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Help building new system: devore, verity or Sonus?

I'm getting a dedicated room for my gear, but the room is tiny, at 11.5' by 11.5' with about 9.5' ceiling.

I've been listening and reading up on a lot of speakers and the one's I'm most curious about are Devore Fidelity's The Nines or Super 8s, Verity Audio Finn (possibly Rienzi) and the Sonus Faber Liuto.

My current system is a McIntosh MA6600 with Dali MS4 Euphonia's, Clearaudio Turntable, and MHDT DAC with Mac Mini and Denon 3910, and Harmonic Tech. cables. I listen to folk, singer-songwriter, jazz, classical, female vocals, classic and indie rock, as well as solo guitar work. I Prefer smaller scale groups and intimate recordings.

My previous experience with the Dali's in a small room makes me feel they will be too much. I will treat the room as best I can, but WAF is a big issue.

I want to build my system around my speakers, and am in the NYC area, so can demo a lot. I'd prefer to buy from a dealer probably. I am looking to build a system that is very natural sounding and has some life and emotion to it, with no listener fatigue. I like: nice, taut, round bass that isn't boomy, muddy, or over-pronounced; sweet highs that are neither syrupy nor hyper-detailed and analytical; lush but not over-romantic mids.

I'd like to spend under $7,000 on the speakers. What do you guys think about the McIntosh with the speakers I listed? I am happy with the McIntosh, but would consider changing to something else if I found it didn't pair best. It's a small room so don't want anything that runs super hot.

Any other speakers I should try out? Any particular speaker/integrated amp combos you guys love?

Sorry this is so long, and thanks in advance for the help!
brookjoo

Showing 1 response by jdoris

jdoris
972 posts
 
Hi Brookjoo. I've a somewhat similar room situation: 13'x 13' x 9.5'h, although the room is openish on two sides, which may make it a bit larger acoustically. Like you, visuals preclude my doing more elaborate room treatments. We have similar tastes in music, and I'm also considering an upgrade with about your price constraints.

I currently have small towers that do a lot of things well, particularly smaller scale music: North Creek Eska's. They are an MTM design for small rooms, and near-wall placement -- another advantage if WAF is an issue. I think the North line would be worth a look for you, though they will be hard to audition, as they are mostly kits -- though easy to assemble, if Lee Taylor builds the boxes.

My main complaint with the Eska's is a certain lack of heft in the lows, which seems to limit the drama for some music. I've been in contact with several manufacturers who say their stuff can work in my room: among the possibilities, North Creek's Big Cat, Devore Nines, Zu Essence, Green Mountain Audio Eos, FritzSpeakers Carbon 7, and Selah Audio Cima. Not easy, but I'm trying to audition them.

I'll be very curious to hear your thoughts and experiences. John
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