Vienna speakers have a small footprint. I heard a pair at a dealer in Rochester NY they sounded very nice with a open large soundstage
Great bookshelf or small towers suggestions
I'm looking to upgrade my main speakers for home theater/music setup.
Currently have Sound Dynamic 300 ti's that are about 16 years old. I have a Marantz 5009 AV receiver and some Orbs for side and back channels. I have a sound dynamic center speaker too. The room is 11x15 with a fairly low 7' ceiling. I want to replace the LR main and Center speakers. Budget < $5K.
floorplan: http://tinyurl.com/zd68dqf
Soundwise I am after improved brightness and up front treble and mids. I am not the biggest bass nut - a) I have downstairs neighbors and b) I've played drums for 40 years and have heard it all. I hate being bounced out of my seat every time stuff explodes and mainly want to hear dialog better for TV and clearer more sparkly acoustic pianos and spangalang of cymbals like they're in the room with me.
So far from what I've heard in stores, I liked the Magnepan .7's a lot. But they just won't fit the space. Too wide and didn't pass WAF. I listened to a few other speakers - mid level B&W's, Golden ear, martin logan, and so far little compared to the magnepans except maybe the BW 805D3's - which are way over my budget. I thought about looking for used 805d2's. I did like a pair of Focal 714's and could probably live with them. But this is the last pair of speakers I ever want to buy. So I keep coming back to thinking about the new 805's or something close.
I've been interested in a lot of the factory direct speakers like the Sierra Tower & 2's but it bothers me to buy speakers I can't hear first.
Any advice appreciated.
Thx!
Currently have Sound Dynamic 300 ti's that are about 16 years old. I have a Marantz 5009 AV receiver and some Orbs for side and back channels. I have a sound dynamic center speaker too. The room is 11x15 with a fairly low 7' ceiling. I want to replace the LR main and Center speakers. Budget < $5K.
floorplan: http://tinyurl.com/zd68dqf
Soundwise I am after improved brightness and up front treble and mids. I am not the biggest bass nut - a) I have downstairs neighbors and b) I've played drums for 40 years and have heard it all. I hate being bounced out of my seat every time stuff explodes and mainly want to hear dialog better for TV and clearer more sparkly acoustic pianos and spangalang of cymbals like they're in the room with me.
So far from what I've heard in stores, I liked the Magnepan .7's a lot. But they just won't fit the space. Too wide and didn't pass WAF. I listened to a few other speakers - mid level B&W's, Golden ear, martin logan, and so far little compared to the magnepans except maybe the BW 805D3's - which are way over my budget. I thought about looking for used 805d2's. I did like a pair of Focal 714's and could probably live with them. But this is the last pair of speakers I ever want to buy. So I keep coming back to thinking about the new 805's or something close.
I've been interested in a lot of the factory direct speakers like the Sierra Tower & 2's but it bothers me to buy speakers I can't hear first.
Any advice appreciated.
Thx!
77 responses Add your response
You really do not get it. It is your ancillary equipment, amp, cd, wires, and so on. Not the speakers. If you have $5,000.00 you could put together a well-matched killer system will all the attributes you desire; but it does take a little bit of time, research and work...perhaps you could do a little appropriate reading. There are many stellar articles on putting together outstanding stereo/home theatre systems for $5,000.00 or less. Enjoy the Music, for example, had a great article some months back featuring Coincident amp, Tekton speakers, good cables and power cords, Schiit DAC, etc., this was for 2 channel, but these helpful articles exist in nearly every audio publication. 6 Moons, Stereo Times, Stereo Mojo, Positive Feedback, Wall of Sound, Enjoy the Music, and many more that include Home Theatre. Best of luck, Rob |
Wolf, I was in your shoes over a year ago, somewhat tired of my existing speakers, but not sure which way to go. I did much research on the net, and kept coming back to the Sierra 2's. For a bookshelf, anything decent from the traditional retail market was well over 2000, and these internet direct companies seemed to be able to offer much better bang for buck. So a tried a pair on the free trial they offer, and they were so superior in the theater system to my Paradigm Monitor 7 that I moved the Sierra 2 into my high end 2 channel system. Airy highs, detail, lush vocals, they blew me away. I ended up with 3 Sierra 1 across the front of my theater and I'm an Ascend fan for life. If you can feel a little adventurous, it's really worth it. The Raal ribbons are spectacular. In your cozy room you really don't need more than that, save your coin, maybe upgrade the surrounds if so desired. |
| Post removed |
If I was in the market for a diminutive floor-standing speaker, I would, almost without question, order a pair of PSI Audio A215-Ms. You’ve no doubt never heard of them. They are very high-end professional studio mastering monitors made in Switzerland by an offshoot of Revox, no less. They aren’t fancy (but should have a good WAF), and they may seem rather expensive @ $3150 apiece, but they’re an "active" speaker, meaning the amp is built into the speaker. Thus, not only do you not need a separate amp, the amp is designed specifically for that speaker, and each speaker simply has an XLR and an IEC power cord input. OK, but how do they sound? I don’t directly know. BUT, I use a pair of PSI A-21s in my mastering studio, and they are stunningly open, precise, detailed and yet VERY listenable. Frequency response is essentially flat throughout their range. By almost all accounts, that is true of the entire PSI line. If it’s clarity, sparkly and "spangalang" cymbals you’re listening for, I’m certain you couldn’t do better for the money. You can find several reviews on-line, but I would pay the most attention to the comments on Gearslutz. Those folks are pros. I can recommend this dealer; there are also rumors of one in NYC. http://www.zenproaudio.com/psi-audio-a215-m |
Replacing a $600/pr of (albeit highly regarded) speakers with a <$5K budget does not make a great deal of sense to me (especially for such a small listening room with the other components you mention). If they are still available you might look into the Gallo 2 speakers being closed out, here @ A’gon, for gobs off the original MSRP. You would need higher (24”, or so) stands for the speakers, but as they are being closed out for <$400/pr the additional expense is a drop in the bucket considering your stated budget. I’m kicking myself for not picking up a pair, when they were still available in a natural wood finish (last time I looked @ the ad only Black was offered). Not trying to be mean, just trying to offer a more realistic solution. Have not listened to the Gllo 2, but have heard the much more expensive Gallo Stratus speaker (which they are compared to in a 6 Moons review), and I liked the original Stratus. |
Thanks! I get what you’re saying. I have an NAD 516 CD player and a Rega 2 turntable with an NAD preamp. I’ve enjoyed the 300’s for many years. They’re spiked and do sound good. They seem to be in perfect shape and I’m the only owner. And I found a center that matches them on ebay last year. Maybe I’m just tired of them, but what I notice is listening in direct mode stereo 2 channel just isn’t as satisfying as when I turn on the surround speakers and use various music modes. And what becomes glaringly obvious is that these little spherical Orbs and Gallos that I have for sides and rears add more mids and highs and music just sounds better. (but not great) On top of that just using it all in media mode when watching TV, the center and fronts just don’t have much sparkle and pop and I find myself cranking the volume so we can understand the dialog. It gets super annoying. I’ve thought about just upgrading the center, but I think the mains do leave a bit to be desired too. I’ve toyed with every setting on the receiver and at this point no longer use audissey and have just a few tweaks for dialog and set the speaker levels by ear. I really wish there was a better EQ in the receiver - maybe for each speaker. I’ve tried using the EQ but it gets disabled when you use various other features. I thought about replacing the marantz but I really don’t want to go crazy with expensive separate components. I’m not a huge fan of messing with equipment. I’m kind of a set and forget guy. And I just wouldn’t know where to start. -Bill |
Wolfernyc, There's one in every crowd, Know what I mean? I'm going to offer up the contrarian post now...... The Sound Dynamics 300ti is a very good speaker and was considered one of the true Giant Killers when it was produced. Even today they are very highly regarded. You may end up buying different speakers that are not necessarily an improvement, but are simply different. Looking at your complete system, it makes me wonder if your $5000 budget might be better spent on electronics instead of speakers. You are using a mid-priced HT receiver for processing, pre-amp and amp. What are your source components? DVD player? Dedicated CD player? Digital Music Server? Vinyl? What type of media do you play? Redbook CD, vinyl, mp3, FLAC, hi-res digital, etc.? Digital, especially low-res digital, is notorious for having highs that do not sound natural. The Sound Dynamics 300ti is capable of sounding very good when feed a good signal from the source and amplifier. You may be looking at the wrong part of your system for an improvement. Now, that said, I have not heard your system or any of the components you own, so I could be totally off base. However, I suggest you do a search on "Sound Dynamics 300ti Reviews" and read what has been written about them. People who own Quad Electrostats, Magnepan and other high end speakers have kept their old Sound Dynamics 300ti's because they were too good to get rid of.... The Contrarian |
Two brands that sell directly and get good reviews are Aperion and SVS. I especially like that their better center speakers are designed with the tweeter above a dedicated midrange rather than the more common MTM configuration. Both companies get high marks for customer service and I believe they both offer generous in-home demos. Best of luck. |
In my floor plan link they kind of look closer than the actual speakers currently are. They're ~14" from the wall at present. The TV isn't wall mounted and a low sanus media cabinet is there holding the tv and all of the gear. So nothing needs to go directly against the wall. But it can't come out much further. |
You don't say anything about potential speaker placement. If you can pull them at least a bit away from the wall, I'd suggest trying out Reference 3A De Capo's. I find them to be very immediate sounding, with good sparkle, but not over the top. Their articulation is excellent for HT dialogue. Bass certainly won't overwhelm you, but is satisfying for a stand mount. |