Looking to upgrade from my Goldenears


Greetings!

i currently have a Pair Of Goldenear Triton 5s with two JL Audio Dominion 8” subs. They’re powered by a Parasound Halo A21 Amp and P5 Pre-Amp.

I’m looking to upgrade my speakers and have been looking at the Legacy Focus or Classic Speakers.

i listen to a wide variety of music, but mostly Hard Rock and the Grateful Dead. A lot of live stuff. What Speakers do you think would do well with my Amp?
My budget would be up to 7k for the pair.
thanks! 
128x128bigjohn9095
For a mostly full range speaker in your price range: 
 
* Salk Song3 Encore (built to order in your chosen finish; wait times as long as 9 months)  
* JTR Noesis 212RT  
* Monitor Audio Gold 300 

bigjohn9095

Hey now! Another good 'ol Grateful Dead fan here. Keep us posted on the loudspeakers auditioned in an attempt to replace the Triton5.


Happy Listening!

some thoughts

bass slam is all about 50-70 HZ, no AMT driver is gonna get you there.....try something you can adjust to the room with variable Q ( try .8 to .9 and flat which you can do with a speaker w powered bass and 11 bands of EQ....

also, IF you are a deadhead you have some idea about the unique wall of sound and the unique panorama that provided....purposefully by the artists....and then think about mixing up all that excellent L to Right focus by solashing the sound around the room with an omni....
NOT saying that is wrong in a phasey multitrack world....just think it thru an listen...

I can get great Phil L punch and growl out of my Cornwalls also..I run them with a MC240

As you might recall the first Dead PA was 4 x MC240

Have fun !!!!!!!
Love Hard Rock, and I've gone through a number of speakers.

Some suggestions.

Ohm Walsh 5000's or 4900's.  The 5000's essentially have a 4 band EQ on the back.  But, you actually want to take advantage of room reflections.  Really like mine, and plenty of bass slam, no subwoofers needed.  HUGE soundstage, excellent with live music.  I sold off more expensive speakers to make this move.  It's a different older design, but has been refined.  Not much makes sense about them other than the sound when properly set-up.  They are not perfect, but they do an awful lot right.

In the Legacy - I would find a way to score some of the Focus SE's used.  I do like the Legacy line-up, no substitute for displacement.  I think the Focus SE is worth stretching for, or finding used.  LOTS of used ones out there pop up.  Good Rock and Roll Speaker.  I have come close on the Focus SE a few times.  It's a big and heavy beast.  I like it a fair amount better than the Signature SE, which given the budget I would look used.

Used Vandersteens - Nice big open live sound.

A21 has plenty of juice to push either around.  Neither is overly bright, which unfortunately a lot of older Hard Rock recordings are bright, shitty recordings.  So, the smoother speakers I find help if you listen louder like me

others...

JBL 4367 - Fun Rock Speaker.  Some of the M2 technology (the M2 if you want to go a different direction, sell off your parasound and use a pro-amp and DSP is an awesome rock speaker)

JBL 3900/4700 - great fun speakers, excellent drum sound.  May not dive as deep as you want. I owned the 3900's for a while. Felt they needed a sub.

JTR - small builder out of the midwest, like his stuff.  

Salk Song 3 encore.  Maybe the "truest" sounding speaker.  Plays deep, accurate.  Not quite as much thump, but a great speaker and craftsmanship blows just about everyone else away.

ATC - awesome midrange and snap.  Biggest issue is you have to spend an awful lot to get into their range that you won't want a sub.


@bigjohn9095 
 If you liked the Legacy Focus go for them !
Didn't hear them but they seem very good speakers .
Bigjohn the slam you are looking for has a lot to do with your setup.

The Golden Ears tend to be a bit on the warm side in the treble, so are the Parasound components.

So the lack of slam may because of a number of factors including the combination of electronics and speakers.

A brighter set of cabling and or a dac change may really help, what are you using for these components are you using the built in dac of the P5 if so how are you feeding the P5?

We are Parasound dealers and the P5 is an okay piece the new P6 is way better in every parameter.

Also moving to a tube preamp will do wonders for you setup.

As per speakers we are legacy dealers and a pair of Signatures will be right up your alley, the tonality is similar with greater clarity in the treble and midrange as both drivers are more advanced Heil AMT then in the Golden Ears and the Golden Ear is using conventional midrange drivers vs the Heil AMT tweeter and Heil AMT midrange in the Legacy also the Legacy lower midrange driver is a combination of silk and graphite and it is excellent driver, combine this with beautiful wooden cabinets, a huge soundstage, and punchy bass you should be very happy with the switch.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Legacy and Parasound Dealers

Itzhak1969, I like the Tritons. However, I’m an old school guy and I’d like something that wouldn’t require 2 subs to get the Bass where I like it and the styling and design of the Legacy Speakers seems to be more to my liking. 

The Tritons are very detailed and have a great sound, but don’t quite rock out like I prefer. I’m hoping to try some different speakers that will have a bit more punch in them.