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If you listen to anything other than Classic Jazz, don't read this.

:)  I'm a Jazz only intermediate audiophile looking to improve my system. i ONLY listen to jazz, and i think that matters. If you are of the opinion that great speakers make all music sound good then move on to the next post, because the premise here is that speakers for Acoustic Jazz ( Big Band to Post Bop) have different requirements. My jazz audiophile buddies and i hav A/B'd lots of different speaker/amp/turntable/cartridge combinations as a fun hobby for the last 3 years. i've gone through at least 3 whole systems to get where i am now:
All Rega System - Rega Exex-R, Rega P3, with upgrades, Rega MC Phono Pre,  Rega Apheta 2 Cartridge, Rega RX5 Speakers. 

It sounds really great, but want to get to amazing if possible, and have recently done some speaker comparisons with some Paradigms and Harbeths that show the RX5's could have a tighter, deeper bass and bit more high frequency... 

The challenge is threefold -
1 )information out there is hard to come by, often confusing and  i haven't found much information specifically on what speakers jazz heads prefer.
2) I want to be able to put them up against my current system in my room, which seems a difficult task
3) They have to look good. Aesthetics matter to me. Tektons and Magnapans are cool But Ugly AF, and not going to work for me.

i want someone to tell me this is the best my system is going to get and just enjoy it (which i do 82.5% of the time), or recommend a few things to try, hopefully with recommendation for speakers to try, but i'm open to other suggestions.

I look forward to your comments :)

sincerely,
Eric the Jazz Snob
ericmbass

Showing 1 response by glissando

glissando
35 posts
 
ericmbass I do listen to all types of music but I share the appreciation you have for classic jazz.

Rega makes fine turntables and in recent years they've made some very fine integrated amplifiers. Speakers not so much. One respected British audio reviewer panned the RX5 as "Not a particularly exciting or entertaining listen."

I currently have Revel, Paradigm Signature and Apogee speakers at home. I swap out some of the best tube and solid state amps, use a tube/mosfet hybrid as well as they suit me that week, day or for just for a particular album. Changing things up is half the fun. 

But in the several decades that I've owned mid to hi-fi systems, listening to Jazz the speakers I enjoyed the most were Vandersteen Signature 3As.

The Vandersteen 2CE Signature II is a Stereophile recommended speaker, comparable in size to your Regas, that I'd highly suggest you listen to. An updated Signature III has just been introduced so the Signature II can be found for really good prices.





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