Building a second, vinyl focused system. Speaker advice needed! (<$10k)


Hi folks, I'm in the early stages of planning a second system that is going to be nearly dedicated to vinyl playback. I realized recently that when I listen to music, it  is hardly ever through streaming, I'm almost always spinning something from my vinyl collection. I'm also trying to take a longer term view by planning to save (for an extended period of time) to actually buy an endgame system. In this post, I'd like help putting together a shortlist of speakers to research and demo. Obviously the ratio between the universe of all speakers vs what I can feasibly try is very high, so please leave me some breadcrumbs that I can follow up on and help narrow it down as much as possible! With that said let me walk through my priorities.

  • I am definitely looking for full range speakers. I could also be persuaded to add a subwoofer if it's really needed (e.g. for electronic music) but would vastly prefer a two channel system, especially at this price point.

  • Immersive, holographic soundstage and imaging. This is usually what tickles my ears the most when I think back to the best listening experiences I've had.

  • Lifelike, engaging, and fun musical presentation. Obviously I appreciate pure fidelity to a degree, but some of the most boring speakers I've ever heard measure "perfectly flat." At this point in my journey, I value a fun experience over 100% truthfulness.

  • Non-fatiguing treble and overall sound (no shoutiness). Not to pick on them but I've heard several Klipsch models that I would call shouty and it's a quality that I really disliked. Maybe that's all horn speakers, idk.

  • Tight, controlled, and accurate bass (not wooly or boomy). Also as with the shouty treble, wooly and fuzzy bass just takes me out of the experience entirely. I usually attribute this sound to older speakers from the 70s.

  • Excellent microdynamics and ability to reveal musical “texture," especially in electronic music, think albums like Jan Jelinek's "Loop Finding Jazz Records" with lots of pops, clicks, and quick transients.

  • Strong performance at both low and high volumes. I listen at night a lot and still want a good experience without disturbing others. The speaker shouldn't get congested at higher volumes though since I do like to play em loud as well.

  • Excels with jazz (especially live combo recordings), classical, and detailed electronic music. I listen to a lot of live jazz combo recordings so imaging and timbre are very important here. My litmus test is whether Scott LaFaro's bass on "Live at The Village Vanguard" actually sounds real or not.

  • Real wood, furniture grade cabinetry. I really value speakers as pieces of functional furniture that should blend in with a space as much as a couch or a table. This is a bit more subjective, but I'm looking for something that fits the aesthetic of my home, being a mix of Scandinavian and MCM, clean lines, natural wood, nothing overly ornate. I think this rules out speakers like GoldenEar that have more of a home theatre aesthetic (no hate, I've heard this speaker and it rocks).

  • Should play nicely with tube amplification as that is what I am planning for this system. I have a lot to learn about amp and tube matching so I'll probably be back with this as a separate question. I imagine these speakers will be fairly high sensitivity with good nominal impedance figures.

  • Budget of around $10k, since I'll be saving for a while, I want something with serious staying power. Will consider used options too.

My current system is a pair of Dynaudio Contour 20 stand mounts, driven by a Parasound HINT6. I really love these speakers but the lack of deep bass, low volume performance, and low sensitivity make them a poor match for this system, so they'll be added to a home theatre setup in the future. What I do love about them is they are totally non-fatiguing to listen to and strike a nice balance between analytical and laid back listening. This is a quality that I'd also like to retain. I'm happy to answer other questions y'all might have but this is getting a bit long winded at this point, so I'll cut myself off. Thank you for the advice!

primarist

How big the room?

  • Strong performance at both low and high volumes. I listen at night a lot and still want a good experience without disturbing others. The speaker shouldn't get congested at higher volumes though since I do like to play em loud as well.

I also listen late at night and tun off the 2-channel systems to go to my RAAL SR1a earphones. This is better than my Magnepan Mini system in the office. It is not as good as my Yamaha NS5000 system in the Livingroom,

I mention the SR1a or SR1b (the same thing) because it will give you a 2-channel representation of the sound. Your Parasound Hint6 would be great with the SR1a or b. It is a much better listening experience than almost all 2-channel systems at low volume. Not even considering room issues.

There is another RAAL headphone (not earphone) that people are freaking out about, it is the RAAL 1995 Immanis. It cost about $10k and it is an experience. Not 2-channel like the SR1a but close. I am thinking of getting that for a bedroom late night listening only because I am lazy to carry the SR1a from my office to the bedroom. 

 

"Real wood, furniture grade cabinetry"

Aesthetic+ sound= Sonus Faber

Too bad you're not open to used. Something like this could be in your tolerance zone:

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbe2j1-sonus-faber-elipsa-se-floorstanding-speakers-maple-76861-full-range

A little  brother of the Stradivari @$50K

https://www.sonusfaber.com/en/products/stradivari

Below the radar Italian brand in your price zone. I have a pair of lower line from this brand.  Tube or SS friendly.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650103330-opera-grand-callas-ii-superb-and-rare-3-way-italian-loudspeakers/

 

Legacy Focus SE or Focus XD. These are incredible speakers. Check them out. Bill Duddleston is an incredible designer. These speakers are full range (no subwoofers required), have incredible cabinets, with incredible sound. I flew from Alaska to Springfield Illinois to audition these speakers. Bill came in on the weekend to audition them for me. I was totally blown away by the sound. These are the real deal. Check them out. These speakers have incredible sound and beautiful cabinets. 

I’m still using the Audio Physic Virgo speakers I bought around 25 years ago.  I would say they meet all the criteria you list, and all types of music on vinyl sound great played through them.  Used Audio Physics could be a good way to go.  Someday I’ll upgrade, probably to something from DeVore Fidelity.  I understand John DeVore’s approach to speaker design was influenced by his appreciation of Audio Physic’s. But obviously I’m in no hurry at all to upgrade.

My second system is the Yamaha CX/MX1000 combo, Yamaha NS1000m with a Gustard X26pro Dac.  This cost me less than 4k and I love it.