Finding a Bookshelf for Luxman C900U/M900U

Borresen X1 ($5500)

here is a list between 5 and 10K

https://speakerchoices.com/?pricemin=5000&pricemax=10000

Yamaha NS3000

I’ve been listening in my office/study/lounge for sometime now, after discovering that l prefer the performance there vs other larger rooms. The office dimensions are:

4.2m length x 3.8m width x 4.5m height (vaulted ceiling really helps with overall acoustics ).

The speakers are setup on the longer wall, pulled out almost 1m and listening spot is about 8 feet ( 2.4m) away. Speakers are about 7 feet wide (2.1m) center to center

I’ve had excellent results with Harbeth Super HL5+XD, probably the best overall sound in terms of fullness, tone, and fatigue free listening. I tried Focal Sopra No1 for a few months and could not tolerate them due to excessive upper presence region hyper detail and tweeter artifacts. They would sound weirdly artificial and metallic at times that really turned me off. I had pretty much the exact same experience with my Sopra No2 in the downstairs setup, which at the time was much larger room using Luxman m900/c900 and an MSB discrete and also Chord TT2. Impressive sound staging but that tweeter was out control for me and I could not listen for very long.

Also in the same setup in the basement, I moved to Dynaudio Confidence 30 and then 50. Both were significantly better sounding to me esp in the presence region and as it transitions into the extreme high frequencies - much smoother and more natural air and extension. Not a whiff of artificial hyper detail, etch, or tweeter ringing artifact. I mentioned the basement experience so you can get an idea of what I’ve calibrated to over the years.

In the office I tried Dynaudio Special 40 and Confidence 1 premium. The C1’s were more accurate at both ends but the special 40’s had an interesting vibe and presentation- they were more fun and relaxed whereas the C1’s could sound uptight at times. The C1’s had more audiophile approved characteristics- flatter profile, extreme resolution, cleaner low frequency articulation, maybe a more locked in and focused sound-stage. Between the two, if I had to decide again I’d take the Special 40’s because they basically just played music and were very engaging for hours.

I spent about a month each with Kef R3 Meta and Kef REF1 Meta. I wanted to badly to love the KEFs but found a flavoring not totally unlike the Focals in the upper octaves. They were better than the Focals but I could not make peace with an artificial signature overall.

I also experimented with Devore Super Nine, Marten Oscar Trio and most recently Opera Callas 2014. The Operas tend to fly well under the radar, but have been a real sleeper all along. They have become my new reference point for standmount speakers. I feel they have the best traits of the Dyn C1’s but with a more natural tone and ease of presentation that I have been attracted to the past few years. I am not into hyper detail and extreme audio performance as I was fond of chasing in the past , but do love the basics like: tone, depth, natural mid-range, sound-stage, bass quality, ease of setup, and just the right amount of sparkle.

The Callas 2014 easily checks all these attributes and they are absolutely gorgeous to look at. The cabinet design and overall appearance make them easy to fit in the room and just simply look awesome.

The biggest difference between the Harbeth SHL5+Xd and the Callas 2014 is in the bass envelope/ the Beth’s are fatter sounding- but the bass is more blended / homogenized vs faster and better defined. After this area, the Callas 2014 exceed the resolution and air of the Beth’s, have better transient snap, as well as offering up a gorgeous midrange. Female voices are incredibly well portrayed and “see through”. The soundstage capabilities of the callas outshine the Beth’s in my space. I get more wrap around effects and greater sense of the recording space. I attribute this to the choice of tweeter, crossover design, and very low cabinet resonance. In terms of cabinet resonance the Callas are very inert and do not react / resonate to frequencies in the critical midrange transition region (550 to 750 Hz). The Devore super nines otoh rang like a bell here/ as I suspect this must be a character of the bamboo and cabinet damping design, but drove me to near madness trying to get them to calm down. I think I understand now, why soft low powered amplifiers are pretty much mandatory for them.

This went on a bit long winded but I think you ought to add the Opera Callas 2014 to your list. They have an MSRP of $6500 and would probably work out well in your space with your equipment.

Happy hunting!

I'd love to give a set of Wilson Benesch, ARC Carbon a twirl... there's a set here on this site for $5K - make a deal? They are $7K new & sound like they would be a nice fit with you Luxman electronics.

Joseph Audio Pulsars

Fritz Carrera Be

The Joseph Audio Pulsars are well within your budget used and are just outstanding speakers.  I compared them directly to the 805 D3 and the Pulsars (original version) were just superior across the board.  Best of luck. 

I think you should have a listen to the monitor audio platinum 100 G3 I think it's better than all the speakers that you've listed.

@laaudionut - "The budget is around $5k -> $7k (secondhand speaker is a great choice)" you gonna let the CE1w/stands go for that... I'm in if you are.

For whatever reason, my comment was removed by the site moderator.

No, my error...after I posted my reply I noticed the OP's budget. 

I like the same music you do.  If I had to replace my old ProAcs (which I have no plans to do) I would consider Joseph or Fritz.  I heard both some years ago at RMAF and they both struck me as just the right speaker for my tastes.  And speaking of ProAcs...no one seems to bring them much anymore, but they're a wonderful speaker for jazz and classical, IMO.

Owning both the Bowers and Wilkins 805 D3 and 805 D4, I can attest to the excellent synergy they have to Luxman, a L-590 AxII in my case. In my medium-large room both models deliver excellent bass down to low E, which is 41.2 Hz. The front port on these speakers would be really helpful with placement in your small room.  Another great choice, especially since you have the power, would be the Magico A1 bookshelf, a sealed and power hungry design, though rather pedestrian looking for its rather lofty price point.

Vivid Audio Kaya S12.  Articulate bass, perfectly tonality, great presence!  Created by the former B&W designer known for the Nautilus speaker and matrix enclosures.  Very advanced technology!  Check out the many videos of these speakers.

So, if TAD CE1 is the wish, how about just going for the ME1. They would work beautifully with the Luxman pair you mentioned. 

The Confidence C1 speakers are vastly different in sound to the other 2 speakers you might be interested in. So what type of sound are you really looking for?

Marten Oscar Duo

Marten Parker Duo, although these are pricier than the Oscar you might be able to find something in the used market.

darkknight8586

+++1 Joseph Audio Pulsar, Graphene model if you can find them used. Phenominal speakers, but do not last long used, Borreson X1, Fyne Audio F1.8, Alta Audio Alyssa, Fritz

Hi @dpac996

The Callas 2014 easily checks all these attributes and they are absolutely gorgeous to look at. The cabinet design and overall appearance make them easy to fit in the room and just simply look awesome.

Just found out that, there is a selling Callas 2014 near my place with just $1500 including the stand. Should I take the shot, it is really a bargain.

Hi @deep_333

Does the Borresen share sound signature with Scansonic? I used to have the Scansonic MB3.5, the Treble/Mid is good, however the Bass seem not very coherence and a little bit fake to my ears :'( 

@bgross, there is a pair of CE1 with stand in my place with the 2nd price of $11k, which is out of my budget at the moment.

Fischer & Fischer SN 70's cannot be beat by any other bookshelf speaker for the price. $4500. 

@darkknight8586 

If you trust the seller, that is a steal, but $1500 USD seems too good to be true. I’d proceed with caution.
Money aside, the Callas 2014 are excellent and would be right at home with your musical genre and Luxman gear. I drove mine with a Luxman L-509X (which is about 90% of the performance from the 900 separates); It was a lovely matchup.

I found good cable synergy with Audience Front Row.

Happy Hunting!

https://atc.audio/hi-fi/loudspeakers/classic-series/scm20/ with the S-spec tweeter which is a significant upgrade. Sealed box, so booming is not a problem.

Mine sit atop Sound Anchor stands and Herbie’s Fat Dots run by Luxman 509X. They are magical in the midrange, no heavy driving bass, extend well in the highs and image crazy good. Best of luck in your search.

@dpac996 I just made a check, that's a real deal. The Opera Speaker awareness isn't strong in my country, therefore quite difficult for the Callas 2014 to resell here, so it is a bargain for me. Let me pull the trigger on the Opera Callas 2014

Hi @deep_333
Does the Borresen share sound signature with Scansonic? I used to have the Scansonic MB3.5, the Treble/Mid is good, however the Bass seem not very coherence and a little bit fake to my ears :’(

@darkknight8586 , no, the Borresen is a better designed, better sounding speaker across the board than scansonic.

If you can stretch your budget further than the OP, echoing @yyzsantabarba 's suggestion above, I would suggest the Yamaha NS3000 (10k) or the NS5000 (15k) as well for this kickass Luxman stack.

Marten Parker Duo...they are extraordinary speakers.
The best I've ever listened to
I liked them more than Dynaudio Heritage, Focal Utopia Diablo Evo, B&W 805 D4
Exceptional speakers...

@emilian67 there is also a pair of Marten Duke 2 in my place around $3500

I currently have KEF Reference 1 Meta and they are excellent, very neutral, they reveal the source and amplification. If upstream is bright or warm, you will hear it. They’re chameleon-like, they can be tuned. I have found that they like a strong SS amplifier, the bass improvement and control is very noticeable.

I’ve also had Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene. Those are also very nice, excellent tonality and detail, but in my set up they were lacking bass and the KEF sound like a full range compared to the pulsars. I would love to find a nice pair of Perspectives though.

I have also owned the C900U/M900U in the past but did not try them with the KEF or Pulsars but they were outstanding components and should pair well with almost anything. 

@agbrace I have the KEF Reference Ones as well, not Meta, an excellent recommendation in this price range. Interesting to hear that you had a chance to compare them with Pulsars and chose the KEF’s. The Pulsars were on my list to try, but happened into a deal on the Ref’s and I love them. 
 

I did hear Operas at AXPONA this year and made a specific note that I liked them. Given the deal the OP has on those, I think it is low risk to give them a try. 

Hi @zlone, so what gear are you using to replace the M900U/C900U now?

I really don't understand using smallish two ways in otherwise decent systems.You only ever get a shrunken sort of sound.I went through a stage of trying some to suit a smallish room /second system and did own some of the better ones but never found them very satisfying.The vast majority of them have fake boosted mid bass which is annoying  and the few that are accurate sound  too lightweight which is not satisfying either.They also tend to lack dynamics and efficiency .Give me a pair of decent sealed box three ways any day.