Help me spend $6000

Booze Rawks! 

@yogiboy is on a tear!!!  love it 😁

There are very few Marten owners on this site, so please give us detailed feedback after they settle.

Or just plain stupid!

Monitor Audio, Gold or Silver series. 

always amazes me how it is that people can type yet they can't read... 😂

Thanks everyone, I have purchased Marten Oscar Duos. 

No, but all the yahoos that keep suggesting speakers are...

Am I missing something? Didn't the OP say he bought speakers?

With this budget hunt for

Acapella Monostatos or

one level better the Harlekins.

MK1 Version of both completely

enough. 91dB/1W/1m each.

I use them for years now in my two systems, home cinema and music.

Difficult to find.

Good luck.

@travisg good choice! Should be kick a$$ speakers!

Where did that scotch thing even come from??

"Well, I'm not sure about the equipment part but if you're a scotch drinker, I would suggest purchasing fine oloroso sherry casks from Spain.  First Butt, cask strength whiskeys like this are disappearing, becoming rarer and rarer.  Good investment and at the very least, makes the listening sessions that much nicer.  

    Kidding aside, all true.  When recently touching base with my single malt, purveyor, mentor, and a generally great guy about a bottle (amongst many I own and purchased over a couple of decades) I had just opened, he tells me what they go for today and I'm kind of stunned.  I realize I can't afford to drink my own whiskey!  Well I can, I bought them, I guess."

I don't drink, and have no respect for people who do. But thx for the help.

Honestly, do half you guys even read any posts before you post??

He’s stated several times he’s already bought some speakers!!!

Well, I'm not sure about the equipment part but if you're a scotch drinker, I would suggest purchasing fine oloroso sherry casks from Spain.  First Butt, cask strength whiskeys like this are disappearing, becoming rarer and rarer.  Good investment and at the very least, makes the listening sessions that much nicer.  

    Kidding aside, all true.  When recently touching base with my single malt, purveyor, mentor, and a generally great guy about a bottle (amongst many I own and purchased over a couple of decades) I had just opened, he tells me what they go for today and I'm kind of stunned.  I realize I can't afford to drink my own whiskey!  Well I can, I bought them, I guess.

Totem  Tribe Tower, pairs well with Pass Labs and is a giant killer for the price.

Will do. 

Hey Travis would love to hear your thoughts on the Marten Duo's when you have them in house and I hope they're the speakers you've been searching for.

Maybe this is not a forum for me.

When I focus on getting better sound quality as the primary goal.

And changing in and out components year after year and just gaining something here and there maybe, in sound quality by losing something else somewhere else, By trying to match into a existing system something new.

That is not getting better sound quality it is just to get something different sounding it is what I call "chasing you tail", in my book.

And not gaining any new knowledge, by hook up another pair of speakers in this case (same procedure as for the previous once).

Nothing else than learning that speaker X sounds little bit of this and a little bit of that (in your room, with your electronics and your biases.). In other words will not help anybody else anything and it is useless knowledge except for yourself.

Maybe that is the case it is harder to learn new than just repeating old pattern. End of ranting.

we all feel the need to rant every now and then, its ok

at the heart of this is -- how does one go about improving their system? what is the ’smart’ process? one can research and read a lot, ask for advice, but most folks giving advice are not objective or truly qualified (or neither)... so it boils down to biting the bullet and getting something you think will be much better and trying it

i think it is best to view this process as part of the fun of this hobby, as opposed to a big negative... we are trying to enjoy beautiful music in our private spaces, and we all engage in various activities and processes to achieve that...

also, alot of the fun in life, enriching experiences in life, come from trying new things

Maybe this is not a forum for me.

When I focus on getting better sound quality as the primary goal.

And changing in and out components year after year and just gaining something here and there maybe, in sound quality by losing something else somewhere else, By trying to match into a existing system something new.

That is not getting better sound quality it is just to get something different sounding it is what I call "chasing you tail", in my book.

And not gaining any new knowledge, by hook up another pair of speakers in this case (same procedure as for the previous once).

Nothing else than learning that speaker X sounds little bit of this and a little bit of that (in your room, with your electronics and your biases.). In other words will not help anybody else anything and it is useless knowledge except for yourself.

Maybe that is the case it is harder to learn new than just repeating old pattern. End of ranting.

Good luck with your new speakers whatever the are.❤️🎵🎶🎼💸

Spendor D7.2

Audio Note AN J

"I enjoy being ridiculed, talked down to, and reading posts that have nothing to do with the original question. "

Could it be that you had two separate threads about the same subject?  Good luck with the new speakers!

@jeffseight

My take on it was that you guys did something that was of value to the audio community, and that it must have been as fun as it was informative. Additionally, I didn’t find the minor criticisms of methodology and cabling to temper the credibility of your work, especially considering the constraints of time and format.

I actually ended up buying the Black Ice Glass FX DAC and thought it sounded great. Curious what your personal thoughts on that DAC are.

Incidentally, I’m currently using an SMSL M400, which I found to be a cooler sound and slightly more detailed, but loses out to the Glass FX in terms of imaging/spatial cues. In my warm-ish system this was a trade off I was willing to make. Balanced outputs and MQA decoding also sweetened the deal. Still have the FX DAC, I’m having a hard time convincing myself to sell it.

Anyhow, I was going to advise the OP to avail himself of your invitation, but it sounds like he’s got it all figured out. Don’t mind hijacking this thread; he’s obviously no longer using it.

Refnoise,

Yes the AZ club did put on the infamous "DAC It Out" in Aug 2019.

I was not the person in charge.

What was your take on it?

If you can find a mint pair of Wilson Sophia in your price range they should hit the spot. Good synergy with the Pass electronics too and should work great with your integrated. 

I saw a pair listed yesterday on the Mart. Did you buy those?

I have upgraded my cables and have a nice pair of $73,000 interconnect cables I’d be willing to part with for $6,000.

“What I don't get is why do you have to ask anyone on here??? Is there not enough info and reviews to make an informed decision? I have never asked anyone on here what to buy....maybe it's me...”

I enjoy being ridiculed, talked down to, and reading posts that have nothing to do with the original question.  

What I don't get is why do you have to ask anyone on here??? Is there not enough info and reviews to make an informed decision? I have never asked anyone on here what to buy....maybe it's me...

Very good choice! It would be great if you can share you experience with the Martens. I've also considered Marten Oscan Duos for my INT-25, but as I was not able to audition them, I choose Sonus Faber Olympica II instead. 

"I would add a used pair of Joseph Audio Pulsars to your list."  

Ok so I just purchased a pair of Marten Oscar Duo stand mounts. 

Everyone can disregard this post. Thx for the comments.

I would add a used pair of Joseph Audio Pulsars to your list.  

Ok so I just purchased a pair of Marten Oscar Duo stand mounts. 

Going for new loudspeakers was the right choice. 

Ok so I just purchased a pair of Marten Oscar Duo stand mounts. 

Everyone can disregard this post. Thx for the comments.

I really think your answer begins with some questions:

What have you owned and liked?

What have you owned and not liked?

What have you always wanted to try?

What is absolutely out of the realm of consideration?

Recently, I've owned Salk and Spatial Audio...both are fantastic and would probably easily meet your requirements...but maybe not depending on how you answer the four questions.

I don't believe you mentioned what kind of sound you have now and what sound you want to achieve.  The T5's are pretty small.  You might like the SALK Song3 Encores.  They sound really great playing jazz.

Ok so I just purchased a pair of Marten Oscar Duo stand mounts. 

Everyone can disregard this post. Thx for the comments.

Seriously, if you like Klipsch sound, then the Cornwall would be good.  They are wide though.  I  have Crites Cornscala.  Potential to sound even better than Cornwall with Dean Wescott crossover. That would cost ~$3000 for speakers and crossovers

Other good choices: 

Volti Razz efficient and beautiful craftsmanship.

Fritz easy to drive monitor.

NOTE:  I have XA25.  Very compatible with lots of speakers but not difficult to drive ones. 

Good luck and ignore grumps.

Either I haven't had coffee yet or this is plain weird.

@blackbag20 +1

Salk for me ...

I can see this was a bad idea. Thx everyone for the SPEAKER recommendations.

Focal Aria 936. 92db sensitivity, $6k/pair brand new and should likely deliver the sound quality you seek. Only you can determine that part. Good luck with your search. 

@jeffseight 

The INT 25 means you should find 8ohm speakers

How did you conclude this, when accordingnto the user manual the amp is stable down to 1 ohm. It can deliver 200wpc per channel @1ohm before the protection circuit activates

@travisg 

Room is a bonus room with knee walls with carpet and bookshelves everywhere, but not officially treated. I sit near field. 

That is great ^^^ .

But as I see it you got great electronic and gear.

So at this point my view is that you are asking how you can spend more money to get a different sound probably not better but just different and maybe hopefully to your more subjective liking. With the  gear you happen to have currently.

I see that you are at the point there you will just carry in and out to this room different HW/gear. And the combination of gear will give you a differently frequency response.. And if we looking at it from that point you will use gear as a equalizer and that is a very expensive way to equalize the sound and very cumbersome to do equalize. (But maybe just that is your hobby and keep doing that rest of your life and enjoy. You can also stop reading here.)

Another problem with use gear for equalizing is that they're static. For example if a specific item is good in low level listening senario or something else that you value. But you value other stuff also so you will come to the point that swapping out X component will sacrifice low volume listening experience for something else that you like. In other words hard to keep both things in some situations.

• But if we want to increase sound quality.
• And depending on mood/time on the day still be able to enjoy your system at different volume levels.
• Plus being able to tailor to your own preferencences (!) That can adopt to you change preference over time.
• Plus it will adjust to your specific room, gear and their physical positions.

What is that magical thing that can take you to the next level?

Get a DSP and measuring mic as a preamp (that is the correct position in the system). The analog (TT), digital streaming and optical media. 

Then you can integrate your subwoofers perfectly and for your room at your listening position. The same goes for the mains. You for example have four presets on the Mini DSP FLEX (measures as a good) that you can use different volume levels (as a loudness control) and with your preferences.

So better sound quality (indirectly fixing your room issues, that you even don't know probably you have today..) and versatile that do stuff that none if your other HW can do today. That brings added value to your system and you.

But you can use something more automatically calibration as Dirac or you can do it manually and with REW. That has a steeper learning curve but you have time to learn. 

(When you have a TT and 2 rels then the DSP can fix issues with rumble (acustic feedback from the bass to the TT depending on tonearm effective mass and the compliance of the cartridge the frequency will vary depending on them.) Implement a high pass filter in the DSP. So you see the DSP has many use cases, but you need to know about them.)

@jeffseight 

sorry for the hijack, but is your club the one that did that infamous DAC shootout? 

Are you looking for ideas or just killing time?

The INT 25 means you should find 8ohm speakers

with a 90+ sensitivity rating. If you sit near field

the room means less. Come to our club's event

August 27th and audition 16 speakers. Standmounts

all under $3k. With your budget you could buy two pair.

The BMRs are one of the 16.

AZAVCLUB.com

Focal Aria 836 or Revel Performa3 F208