Guidance for speaker upgrade

How high are your ceilings?
Set up on short wall or long wall?
Opens into another room or sealed off?

My ceilings are 8' high.
Set up on long wall.
Opens into other room.

Might want to add a high quality subwoofer. I own a Rel Storm 3, augmenting Intuitive Design Summits. Those already go so low that the crossover on the Rel is set at 27 hertz.

I am currently looking at either the Proac studio 110 or the Axiom M80 v2.

If it opens into another room you will probably want a good sub with most speakers. With your equipment I would think about a used pair of NHT 3.3's. They would give you what you want and allow placement against the wall (designed to be placed against the wall). They are very deep though. Probably would not need a sub either.

Good luck!

Thanks for your input guys.

To date I've listened to the following:
- Quad 12L
- Totem Rainmaker
Of these two I prefered the Rainmaker, more clarity.

- Von Schweikert VR 1
- JMLab Profile 908
I felt the JM had a more refined sound, but felt
something odd was going on at the very high
frequencies.

- Proac Sudio 110
This unit came highly recommended by my VTL dealer. I
would probably include it in a home audition.

The next two on my listening list (scheduled for this
coming weekend) are the:
- Spendor SP3/1P
- Dynaudio Audience 52SE

I've recently been referred to two additional units that I've started researching:
- Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand
- Aerial 5b

I hear your comments concerning sub requirement. Is the best value proposition a sub and standmounted or could a floorstanding give comparable value considering my room layout and distance to front wall restriction (1-2')?

Any comments you may have relative to these units or
their compatability with my components would be
greatly appreciated.

There's no reason at all that a floorstander couldn't be used with a subwoofer IF the subwoofer is well integrated and IF the subwoofer is restricted to reproducing the lowest frequencies (by setting the crossover low enough). In my opinion only the very largest floorstanders are truly "full range." For example, my Paradigm Studio 100 V3's benefitted tremendously from the Rel Storm 3 I was using. However, the crossover point was set at something like 28 hertz. With my current speakers, it's set even lower at 27 hertz. One caveat is that the sub has to be up to the task.

Do look at teh 3.3's. THey are floorstanding, VERY deep, and use two 10" woofers. The side firing woofers and very deep cabinet create their own corner while bringing the HF drivers further into the room. just a really cool design.

THe Spendors are wonderful too. I bought the VR1's instead of the SP3/1P's simply for versatility. The VR1's integrate well with a sub and are not too particular about placement. I do think that the SP3/1P is a better speaker though.

I have heard nothing but good things about the Green Mountain and Tyler speakers as well.

Good luck!

I think you will be in for a real treat when you audition the Spendor 3/1Ps... I found their sound quite addictive and almost bought a pair not too long ago for my office system.

I'll second Bignerd100's Tyler and GMA recommendations as well. I own Tyler and am a *very* happy camper... GMA was also quite impressive when I heard those recently... My guess is that if you like the Spendors when you audition them, then Tyler might very well also be up your alley.

Good luck,

---Dave

Pjboud,
Do you have a ballpark figure for your speaker budget (including any subwoofer)?

Hello Mdhoover,

Yes, my ballpark budget is in the $2000 range (all inclusive). When I start considering sub and stands, it does not leave much room for the speakers.

If you're truly satisfied with everything about the sound of your system except for the bass, then I'd strongly consider keeping the speakers and spending as much as necessary (up to the budget level, of course) on a truly high end subwoofer, but the selection process may take some time. Proper integration is absolutely vital.

Well, I finally took the plunge and purchased a second hand set of spendor S5e. They are nice and compact and have definitely improved my system's sound.

Thank you for your contribution to this thread.