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New house, wife reveals she hates my Maggies- looking for stand mount speaker suggestions

Just closed on a new house and as we were walking through and discussing furniture, my wife revealed she has always hated my Maggies and wants them not to make the move.  I have had a semi-dedicated music room, so they were kind of out of sight at our old place, so she never complained.  So a bad news but good news (new speakers!) situation.

Present set up is near field, room perhaps 10x10,but partially open, angled ceilings for some pretty good acoustics. Should be able to set up similar size near field space in new home.

Amp is Primaluna HP with 8xEL34, Conrad Johnson ET7 tube preamp, PS Audio Direct stream DAC and Naim Uniti digital ripper/hard drive.  I listen to lots of different music, but always come back to acoustic guitar or piano with female or male vocalists, or acoustic jazz.  Big soundstage, vocal warmth and detail (guitar strings plucking) are what I enjoy.

My Wife liked (the looks of) my old Rogers LS3/5a back in the day, or my Reference 3a Royal Masters.  So I figure I will be looking for a stand mount monitor.  But my budget is $5-10k, used or new, so I suspect I can do better than the LS3/5a.

i have always loved the Joseph Audio Pulsars, but you never see them used and the new graphine ones are out of my price range. Looking for other ideas:  Sonus Faber are easy to look at, but I have never listened to their monitors.  The monitor versions of Raidho and Focals are ugly enough to fail the WAF test.

so help me out here- what should I consider?

meiatflask
fastfreight
980 posts
 

I see it as a wife sponsored opportunity to upgrade!

jw944ts's avatar
jw944ts
338 posts
 

As a divorced Audiophile, given the choice of any system vs a wonderful, happy

wife, I would choose the latter. “a happy wife makes a happy life”

just saying…..

meiatflask OP
164 posts
 

Thanks for all the great responses and keep them coming.  And yes, the WAF factor is critical.  Recently celebrated 45th anniversary, so yes, I do have my priorities straight.  I was quite surprised after my wife’s response, as there was not a word about the Maggies for five years.

So I am going to sort the suggestions, eliminate those that are clearly out of my price range (i.e. TAD) unless one stumbles upon a used pair for a crazy low price, and those that are won’t pass the WAF (i.e. Raidho) and go from there.

And i agree that some small footprint floor mounts might fit the bill (wife liked a friends Proac floor model) but how wide of a net do i cast?

meiatflask OP
164 posts
 

Also interesting is the absence of anyone mentioning two brands that i was curious about:  PS audio FR5, and Focal. 

soix
10,497 posts
 

If the Pulsars are out of reach you might consider the Prisms or even the Profiles if they pass the WAF.  Other speakers I find do many of the same things are ProAc, and the Response DB1, D2, and D20 are definitely worth a look.  Likewise the Usher Mini X, One, and Two are excellent and offer gorgeous looks and very high build quality/$.  And the QLN prestige One would be another to consider although may lean just a bit warmer than the others.  Just some more options to throw on the pile.

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