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GoldenEar vs Dynaudio vs Nola vs ProAc vs Everything else.

I have had a near impossible time finding speakers that I am in love with. Where I live and my work schedule prevents me from being able to audition a lot of different speakers.

I am a bit on information overload from reading reviews, and having a hard time how to narrow down speakers.

My listening room, is our main living room which is 16 x 23 with vaulted ceilings going from 9 to 12 in the center of the room. Listen to vinyl and streaming, and a mix of indie rock, classic rock, jazz, and a pinch of everything else. Do a lot of casual listening while in the room and not necessarily one specific listening location.

The speaker placement is going to be tight too, not a lot of space off the side and back walls thanks to a closest coming slightly in to the area the speakers can go.

I am leaning towards tube amplification, like a PrimaLuna Premium HP, but not locked in on anything until I get the speakers sorted out.

I am not attached to any of the above brands, but all brands that I have enjoyed a lot of what I have read about them.

My price range is around 10k, and happy to by used/demo/pre-owned or new. I am also happy to spend less if not going to see a significant gain in a speaker towards the high end of my price range.
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Showing 1 response by hifiron

hifiron
102 posts
 
My biased opinion is:

1. Go tube and take a long look at Decware. I switched to Decware and haven’t looked back. I started with the MiniTorii and upgraded to the Torii Jr. Only reason for the upgrade was to have a bit extra headroom. $2500. However depending on your speakers, you could grab:

  • MiniTorii $1800 (4 Watts per Channel)
  • Zen Triode Integrated SE34I.5 (6 Watts per Channel)
  • Zen Triode $1300 (2 Watts per Channel)
  • Torii Jr $2500 (20 Watts per Channel)

2. Speakers: I again have switched to Decware hybrid radials here, they just blew my mind when I heard them the first time. (Decware HR-1). However there are a lot of great options here. I agree with the Vandersteen route, and you can grab Vandy 1’s for CHEAP [read: less than $500]. I have heard amazing things about Devore Gibbon 88’s, not listened in person, but they may fit the bill as well. Omega speakers are a great match for Decware as well, Louis has a new model that is sold through the Decware site.

  • Decware HR-1 $5000
  • Omega Super3 XRS $2300
  • Devore Gibbon 88 $?
  • Vandersteen 1Ci $1350
  • Spatial Audio Hologram M4 TurboS / M4 Triode Master ($1995 / $2995)

3. Then you can use the money saved and get the Decware ZP3, the most transparent and amazing sounding phono stage I have heard to date. $1300

My current spending distribution is 40% on speakers, 15% amp, 30% source, 15% room. YMMV
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