Yeah, if you can find a nice used pair of Nola KOs in your price range, which do come up now and again, that’d be a HUGE recommendation (shame on me for not thinking of them before). Carl voices and mostly shows his speakers with ARC gear, so there ya go. Read the show reviews of the KOs and they’re all glowing. I think KOs of any generation with a couple good and well-integrated subs could be end-game speakers and 80% of his Baby Grands on the cheap. DeVore also a great suggestion — maybe used Silverbacks? Read reviews of the recommended speakers here — many of which are excellent — and see which speakers are fairly tube friendly and match with your sonic preferences. But if I’m you, I’m looking hard at Nola KOs and Verity Audio Parsifal along with Vandy. Best of luck.
Wouldn't recommend OG Cremonas, I had the Auditors. Very midrange centric and can sound quite thick. Definitely not neutral, not very good bass control. For vocals and chamber music--beautiful. Based on your criteria, which are very similar to mine, I suggest looking at Totem Tribe Towers. I never had any interest in Totem, but was looking for a subwoofer for the monitors in my bedroom system, where placement flexibility is zero. I thought maybe there's a small floorstander that would work, which led me to the TTTs. They are so skinny and light they look like a joke, but my god do they play so much bigger and deeper than you'd ever think. After 4 months of living with them I still shake my head in disbelief, but at the same I forget that I'm listening to a small speaker. No desire for a subwoofer, but you can certainly augment with one or two. Quite neutral and extended, but no top end harshness whatsoever. Great soundstage depth, which is not easy, very detailed midrange. I actually find their tonal balance pretty similar to my Joseph Audio Perspectives, but without some of the top end air and overall refinement. I got mine for $3k used. A big plus is that they are easy to ship. |
while respecting op’s stated budget, i very much agree with @soix on what he said the ref75se is roughly a 10 grand retail price unit, and still 6-7 grand used (and worth every penny of it), it deserves speakers of commensurate value... |
Well, IMHO you’re doing your excellent amp a disservice with $3000 speakers. It deserves better. My advice — save up your sheckles until you can afford a pair of speakers that does it justice. Leading contenders would be Vandy Treos or Quatttos, ProAc D38 or D48, Joseph Audio Perspectives, Usher BE10, etc., any of which will be a big upgrade depending on your tastes. I will say though that if you’re accustomed to time/phase-aligned speakers you might wanna stick with Vandy. My other suggestion would be a used pair of Verity Audio Parsifals — outstanding speakers that, like Usher, fly way under the radar. Harbeth, IME, don’t image and soundstage near on the level of any of these others so you might be disappointed with that aspect especially coming from Vandys that excel in those aspects. Best of luck. |
if you like the sound of your vandys stick to them, esp if you prefer to spend less the proacs will sound more incisive more intimate but still with warmth and magic to the voices, mid bass will be cleaner faster, deep bass maybe a touch better harbeths, depends on which model... overall they have a warmer rounder presentation, closer to your vandy alternative |
worth consideration... within budget lovely synergy with ref75 https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649804268-pristine-pair-of-proac-response-25-cherry-speakers/ no affiliation so proceed with due caution and due diligence |
First and foremost, what is your budget? 3000$( aiming for used) What kind of music do you listen to?rock jazz calssic . alternative( welll list go on and on) I guess i need to aim for something pretty versatile What kind of sound quality characteristics do you seek? detailed seperation .. tight bass musical deep soundstage not too harsh not laid back. and pretty netural sound. What kind of sound quality characteristics do you want to avoid? not too bright treble . How big is your room? its fairly small atm.. can take them our from the back wall only 2 feet max and then have 7 feet away from them )?(How loud do you play? medium |
Big +1 @eugene81 Without this critical info this is all just a crapshoot. |
First and foremost, what is your budget? What kind of music do you listen to? What kind of sound quality characteristics do you seek? What kind of sound quality characteristics do you want to avoid? How big is your room? How loud do you play? I've had a Ref 75SE for 2 weeks--great amp! It's got drive and is well balanced so I think it could work with a lot of different speakers. Depends what you're going for. I am currently using it with Totem Tribe Towers in a somewhat compact space. Like the ARC amp, the speakers are detailed but even keeled. Fed by an MSB Analog DAC, I'm quite happy. |
The standard match would be Sonus Faber. I have all Audio Research components and Sonus Faber speakers… my third set of Sonus… upgrading twice. They are a great match if you want highly musical, natural, detailed, good sound staging. Reach as far up as you can, used will get you further. I am listening to my Amati Traditional at this moment… a Cuban band… incredibly beautiful. |
I have run my 75 SE with Matrix 802 s3 and Matrix 805. Plenty of power and sounds great. I also have tried Dynaudio Special 25 with the ARC and EAR 509. So the ARC has gobs of power to run these. The amount and quality of the bass is impressive. Midrange and highs make for a very enjoyable listening session. It is a very versatile amp, used it with both solid state and tube preamps. Its a special piece and I am thrilled I was able to get one. |
