kef Ref 1
fyne 501
Downsizing for Blade 2 and hunting for smaller floor standers
I live in apartments and love small , tall, thin, powerful speakers. I went from Dynaudio C2 to Blade 2 and am in absolute love with it. However, this whole thin and tall thing has scratched a new itch of me and I kept wanting to go leaner and smaller. I have thought about Beolab 28 which seems to be going for the extreme and also maybe the LS60, which feels like a downgrade in sound quality. So I wonder if there is something else I should consider to make my speaker smaller without significantly compromise full range sound quality.
Take a look at these Silverline Prelude Plus floorstanders. Silverline speakers are very natural and produce 3D imaging and a huge soundstage much like KEF speakers. But, if you have a bigger budget then Boenicke speakers should absolutely be on your radar. They need some room to breathe, but if you can give them that their diminutive size will amaze you with their huge, 3D soundstage. |
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We are a kef dealer there are very few loudspeakers which can maatch the blade twos the blade twos will outperform any of the speakers mentioned there is only one loudspeaker we have heard which is smaller which can rival the blade twos; that loudspeaker is the alta audio adams the altas throw a gigantic soundstage and produce ridiculous deep bass down to 20hz due to their patented bass loading design which combines a transmission design with an infinite baffle load the result is very fast impactful bass out of a very compact floor stander the altas also have remarkable clarity thanks to their state of the art ribbon tweeter and proprietary midrange driver the adams sounded better the a 40k pair of wilson daws just amazing sound for less then 20k
at only 41 inches high this is one of the few ultra compact loudspeakers which can compete with the blade 2
dave and Troy Audio intellect NJ kef and alta dealers
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I’ve been extraordinarily impressed with Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers with the RAAL ribbon tweeter. They are easily driven by most amps, including tube amps, and the impedance never dips below 5 ohms, nor does it swing wildly. The company is small, U.S.A., and run by nice, talented people. They have a trial period. I prefer these to others I’ve had, including ML 60 Xti, Focal 936, Dynaudio Evoke 30. They are wonderful.
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Sounds like you have the need a new toy disease. The Blades are great speakers. If you really like them it will be hard and costly to find a superior replacement. Remember since even good speakers vary a lot it matters that you pick one that has the pluses you need and doesn't have anything that bothers you. In an imperfect world balancing all the qualities of speakers that's a hard thing to do, especially if you convince yourself you need to find new speakers. Better to live with ones you love and audition speakers over time with no commitment to buy and wait til you come across one that grabs your attention(and then take your time auditioning it over time). |
+1 @hilde45 I had a pair of Ascend Acoustic Sierra towers with raal tweeters too, for like 7 years. They were absolutely wonderful, wide clear sound, not tiring, with amazing bass for their size. I just moved to larger speakers to get a more immersive sound in my then new house of stereo. And David at Ascend is the nicest owner you will ever meet. |
+1 @steakster +1 @maxwave I also think Marten Parker Trio could be perfect. I heard the small Parker Duo recently and they were great but if you want bass then the Trio should be way better.
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Thanks for everyone’s advice! to add more context, my budget can not exceed $20k, and my sound preference is top to bottom clean, relaxing, slightly sparkling and neutral with strong emphasis on mid bass impact (which is basically Blade 2 to me). I also like sleek and unique designs as my home decor is very minimal and industrial. |
@bwang29 design-wise: "Nordic"?
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I have not read through the whole thread but I am highly impressed with how my new Magnepan LRS+ sound. I have other formats and systems but I am primarily using a streaming system because I have found it works well and it is easy to listen to all sorts of music from the couch. I’m saying that I have become lazy and I don’t want to have to get up and turn the record over or switch to a different reel or other device. I pay a small amount for the service and it works flawlessly. Oh yea I have to say that the LRS + is spectacular and I am still looking forward to getting a set of Magnariser stands which are supposed to have a extra layer of resolution ( which I think will make it like a musical instrument is playing in front of me. So if you have a high current amplifier and the room for a pr I would recommend it as a replacement for your speakers. |