"Dazed and Confused" about upgrading current speakers


I currently have a pair of Golden Ear Technology model 7's. I don't have any particular or serious gripes about their sound quality. However, I think I could do better in overall sound  quality, especially highs and midrange detail and clarity. I know and have read they are noted for their low distortion.

The following speakers may not be upgrades but I have given them consideration:  Ohm Walsh Tall;  Neat Iota and Iota Plus;  and the Larsen 4.2 .

The Larson and the Neat seem overpriced, but their size and profile are attractive  In addition. the very new  Magnepan LRS..... and Magneplanar ..7.   I realize that none of the above may provide a major and noticeable upgrade in sound. I am not as mobile as I used to be and so can't go county wide speaker shopping..

The last go-around of looking, I considered the Revel F-206 and the PSB Imagine T-2, but not many come up for sale, especially the PSB T-2.  The Revel  F-206 I have somewhat lost interest because of their size. 

My electronics are definitely worthy of any of the above speakers and then some   The amp is a BAT VK-200  (100RMS)   Conrad Johnson PV-14L SE; preamp line stage;. Ayre CX7e mp CD player The separates could be replaced by a integrated amp, but that is not in the works at this time

Advice and recommendations welcome

Thank you,

S.J.

   


sunnyjim

Showing 3 responses by elliottbnewcombjr

Larsen (never heard them) (similar to OHM),

My guess is they will not give you what you are seeking.

btw, I haven't checked out or listened to current stuff in years, so this is fun hopping about, learning this and that.

My comments are based on fundamental principles I learned along the way, very active learning/listening age 20-50; somewhat active 50-60; essentially in-active 60-70.


EXISTING SPEAKERS.

https://www.goldenear.com/images/brochures/GET_T5_T7_Literature.pdf

for reference, they are decently high sensitivity 89. working easily with your 100 wpc amp.

The dual mids and ribbon tweeter should give you excellent mids and highs, EXCEPT, I believe your Triton 7's dual passive radiators are making too much bass that is not tightly controlled, masking everything else.

"And dual side-mounted inertially-balanced, planar sub-bass radiators deliver impactful, superbly detailed, subwoofer-quality bass performance".

Even reducing their bass by tone control is unlikely to give you what you are wanting, so I feel you will definitely achieve your goal when changing to new speakers, efficient enough to work well with your 100 wpc.

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NEAT. (never heard any of them).

I presume you are not needing to blast rock and roll or 1812 overture anymore, correct? And wanting mids and highs, deep bass is not that important, also correct?

Willingness to forgo deep bass helps you get happy with a multitude of physically smaller enclosures, smaller drivers, thus smaller prices.

Narrower front faces also help get clear mids and highs.

NEAT Iota is one of the lowest sensitivity speakers around, only 84, I would avoid that.

NEAT Motive SX-1 design concept looks very interesting, narrow face, upward slant, not trying for extended bass, adding bottom port for some extended bass keeps the drivers/face narrow. and directs the port down, not into side/rear/corner walls. Much less likely to overpower mids and highs with unwanted room interactions.

It's sensitivity is low also, but at 87, a bit easier on your 100 wpc amp. IF it's lower port gives you trouble, (unlikely but possible) you could easily block it (as with any port). A bottom port is less likely to have room interaction 
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What


Ohm Walsh Tall link, scroll to the bottom, there is a room size chart and recommended model, what size room do you have??

https://ohmspeaker.com/speakers/walsh-tall/#wt-1000