speaker suggestions for modest arcam alpha system

Mark:

The Thiel CS.5's are floor standers, and you don't absolutely need a subwoofer with them. My father-in-law has a pair with no sub, and he loves them. But for many of the speakers in your price range, if you want detail, tonal balance, good imaging and soundstage, you probably won't get that AND great low end output without a sub. You can get good low end, but usually at the expense of something else (in that price range, that is). Plus, most of the speakers that are going to fit your room well are going to be on the smaller side.

I'm not sure if the ProAc/Arcam match-up is due to them both being British, but I would think that this is part of why they work so well togehter. For kicks, if not for sonic reasons, I am setting up my office system to be all British, while my home system is all American.

Tom.

For a while I've been contemplating a mini system. Choosing speakers is confusing /difficult.-- There are so many small book-shelf speakers new and used; it's a chore to separate 'claims' from opinions, from reality. Seems everybody's monitors sound like Wilson X1's for 3/6 hundred ?? (Read GMA Europa;Whorfdale 8.2 VSM--on and on.)

Tom,
yeah i learned a bit more about Thiel after my second post...one concern I came up with about the Thiel is that its rated at four ohms, which i believe will make my Alpha 9 integrated work pretty hard, and the amp tends to timeout when it gets hot...(am i completly off base?)(would a powered sub alleviate some of this with it's own internal amplification?) (i have read that the Alpha 9 biamped system alleviates this problem)

Tom, could you update this post when you get your ProAc/Arcam system dialed in?....they are the speaker i am kind of leaning towards (but price could be a problem)

the Ascend Acoustics have been recommended to me before and seem to have a loyal following...i was actually considering them for my home theatre...but changing out my Paradigms and using them for home theatre sounded like more fun!

thanks for all the input...right now i am leaning towards the ProAc (if i can find 'em in my price point) followed by Thiel and Meadowlark...but i need to do more research on Totem and Dali...i am still leaning towards floorstanders due to personal preference, but maybe i should buy some bookshelfers just to broaden my horizens a bit...thanks again, mark

Underwood Hifi has some new Soliloquy 5.0's listed here on Audiogon for $500 (originally $1,100) and at that price they're an amazing bargain. They're extremely well built and have a sweet, solid sound that's very satisfying. I'm not affiliated with Underwood, just very impressed with his prices and service.

Mark:

For Thiels, the CS.5's are pretty easy to drive. Personally, I would think that the Arcam would be able to handle a 4 ohm load just fine, but as of yet, I do not have firsthand experience trying this. If you used a subwoofer with a crossover that you could plug into the "preamp out/power amp in" loop, then, yes, this would make your main speakers easier to drive, though I think that there would be some sonic sacrifice in this approach. I really wouldn't think that the small Thiels would be hard to drive. A pair of SCS3's (bookshelf size, but can be arranged horizontally or vertically) could sound nice, also, and I know that they are not hard to drive.

I am really stoked about getting my system up and running. Those little ProAc's are phenomenal for their size. ProAc makes a couple of nice little subs, but I do not think that I will need them. The regular Tablette Reference 8's that I heard had plenty of bass, and the Signature models that I ordered (the dealer just told me that he has them in his hands) go even lower (38 Hz for the Sig's, versus 40 Hz for the standard Ref 8's). Your shopping list of five brands, ProAc, Thiel, Meadowlark, Totem and Dali is a fine list, and all are top performers in their price range and size, IMHO.

Good luck!

Tom.