Dynaudio Evoke or Focal Aria Or Paradigm Prestige

Not sure where you live in Canada (I am in Toronto) but I own all 3 brands and each has a different house sound. Dynaudio is the most neutral, Focal has the best highs and Paradigm always seems to strike a good balance.  All 3 work with Yamaha. I also used to have a Thorens 166

If I was choosing for AV it is Paradigm all the way and the new Prestige series is pretty great value. My only concern would be the treble could be a bit forward in that room.  Not sure of cartridge on your 166 but if you are using a nice warm sounding Grado or Ortofon OM series, you should be ok.  

I would go listen first. Check out the lower Paradigm models as well since they might be more appropriate for that room.  Prestige is very resolving but might be too much for your small room. Have a listen to Premier series too.

Having owned a high end audio store and now working for Paradigm and Anthem as a Sales Manager in the US, I would recommend you seriously consider looking at better electronics before jumping into new speakers because I think the speakers you have can show better performance. 

Think about the speakers as being an instrument (like a guitar) which is really what speakers are.  You can have a six string Taylor, Gibson, Martin, Fender, etc. and they all have a different tone.  Hand one of the guitars to 4 different musicians playing the same song, the guitar will sound different based on how the musician plays it (the musician being the electronics). 

I would suggest trying to add one of our Anthem MCA Power Amps to your Receiver using it as a Pre/Pro and see what having a better musician playing your instruments sounds like.  You could even add a stereo amp just to run the front left and right to enhance that when you listen to music.  

After you experience that, then I would recommend beginning to look at the speakers.  And after you decide on speakers, then upgrade to a true Pre/Pro and trade/sell off your Yamaha or move it to another area of the house. 

Many people start with speakers, but if you like the tone of your current instruments, give the instruments to a better musician to play them.  Then, ultimately, give the musician a better instrument to play.   

Now if you'd like to upgrade speakers first, that's certainly not a wrong way to go - just understand that the better range of speakers you're considering to upgrade to will reveal more anomalies with your receiver and I truly believe you'll be wanting to upgrade from that receiver sooner than you think. 

Good luck in your search!  

Thanks Banerjba. I wish i was in Toronto for something like choosing and listening to speakers. But I'm in Moncton. Here the only dealer worth mentionning carries Paradigm or B&W. In Halifax, I can have different choices like Dynaudio or Focal. Or I can also go to Quebec City (eventually) at Audiolight. So, i'm kind of limited, but thank you for your input.

cbrents73, also thanks for your comments. Here is my train of thought. My Yamaha receiver is about 3 years old, but my speakers are 19 years old. 4 bookshelfs and a center from a company called Athena technologies which no longer exists. This is why I wanted to find better speakers first. Long overdue. In fact, i'm looking for 2 fronts and a center first and foremost. Here is my question to you. Why buy a Power Amps using it a pre/pro first and then upgrade to a true Pre/Pro ? Why not buy a better true Pre/Pro first and not bother with a Power Amp ? What would you suggest in the Anthem line-up ?