Speaker recommendation $10-20K (with some requirements!)
Recent lessons of the developing audiophile:
Don’t buy speakers without demonstration
Speaker break in is real...but will not fundamentally change DNA
Really appreciate the wisdom of this forum!
I recently changed my old B&W Matrix 803 Series 2 with new Dynaudio Countour 60i’s. A number of you helped on my: How important is speaker break-in? post - thanks! The Dyn’s are not fully broken in, but I think I can see where this is going: They have great soundstage, detail, and bass. In comparison, the B&Ws sound smaller, thinner, slightly less detailed overall, and do not throw big bass. (The B&W’s are supplemented nicely with a quality subwoofer, but that still sounds a little more like component parts stitched together, than the way the Dyn’s deliver an integrated output).
The problem? The Dyn’s are hard in the mids and highs, and my (aging) ears are very sensitive to that. I have some tinnitus that I usually don’t notice...unless a hard or ringing sound sets it off, and these speakers are doing it big time. Immediately fatiguing (unless the recording is just somebody plucking at a bass guitar). The B&Ws are pretty sweet in the mid-range and most recordings don’t trip my hard/edgy line. So, I WILL go demo before buying this time, but I am hoping this group can help narrow the search a bit, and I am letting budget drift up if that helps get it done. Here are constraints and goals, and equipment:
*Absolutely must be smooth and silky - not hard, edgy, ringing, brittle, etc. - in the mids and highs. Ironically, I tend to listen mostly to heavier music, but I care mostly about sweet and detailed delivery of delicate sounds, like vocals and piano. For say, heavy metal, I don’t care if the system reproduces it perfectly, only that it tilts away from ragged, ringing tones as much as possible.
*After that, I want a big, authoritative sound with meaningful bass, detail - everything one would want in a speaker, but compromises can be made.
*Room Treatments. Room is medium size, does not have treatments, and it is what it is. It is not a dedicated audio room, so I can’t start throwing stuff up on the walls (WAF). (The room does have the benefit of being wood floor applied directly to concrete (with a rug), so at least the floor doesn’t resonate. And it has 2 layers of sheetrock in places). I will live with my room compromises, but the sound coming out the speakers themselves does matter and I want to focus on that.
*Prefer tower style for aesthetics and fit, but open to boxy (e.g. Harbeth) if that’s where I need to go.
* Equipment: All digital inputs to ARC DAC 8 -> ARC Ref5se preamp -> Bryston 7BSST2 monoblocks (600W). I get that the whole system matters, and that Brystons are supposed to be a little hard. But this problem really started with the new speakers, so that is where I am focusing. If you really think different amps or something are going to turn the Dynaudio’s silky sweet in the mids and high, please say that with some conviction and support.
As always, really appreciate the greater knowledge of this community!
I might be a bit too late in commenting to this post but here it goes.
Bottom line is you need to start from scratch in my opinión. If you change one thing in your gear it will throw everything off and it’s a non ending story. Changes will only lead to other changes easily in trying to fix a problem that in reality you will never know where it originates from. If you are willing to go that route start with your speakers and think if that is the sound that floats your boat. Speakers will set the path and they will not detour drastically from the sound. In my opinion Dyn’s can be a bit bright specially if not paired with a warm sounding amp but it won’t make too much of a difference if you do change amps, it is what it is.
My sincere remedy for you since this is a matter of your tinnitus condition is to concentrate on auditioning warm sounding gear including changing speakers. I for one my ears do not react positively to harshness or brightness, so I understand where your coming from. Understand no matter what others might suggest here might not be to your best interest since the actual problem are your ears. Stay away from metal tweeters for one. There are good speakers mentioned here like Sonus Faber, Vandersteen, Vienna Accoustics and I also recommend Verity. One amp you might want to consider for your problem is Pass Labs and even Mcintosh but I lean more towards Pass Labs.
Anyway, audition, audition and good luck to you....
@mathiasmingus--lots of recommendations to ponder--my 2 cents:
1.agree with @chorus & others--start with room treatment for harsh highs/mids--easier to address and absolutely necessary before changing speakers 2. Those Bryston amps are powerful but are you absolutely sure they are not clipping at the volume you listen ? I'm guessing with hard rock you listen loud? A cheap oscilloscope will tell you--amp clipping will increase harshness in highs/mids
@bifwynne Good catch Bif. I do believe that the primary (and perhaps only) consequence will be low frequency roll-off, but worth an email to ARC to find out for sure.
Sorry to get off topic, but I couldn't help but noticing that you are using an ARC Ref 5SE linestage with your Bryston. Being a longtime ARC owner, I surmise you may be presenting too low a load to the Ref 5SE.
John Atkinson bench tested your amp and reported that:
The balanced input impedance was 10k ohms across the audioband; the unbalanced stayed close to a moderately low 7.5k ohms at low and middle frequencies, dropping a little, to 7.2k ohms, at 20kHz.
See www DOT stereophile.com/content/bryston-7b-sstsup2sup-monoblock-power-amplifier-measurements.
In contrast, ARC recommends that the minimum load should not be less than 20K ohms. In particular:
OUTPUT IMPEDANCE 600 ohms Balanced, 300 ohms SE main (2), 20K ohms minimum load and 2000pF maximum capacitance
See www DOT arcdb.ws/model/REF5.
I am not sure how much this loading issue affects the SQ of what comes out of your rig. That said, I suspect that the Bryston's 10K load may cause the Ref 5SE's low end to roll off a bit. Not sure what impact the load may have on the top end.
Perhaps some of out techie A'gon members can weigh in.
Many speakers will suit you, but investigate slap-echo in your room. It is an annoying ringing clearly audible after a sharp hand clap. In my small room I tamed it with GIK absorption panels at 1st reflection points, including ceiling. Like Richard V. sez, " It's all about the room ".
System synergy is more important than many people realize. Your system was built for a purpose some years ago with the speakers in place at that time. It is very possible that the components you have are not a great match for the speakers or listening you want to do now. I have heard Dynaudio many times and have never heard them sound bright or harsh, although I have only ever heard them run with Simaudio or Plinius amps. Neither amp is known for a harsh sound so that surely plays into the equation.
Also, cables matter. I did not see, and maybe I missed it, a list of your cables, but possibly changing those would have a positive effect. There are many dealers who allow demo of cables, or the Cable Company has a lending library online. You could try something like Shunyata, Cardas, or Accoustic Zen. They are all known for having a warmer sound.
If you are going to change speakers, I would be very careful with any speaker using a beryllium tweeter. Rockports use them and have a warm sound, although I think they are above your budget. Focal and Magico will likely sound bright with your components and music. Sonus Faber could be an excellent option as they tend to have a warmer sound.
Recommendations all over the place as is customary.
A few new thoughts and/or reinforcements.
1. It’s pretty clear that your equipment has been selected to maximize your b&ws. Any speaker change is going to be a bit of a journey because of that. 2. Given that you want to keep your upstream equipment, perhaps you could email Bryston and arc, tell them your story and ask for speaker recommendations? No one else knows more about good pairings than the people who make the equipment. Another route suggested to me once was to look at the equipment lists from audio shows. Do a bryston search and see what speakers they’ve been paired with when sales were on the line. 3. From everything I’ve read, the vandersteen recommendations look to be a good fit to your situation. 4. To add one more brand to the list... Before I read your full post I started going down the path of SET friendly speakers which might avoid the bright modern hifi sound (e.g., cube audio). One brand from that family that still might fit given your constraints could be Tannoys. Plenty of discussion around, but here’s a recent one: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/any-experience-with-tannoy-loudspeakers
Not dissimilar from you, I have an 11x18’ room with 9’ ceilings, and a wife to keep happy. The aesthetics are very important to both of us.
We have Zu Druids. Mark V, bought new in 2015 for 7k. I believe the nee revision extends lower and is up to $10k. Which leaves you with 10k leftover for a vanguard fund. My wife and I are both very happy with the aesthetics and sound. (BTW, she’ll never say any improvements to the signal chain are happening, but she’ll wander into the room and sit and listen when there has been one).
I Demo’d at a show in ‘before times’ when we could still attend audio shows safely. I heard their little brother, The Zu Soul Supreme, at the NYAS. They were the first thing I heard after a very expensive Vandersteen room. And the Zus, powered by a Peachtree nova, just had me leaving the room with a feeling of ease that I didn’t get from the Vandersteens.
I’m using a restored solid state class A integrated, Pioneer A-91D, with its integrated DAC, spinning mostly CDs, sometimes SACDs, sometimes wax, and we watch a lot of movies on our 2 channel system. Zu prefers a lower damming factor. I tried a more expensive amplifier, designed to measure well, the Sony TA-N77es (I’m a vintage 🇯🇵 person clearly) and the Pioneer went back into the chain as it lowers the frequency extension and helps provide a deeper image. I have a very linear midrange.
Lots of people will recommend Harbeth and I will strongly second them. I’m saving for SHL5+’s to replace my JBL L100s in my bedroom. The M40 series are shockingly lifelike.
Final plug, if you’re interested in the active route, check out Kii threes. One of the few presentations I’ve heard better than Harbeth.
Underwood HiFi LSA speakers which I have not heard, but I have had several of his Emerald Physics Open Baffle speakers. Currently out of production, awaiting new models, but his LSAs are box speakers that have gotten numerous excellent reviews
The LSA 20 Statement is a quasi tower. End of year special price
Nobody will recommend it, there is an unspoken rule to never mention the standout solution, even when - "smooth silky midrange and top end, sweet and detailed delivery of delicate sounds, like vocals and piano, After that, I want a big, authoritative sound with meaningful bass, detail - everything one would want in a speaker, but compromises can be made"- yes compromises can be made, and will with all the other suggestions. Big time.
Incoherent. Dude, please try to look at your post from the outside. Otherwise you will sound like rump.
We were brystom dealers and it is the combo that is not working also arc gear is not warm
The contours are not bright also this also leads to how are u feeding the dac? A good server can dramatically improve a systems digital playbacks sense of smoothness
Thanks, server is a Bryston BDP2. Based on the combined wisdom of the group, my path is clear: The Dynaudios will be replaced with....a new preamp, DAC, server, Tara labs cables, Panduit power cords, and new acoustic wing to my home. :-) But seriously, I will take a harder look at total system before making any decisions from here. Thanks all.
With luck you have a dealer/friend that has demo gear that's already 'broke in' you can use for a weekend.
My Sonic "Allegria’s" although they do have a pretty large soundstage..I do have them in a 14’ living room and they still sound amazing! Joachim Gerhards Audiophile speakers (Audio Physics) from Germany Flagship models for sale now here for $8900 includes an "Arcam AVR 750" selling my system! Good Luck :)
I’d change speakers. No point in throwing good money after bad. You don’t like the speakers but are considering changing everything else? That actually sounds crazy.
I’ve heard 1 or 2 others on here having the same experience with the new contours. You aren’t alone in your impressions.
I always thought EBM was trolling. Now I realize he just gets straight to the point, usually with the best answers, if you have the coin. I’m not well versed in the $10k-$20k range but there is a bunch of incredible speakers for under $10k...
You might want to look into soft domes, like ATC or speakers with Seas Excel or Scanspeak Revelators.
Fritz and Salk build great speakers. I’m slightly biased towards Fritz personally. The Carrera BE’s are aeesome. Every listening session is a treat
Merry Christmas all. I still vote for first trying different components first. You can always sell the speakers but since you already have them eliminate them from your list first. Either decide you’re keeping your components and unload the speakers or ask your dealer to loan you some different pre/amps. I sold my salon 2’s because I didn’t want to go down the component rabbit hole and I knew I could break even reselling the speakers, if I could have afforded some Mark Levinson separates I probably would have kept the salons. No regrets here since I made a decision based on my budget.
In the "New Today" listings, there is a pair of Sonus Faber Extrema speakers. They are asking $11,500. Seems high relative to their age (1990s) and original MSRP (around $10K). However, if you make these your own, you will never need to look for an upgrade. Believe me! You might also check out other models of Sonus Faber. They are well-known and respected, and have a wide distribution network.
P.S. I am not affiliated with the seller in any way. I own the Sonus Faber Electa Amators. As good as they are, the don’t come close to the the Extremas. I only wish I had the foresight to buy them back in 1992. You can read some reviews on the Sonus Faber Extremas on this forum.
Audition, IN YOUR ROOM, every speaker listed here and then, when you have done all that, have your dealer install a pair of the latest Magneplaners and write the check. You are done.
Seems I started in a similar place as you. I also now have some tinnitus that can be triggered by certain harsh, edgy sounds. I had the B&W 802 Series 3 for a long time (they're now with my son) originally driven by Bryston 4B 250W/channel (mid-90's version). The combination was great in many ways, but wasn't as satisfying as I liked in the upper mid-range and higher. I heard the Pass Labs class A amps that were available at the time and purchased the Aleph 4, which is a single chassis 100W/channel amp and is something of a rarity. That combination was outstanding in many ways. It did a better job in those upper and mid-ranges, but didn't have quite the bass "slam" that some reviewers seem so enamored with. In fact, the bass sounded more natural to real life (acoustic and classical live performances are my basis for comparison). I lived with that combination for almost 20 years.
The only problem I had with the Pass class A amp was that it was a more efficient heat generator than my furnace, which was just fine for half of the year or more. In summer I was effectively paying to both heat and cool the house at the same time. So I set out on a quest to find a more modest "summer" system for those warm summer days.
In the course of auditioning components, I happened to audition a pair of used Linn Akurate bookshelf speakers that sounded really fine. I then made the mistake of auditioning a used floor standing 242 version too. They were the newer version at the time, but didn't have any of the various advanced cross-over or active power options. I ended up purchasing them instead when I was actually intending to replace the amp. They sounded wonderful with the Pass amp, the listening fatigue I sometimes got from even the Pass/802 combo went away. Linn doesn't seem to get much love in the U.S. or on this site and isn't as widely available here. Some reviewers described them as outstanding yet panned them for being "clinical," which I attribute to the reviewers penchant for loud music that is already processed through electronics even in live performance. Linn's website talks about "tunefulness," which I think is a pretty apt description. The speakers have a harmonious balance among the frequencies, especially the mid and upper frequencies, without sacrificing accurate bass.. Their musicality really becomes apparent with acoustic and classical music, and in longer listening sessions where fatigue is non-existent. In addition, they sound great at low and high volumes and in-between, which I have not found to be true in many higher-end speakers. It was the long listening sessions that clearly set them apart from the others.
But I was originally out to find a summer amp. I found a used Linn Akurate 4 channel amp at a reasonable price. I used all 4 channels to bi-amp the speakers. I found after a couple of switchovers between the Pass and Linn amps that I preferred the Linn amp/speaker setup, though not by a huge margin, so that has become and still is my primary listening system.
With all that said, though I'm not at all unhappy with my system, in the past year or so I've surveyed the speaker market to see if there were any marked improvements that would compel me to upgrade. I listened to a number of the speakers mentioned by other commenters. I found that I liked the Magico speakers best. I auditioned both the A and S series models in long sessions, beautiful sound, but over-priced in my estimation (though maybe not in comparison to many of the other current products out there). I found I still preferred the Linn 242's, though not by much of a margin.
In summary from my experience, I think some of the comments about the contribution of amplifiers are appropriate to a degree; cables not so much, though there are some clear mismatches that don't seem actually related to price. The only way to find whether the speakers will satisfy your requirements is to audition the speakers for extended periods with your music and your components at both high and low volumes and at your normal listening levels.
Though I'd previously purchased new, in my venture to find that summer system, I've had good luck with used components, both from here and from local dealers.
I listened extensively to the Salk Song3 BeAT. There was a great deal to recommend it; but on an orchestral selection with massed ff violins, there was a hint of glare, that I blamed on the beryllium tweeter. The only BE tweeter that I liked across the board was in Fritz's Carrera 3. As far as the OP is concerned, by far the safest option is something with a soft dome.
JBL synthesis 4367, these are the best speakers ever for rock & metal. In my experience, I like them best with a good tube amp like Bob Carver or Ayon. Also great because you don’t have to mess with a subwoofer. Great bass, clarity, dynamics and imaging.
As a musician, the ML's sound like the instruments are in the room with you.
As one of my fellow audio-crazy friends once said, after listening to my ML's for the first time: "I've always read audio reviews where the reviewer states you could hear the individual notes. I never knew what they meant... until now."
Assuming you don’t intend to replace the Bryston 7B SST monos, I’d look at some well regarded, lower sensitivity loudspeakers with smooth, non-aggressive sound profiles (but still transparent) that require the power.
there are so many quality speakers in this price range it would be difficult to pick one. The other issue is that the ringing could be upstream and not the speaker. However, I also recommend Salk. I’ve had a few pair and still own 2 pair. The RAAL ribbon tweeter is fantastic. Haven’t heard the beryllium but Jim has said it’s right there with the RAAL. Great thing about Jim is he’ll build what you want and the finishes are first rate and completely customizable. Another option that hasn’t been mentioned is Cube Audio Nenuphars. I recently decided to get a new pair of speakers and was leaning towards Salks again but wanted to check out some options. I also decided I wanted to try a different topology so I started looking at either open baffle or single driver, higher efficiency speakers that will sound great with lower powered tube amps, or solid state like First Watt. One speaker on my short list was Spatial X5’s but I think my space is too small for them as they prefer some breathing space. Then I came across the Cubes. Started looking at reviews and they have not just been positive but over the moon. I wasn’t thrilled with the black or white finish options but I saw a walnut pair on 6moons review. Contacted the US distributor and he had a pair of walnut Nenuphar Mini’s already on order that we’re going to be for himself. However he offered them to me and I went for it. Crazy way to drop $$$$ but I’m optimistic these will fit for me. They’re not fussy about location, can be placed close to a wall, are full range (at least enough for me) and can be used with lower powered amps. They’re also known to image perfectly and be detailed while still being musical. You may want to check them out. My pair arrives next week and I’ll post thoughts in the Cube Nenuphar thread. But just an option that hasn’t been mentioned yet however it may cause more changes upstream. Good news for you is that with your budget you will eventually find the right thing. Good luck.
Millercarbon won't say it but i will. The answer could be tekton design moab or ulfberht. Problem is only way to hear them is if you know someone who has them or find an electronics show where they have a booth. They do allow you to return them if you don't like them.
Let's be honest, the answer could be any of hundreds of speakers that happen to sound good to the OP. Your mentioning Tekton is just as valid as anyone recommending another brand. What becomes increasingly suspect however, and smacks of agenda, is when MC recommends Tekton in every situation for every listener. That's like recommending chocolate chip ice cream every time someone says they are looking for something good to eat. That makes no sense as we know that's not everyone's favorite flavor...but it would make sense if you are in the chocolate chip ice cream business ;-)
Millercarbon won't say it but i will. The answer could be tekton design moab or ulfberht. Problem is only way to hear them is if you know someone who has them or find an electronics show where they have a booth. They do allow you to return them if you don't like them.
Happy Holidays! OP, I'm on the same journey as you are. My ears have always been very sensitive to the higher frequencies. I more recently jumped into 2 channel listing, my main focus prior had been on Home Theater.
I've swapped out amps (solid state & Tube) DAC's, Pre-amps, cables, HAF and DSP room correction. Same boat as a limit to how much room correction I can do. From what I've read room correction will have a larger impact on bass, it will influence the high's but it won't take speakers sounding bright / harsh, fatiguing and re-tune them.
I recently sold a pair of Focal 1028BE's that I thought would be my main speakers for a long, long time. At times they sounded magical, breathtaking but with much of the music I enjoy they fatigued, were too bright, harsh, forward, even in the same track you could be mesmerized and then shook by harsh, bright highs. Frustrating part of the journey is many of the forums or people I talked to hailed the 1028's as fantastic speakers to the point that if I thought they were bright, harsh, fatiguing it was me, not the speaker. Digging deeper I did find others that had the same issues with the speakers, measurements that showed they were tuned hot for the highs in the 2k + range. The phenomena that others have referenced as being tuned to sound great in a showroom / at a show.
Best advice I got was that if a speaker doesn't sound good to you, isn't tuned to be in your sweet spot, move on and find some that are. Tweaking speakers that you like overall can get you to the next level but no amount of tweaking, different equipment will re-tune speakers that aren't tuned for your ear. Believe me, I had a lot of people try and sell me a new pick any gear except the speaker hailing it was the missing link for me. When I stumb[led on those that said, hey, you got to change the spaekers the advice I got was avoid metal tweeters, look for speakers known to be tilted to the warmer side. Sonus Faber is referenced quite often. Dynaudio which you have is another brand but dependent on the model.
I went a totally different direction - a thread popped up asking people for their favorite boutique speaker makers, I live in the North East, saw comments on a small shop, Omega Speakers. Called Louis, described what I was looking for. His niche is single driver speakers, when he listened to what i was looking for he recomended a speaker that was a modernized version of the Dynaco A-25, which was one of the top selling speakers of all time. He built me Dyna Tens - no crossover, 10 inch paper driver, fabric tweeter that has 3 sets of Resistors that can be swapped out at the speaker terminals. I just got them, letting them break in and I'm waiting on the resistors so the tweeter is running without any type of crossover.
How will it work out, not sure, just got the speakers, breaking them in and I'm waiting on the resistors for the highs. I love the look of the speakers, beautifully finished like no speaker I've seen to be honest, retro look. It was really cool to talk to Louis about the speakers before he built them.
Will these speakers be the "ones" my wife certanly hopes so. I'm still breaking them in but so far they do make listening to many of the songs i found harsh, too bright easier, less fatiguing and that's with the tweeter running full out, open. Bass isn't as robust as the Focals - hoping they'll open up a bit as they break in.
The other really cool aspect is Louis is a phone call or drive away to help get them sounding as good as they can, if needed. I picked the speakers up, stands are included but were being directly to my house, Louis loaned me a set of stands! He's passionate, loves what he does. The craftmanship shows.
I encourage you this listen to Sonus Faber Olympia Novas and Gibbons X. I listen to a wide variety of music and generally at a level just above speaking levels. I went with the SFs and both were impressive. I tested them with Beastie Boys Brass Monkey, Johnny Cash Hurt, Steely Dan Hey Nineteen, Daft Punk Get Lucky and Foo Fighters Best of You and other songs to hear how they handled different dynamic music.
I have some tinnitus myself, not bad, I have some B&W 705 s2's, and I find them a little bright at times. I recently bought some Salk Exotica R monitors. Not bright, very good detail, excellent mid-range, good base for a monitor. I actually understand lyrics I never understood before. The exotica range has some other speakers that may fit your bill.
Have a look at hybrid electrostatic speakers by JansZen and Sanders. The JansZen towers come in both passive and active versions, the Sanders only in active (I think). These are highly directional speakers, which minimizes/eliminates the need for room treatments.The JansZens probably are small and attractive enough to please a spouse. If you get the active version you can sell most of your other gear and possibly wind up below your $10K (net).
I've listened to a Bryston amp with Orangutan O/93 speakers. That was a very good pairing and I wished I could afford it. I tried some rock but not metal.
If you go for changing everything I would recommend trying the Kii Three which have massive amps built in but sounded very nice to me at some shows. May allow some dsp since they have that built in too.
Also your brightness and edginess could be coming from your interconnects and speaker wire. Check out OCC single crystal wire that's the best wire on the market for audio. Acoustic Zen has very reasonable prices everyone else is much more expensive
I love the audio vector speakers but I do find them a little bit edgy and bright not much though. I finally settled on the monitor audio Platinum 200s ll, the speakers are very neutral natural and warm sounding and that AMT tweeter is very sweet, didn't find them to have the little problem that the audio vector did. Check them out
Like with Headphones, the plethora of incredible stuff out there at ANY price point let alone in the 10-20k range, is staggering. How to choose. (first world problems). I recently visited my local shop (Speaker Shop, Buffalo NY) intent on listening to and planning to likely buy the Golden Ear 1R's Fine speaker, but just didn't speak to me. Then they set up Sonus Faber Olympica Nova series. First the smallest ones (Nova ii at 10k) Stunning, Stopped me in my tracks. Open, huge landscape, lots of detail, smooth Switched to my own smaller amps (40/80 at 8 and 4 ohm) Sounded damn close to the 5k Macintosh Integrated they had set up Brought them home. Same experience. NOT set up sensitive, Put em roughly where I thought they should be, a little toe in Fabulous. Moved them a little wider. Fabulous. Even my wife and adult daughter admitted (knowing the risk of justifying keeping them) they were lovely to behold and sounded even better. Two rooms away my daughter later shouted to me - "those are great, i can tell the difference from here" And very kind with the WAF factor, they are simply gorgeous to look at. But no doubt a great many other fabulous speakers out there. In this price range, I wouldn't ignore an audition of the Sabrina's, they are pretty amazing But I've ordered the Sonus Faber's in one size up (two woofers instead of one) at about 13k.
I am looking to replace my current speakers. I also suffer from tinnitus. So far, I have been very impressed by the Focal Scala. They had a great natural high and mid range (not harsh or over detailed) Weakness (maybe not the correct word) was in the bass. They had sufficient bass but the character of the bass was somehow different than I was used to. Very wide sound stage. I also auditioned Sonos Faber. Very nice but too polite if your listening taste runs to rock. You might want to give the Focal’s an audition at some point as they will check a lot of your boxes.
Given the sum total of the things you’re looking for I’d try to go hear the Nola KOs although they may be tough to find. The designer is very fond of using Audio Research electronics with his speakers BTW. Best of luck.
If your music system is mostly digital using ROON or JRiver then I can point you some things to try for relatively low cost (maybe $900). That is without replacing anything.
Try a more simplistic tube pre before doing anything rash. If that does not change the character enough I give another vote for the Vandersteen Quatro.
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