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New Speaker Purchase

Hi All,
I am thinking of purchasing a new pair of speakers. I am looking to find something that really brings out the detail,ambience and nuance of recordings. My system currently consists of Sony XA7ES cd player running direct to a Bryston 4BST power amp. The speakers i now have are Monitor Audio MAG 903s. Overall the sound is excellent except for the bringing forth of the finer detail in some recordings. One example of this would be the song Lovely Rita on the Beatles Sgt.Pepper cd. At one point in the song where the words say "Took her out and tried to win her,had a laugh and over dinner" you here a cork pop from a bottle being opened. With the Monitor Audio 903s you can barely here this cork pop. On a pair of headphones and on smaller speakers it is more pronounced! I reason i believe you don't here this very well on the Monitor 903s is because the bass overides the finer details as explained above, although the bass is not boomy or overly strong. This song is just one example of the detail loss. I am looking to purchase a pair of high quality bookshelf speakers that will bring out the finer details. I understand that there will be some loss of the lower end in regards to using a smaller bookshelf system rather than a floor standing speaker system as i have now, but this is ok. Again The Monitor Audio 903s have great soundstaging, depth and imaging, but lack that of what is explained above. I have been thinking of maybe the Totem Model One as a possible candidate. Would this speaker be ok with a Bryston 4BST 250 watt per channel amplifier? Also how would they be in a room size of 15 x 19? Any thoughts on the Totems or any other suggestions for speakers to consider would be appreciated.
Thanks Frank
hifi_frank
hifi_frank OP
2 posts
 
Thanks for the response so far. The price range would be up to $2500.00 - $3000.00 give or take although i would prefer to keep cost on the lower end. Also in reply to Musiglovr's response i would be interested to know which Dynaudio model you decided to go with. I prefer to buy new rather than used in regards to this purchase.
Thanks Frank
mdhoover
695 posts
 
An excellent sounding monitor is (or at least it was, as of a year or two ago) made by Induction Dynamics. It's about $3000 and sounds fabulous. It uses a proprietary "brick wall" 4th order crossover, which maximizes driver control. However, unlike a lot of higher order crossover designs, this one did NOT have a constricted soundstage. I THINK (but am not certain) that this has to do with the drivers being "inductively coupled" in some way. If they still sound anything like the ones I heard in Naples, Florida a while back, then they're a very special monitor, and worth an audition.
musiqlovr
54 posts
 
Hifi Frank,

I went with the contour series, it is a little out of your price range new, but you may be able to find a demo pair or get a decent discount to get closer to your target range.

There is a track on the Diana Krall live from paris CD, I think the title is "case of you" pretty sure that is a Joni Mitchell song...anyway she has a wetness to her voice as she is singing and when she starts to sing, kinda in the middle of the song. I heard that on a few pairs of speakers, but the Dyns were so pronounced, it blew me away. Try that, you will be shocked how many speakers will completely miss it...
mauiaudioman
171 posts
 
Green Mountain Audio Callisto's.
hifi_frank OP
2 posts
 
Thanks to all for your input.
Frank
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