room.

I've tried cones several times and they just don't sound like music. Always go back to Maggies.

Over decades moved from sealed bookshelves to ported to numerous dynamic floorstanders, some with subs, to small planars to a couple of partial open baffles to large full electrostatic planars. Don't ever wanna go back. When I recently moved, I pondered long and hard with what I'd do if I landed somewhere where I'd have to switch to a smaller speaker. Was leaning towards full open baffle as the best compromise for my preferences and system, but I'm really relieved to be keeping the Soundlabs. Cheers,

Spencer