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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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!
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- 28 posts total
I am going to second @chayro and recommend Audio Note speakers. They play well with tubes and they have numerous finishes. They work best when placed in the corners of your room. Here is a nice pair of Here is a stunning pair. I have the Audio Note AN-E LX HE Hemp in my system currently with Sysnthesis tube amps and they love jazz. |
One approach would be to build from classics. Such as: * A JBL Paragon (beautiful modern cabinet, unsurpassed dynamic full range JBL woofers and "potato masher" mid/high end. Alternatively, two older JBL Harkness speakers, also with the D130a woofers and D75 "potato-masher" as used in the Paragon. * A modest-power tube preamp with a great phono stage, such as the ARC 6b, 6d,or 6e. No better phone stage for moving magnet cartridges or high output moving coils. * A Dual 721 or 704 turntable with an easily-adjustable VTA mechanism and either an XLM or ZLM body with an ADC OEM Shibata stylus. The stylus shape is why you need the easy VTA adjustment,,,,,when you get it just right the sound just "pops" into accurate and full dimensional character. *************************************** This will take a while to assemble, but when done you will have a "state of the phono art" system from the early '70's, the peak of the phono period history. |
They’re a little polarizing, but I’m a big fan of the Rethms. The Trishna started out @ $10k, but may be up to $12k now. Perfect for virtually any tube amplification, even SET. They use a full range driver combined with a powered low end featuring 4 woofers in isobaric configuration. I love the immediacy of the sound, and my understanding is they’ve addressed a mid-bass issue associated with previous design. IMHO, their look is very consistent with a Scandinavian vibe, though I wouldn’t necessarily say “furniture grade” the way my Audio Notes can. Full disclosure: i’ve only heard them twice in show settings, but was impressed both times, the second when they were being driven by a Synthesis integrated, which is a brand I’m deeply familiar with. |
- 28 posts total