Looking to upgrade floorstander speakers.


Hi,
I'm looking to upgrade my current speakers which are the Ascend Acoustic Towers with Raal tweeter upgrade ($2800.). Previous speakers were Dynaudio Focus 260. I use one sub and feel it's needed for both speakers. I thought perhaps a pair of speakers in the $7500 to $10000 would suffice.The Ascends are nice but I want to get to the next level. I want the sound to be somewhere in between live, detailed sounding and dark, warm sounding. Also, I must guard against too much boom with a larger woofer. My pre/power is the Conrad-Johnson ET5/LP70S combo. The power amp is an all tube design at 70w into 8 ohms. My room is relatively small at 13' deep x 18.5' wide. I am only able to have the speakers away from back walls no more than 2 feet. Side wall distance is fine. Speakers are 9 ft. apart with sitting distance around 9 ft. as well. I have some Roomtunes spead thruout the room located between ceiling and back/side walls. There are some pictures on walls for extra damping. The walls in general are fairly bare and I know there are some reflections affecting the sound. I do not have room to install panels, bass traps, etc. I'm pretty much stuck with what I have because of the space. I'm not picky about dynamic or electrostats, open baffle, etc. However, I've been using dynamic for quite some time. I don't get to audition other speakers at home so unfortunately I will have to buy the speaker before hearing it. I have auditioned some speakers at a local hifi store but their acoustics are much different than mine. 
I have considered Spendor D7/D9, Harbeth Super HL5, Martin Logan, Magnepan and others. Now lets have a discussion! Thanks.
routeman21

Showing 7 responses by routeman21

jjss49,
I read here on Audiogon that a D30RS and D48 would be a good choices with the D30RS being a better choice for my size room.
jdal,
Do you use the Tribeca's with a sub(s)? Bass not boomy with the 2 eight inchers?
georgehifi,
I can only place the speakers 2 ft. max away from the back wall (Room dimensions: 13 x 18.5 ft. ). Just looking at their dimensions I would think the 11a & 13a would be too large and the bass would be too boomy although I realize both models have bass gain dials. Maybe the 9 would work Your thoughts?
thecarpathian,
While the Ascends are fine speakers I have had them for several years and am used to their sound and am ready to change to another speaker, preferably in a higher price range. I am a believer that a more costly speaker will bring you more refinement, musicality, truer timbre, etc. I'm not really in the dollar area yet where diminishing returns are a big factor so I think a $10000 can bring me more enjoyment.
Also, I'm experiencing some vocal sibilance with certain recordings. Perhaps a too reflective room might be the culprit as well but I believe there may be better tweeters out there even though the Raal gets some respect in the audio world.

bache,
Unfortunately, I am no position to travel to New York (Coronavirus or not) and pick up the speakers. I am just too busy with my life here in Pa. Thank you for the offer but if I chose to buy the Tribeca's, like anything else, I will be hearing them for the first time.
I went ahead and ordered a brand new pair of Harbeth Super HL5 Plus. speakers. They are now enroute to me. I am looking forward to hearing the difference between the wider baffle Harbeth's vs.the taller, slimmer Ascend Acoustics & Dynaudio's.

falconquest,
I called Salk Sound and talked to Jim. He was very helpful directing me to the right speaker. I started the ordering process when I realized I could be waiting for some time (Coronavirus, etc.) and I wanted the speakers NOW so I decided to go in another direction. I do like his business approach (Like Ascend Acoustics) of cutting out the middle men and buying direct. Thanks!