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Looking for speaker recommendations

I retired a couple of years ago and as a hobby have become a bit of an audiophile.  I need some speaker advice from those of you who know more than I. 

I listen mostly to classical and jazz. System is on most of the day for background music.  I do more critical listen from 8-10 in the evening at low volume (50-60 db.)


Been buying and selling gear and my current system is a Mac computer, Teac UD-301 DAC/preamp, Classe CT-2300 amp, Vandersteen 2CE signature speakers. My listening space is a 20 X 18 foot living room with cathedral ceilings. Due to WAF restrictions, the stereo system is in a corner of the room with the speakers 10 feet apart, directed at my listening chair that is 12 feet away.  


The Vandys sound nice but I suspect they are too directional for my listening space and style.  I am looking for a speaker that has a more fuller sound stage and will fill the room with sound. Speakers will need to have a better WAF than the Vandys. (Wife does not like the black socks on the Vandys.)


I prefer to buy used and am looking in the $2-5K range.


My current short-list for speakers is-

Legacy-Signature SE

DeVore-Gibbon X


Any advice/recommendations would be appreciated.



128x1282tuby
frankmccullar
3 posts
 
About two years ago I bought Sonus Faber Venere 2.5 for about $2700 and love them. The richness of the music is better than any speaker I have ever had, especially for strings, voice, jazz, piano and rock and roll. I am not a fan of large ensemble music but when I listen to a symphony it produces a very large sound stage.

I've auditioned a lot of speakers including the Magnapan 1.7i which I like, as well as the 30 when they were in a store in my area. I have listened to Linn, KEF, Focal, Magico, and ProAc but the Sonus Faber please me the most, especially for the price.
shakira
147 posts
 
Look into Usher Speakers 
jstrouth
3 posts
 
 You might want to take a look at the Vivid Giya speakers like the G3. Your wife will absolutely love the look… Or absolutely hate it. And you will most certainly love the sound.  They will play very loudly without distortion, and have a wonderful imaging.
lemonhaze
415 posts
 
(Wife does not like the black socks on the Vandys)
Perhaps involve the wife in choosing new colour socks to replace the black ones or consider replacing the wife.
Richard Vandersteen produces one of the best value speakers and the Model 2CE is probably the value leader. Properly set up they are convincing, outperforming many more costly alternatives.
As others have mentioned, replace the front end. Your power amp is fine, try a good tube preamp and new DAC. Think Denafrips.
This combo will enthrall you IF your room will allow. By that I mean paying attention to room treatment.

Install some bass traps, perhaps the same colour as the Vandy's new socks :)  and absorbers at the first reflection points. This addition alone would transform your system and with new preamp and R2R DAC your jaw will hit the floor. Hope its carpeted.
redmosessc
14 posts
 
I had a pair of OHM Walsh 2's, i bought them beat up and dropped them off at OHM in RedHook, BK. Talked with John over the phone, within 2 weeks he refreshed and refinished them at a reasonable cost. I saw a bunch of veneer samples and ended up getting the redone in a beautiful maple finish.

I had them for about 4 years and i will say that i have havn't heard a smoother mid range in that price category. The Omni directional design makes them really enjoyable to listen from anywhere in the room, they sound very lifelike when you are hearing them from a different room then they are playing in. My only complaint with them is they lacked low Bass, they did not dip as low as modern speakers tend to do these days. That said they were still very punchy, i found them most enjoyable for Jazz programming and music up until the late 70's is where they shined.

They can be found for a couple hundred bucks, OHM now offers upgraded super drivers so you can get the Bass extension but its a bit expensive and at that price point you have many more options, i had mine redone to stock trim. You dont see many omnidirectional speakers at that price point so they are worth a try. 
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