Speaker Suggestions for Next Move

contact Danny at GR research and tell him what you are willing to spend ask him to design your mega system this ought to be good! LOL 

Take a look at Joseph Crowe Audio. Troy, the owner,  makes beautiful custom horns, several at your price point, and they sound magnificent. He is a well respected and his work has gotten great reviews. Two reviews that I can point to are Don Sachs and the ‘Jays Iyagi’ YouTube channel. 

The most important factor of all is not necessarily what speaker you chose--it's where you place it.  Suggest you use something close to the Cardas suggestion of placing speakers 1/3 of the room depth from the front wall, listening position at the 2/3 mark..  That will give you the depth and bloom you are after.

@allenf1963 The thing is, I have rescued several systems this way, just by inserting one of these digital preamps. People do not realize how much their room and channel deviation interferes with a proper image and impulse response. I have never heard a system that could not be improved and in terms of satisfaction, it is off the charts. it is an easy recommendation because it works 100% of the time. 

I do like my aspen fr 30 all aspens are hard to find used but I did find a pair.they sound great.i run them with bhk 600 found it used as well.they do have a trade in program.check thier web site. I have some klipsch ps takes alot more watts.enjoy the hint.you can visit ps audio and listen 

You mentioned Vandersteen in your list and at the price point you're looking at with your room size, I'd recommend a pair of Quattro Wood CTs. They might press your budget a little bit but if what your looking for is imaging and depth they'll have it in spades. They are not too fiddly with set up, if you buy them from a reputable dealer then they'll usually come set them up. They have built in room tunable subs as well so bass management is not udally an issue. Also, since the bass is not in the picture for your amps, despite a sensitivity I the high 80s, they're really quite an easy load. They're not trendy or the newest greatest thing but what they are is excelle t loudspeakers. I've had mine for 8 years now and have no interest in upgrading unless I can go up their line to the Kento or maybe a used 5. I've changed every other component and with each upgrade the speakers just get better. 

No mention of the recent release of one of the PS Audio Aspen speakers. Worth considering. FR10 or FR20 

@mijostyn -- Sir, I like the way you think. To the vast, VAST, majority of music lovers, the Klipsch Cornwall IV’s are an endgame, end of the search, speaker. I know the deal with Klipsch -- they are either revered or despised by members of this Forum. I love them.  I have Forte II's, Heresy II's, and (soon) La Scalla's.  But be honest. The community on this Forum are a mere fraction of 1% of the listening public and consumers of audio gear. I’m a "To Each His Own" and "Live And Let Live" kind of guy, always have been. Spend your money how you and your conscious want to spend it. But I still shake my head at times at the threads on this site and the debates they create: "No don’t buy XYZ integrated amp (at $60,000), buy LMNOP separates (at $80,000)" or "I’m looking for new speakers. My Magico S7’s just don’t have the soundstage I’m looking for."

Your suggestion is the most reasonable idea I’ve seen. Again, you’ve got Cornwall IV’s and you’ve done some awesome modifications on an already awesome speaker. Maybe, just maybe, some modifications (Room Correction, EQ Processors) to the signal and you will find the Nirvana (not the band) you are looking for. Sounds a lot more sane and less expensive than chasing an entire new speaker system that you may or may not like. Try your suggestion first, and if the desired sound can’t be achieved by the signal modifications, then start looking at new speakers. Just adding my nickel to your 2 cents worth.

Here are some high value speakers that fit in your budget.... They can serve as end game speakers for many guys.

Mofi Sourcepoint 888.      $5000

GR Research Bully.            $6000 (factory finished)

Technics SB-G90M2.        $6000

Tekton Encore.                   $7500

Yamaha NS-2000A.           $8000

Magnepan 3.7i.                  $9000

Wharfedale Elysian 4.       $10,000

Borresen X3.                      $11,000

Yamaha NS5000.              $15,000

KEF Reference 3 Meta.     $15,000

If you really want musical go with the best Sonus Fabers you can afford, used or new. Personally I would recommend Serafinos if you can find a used pair in your price range.

Reasons for Changing.  They do not sound harsh or bright. I'm not thinking of moving on because of that. I'd like to get a bit more depth to the soundstage and more finesse in the overall presentation. 
 

Depending on the tube amp I’d highly recommend the Joseph Audio Perspective 2.  Not overly sensitive but a relatively benign impedance curve and low phase angles and in your room should work very well with many tube amps.  They throw a deep 3D soundstage like few others and pull off a disappearing act surpassed by none IME.  BTW I’d cross ATC off your list given your amp requirements.  ProAc, QLN, Vandersteen, and DeVore also worth a good look I’d think, but if you can audition the Perspective 2s I think they may really change your, um, perspective.  Best of luck. 

@bigkidz , Revival Audio looks great. Don Better in Shaker Heights is a 6 hour drive. I'm going to ping them. 

Thank you all for the recommendations.  Yes, Volti does seem like a great fit. Man, I heard the Rivals (I think) at the 2019 AXPONA and said to myself that they sounded better to me than so many rooms. I was actually comparing them to $35k Steinheims (not that I was buying those)--they sounded that good. 

Maybe I need a trip to see Greg. 

@SNS, Yes, I did my modifications at the very same time Don Sachs did his. We conversed over email.  I loved the CWIVs but felt building to a price point constrained them.  I'm not sure going back to do the inductors would make much difference--I skipped those. 

I will say this. I have friends who have very modern speakers (Revel Salon 2s, Magico, B&W, etc.). When they hear the modified CWIVs (with excellent electronics and sources), they are amazed at how big and dynamic the sounds is.  I've pretty much tamed any brightness. While I don't mind that they are the best imaging speaker, I would like a bit more cohesion out of them. 

I'll keep researching and planning. Keep the posts coming. 

Revival Audio and then you can end your search.

@jbhiller I have a pair of Razz. Entry level into the Volti line. I am completely over the moon with them, every time if fire them up I just feel so completely satisfied and happy with them. I picked my pair up directly from Greg at his shop. I had the opportunity to listen to my Razz next to a pair of rivals and a pair of new Vittora in prototype. They all shared an amazing dynamic character, there’s definitely a house sound there. The Rivals are much bigger, sound much bigger, and go lower. But that sweet coherent midrange was so much there across all three models.

i did listen to the Lucera at the Fla expo this year and I was seriously trying to figure out how to work out a deal with Greg right then and there to trade up!

The razz depending on finish and grill cloth will go for about $7500, the Lucera about $10,000, and the Rivals about $16,000. 
 

check out the Volti site, Greg’s got it all well explained along with pricing and what he has on hand for sale. Plus he’s a really good guy to deal with. He really wants to make sure his customers are completely satisfied.

I'd stick with horns or open baffle speakers, I went from open baffle to box speakers, never could quite deal with the box speaker presentation. After that went to Klipschorns, I've modded them extensively, only bass bin remains stock. Klipsch Heritage can image and sound stage with tractrix horns, in case of three ways, tweeter on custom baffle, need at least physical time alignment and independent movement of mid driver and tweeter in case of Klipschorn.

Of speakers you mentioned I'd go with the Volti's, I'm using Volti tractrix horns on my Klipschorns. Greg's modded Klipschorn crossovers were inspiration for my crossover mods.  You were onto something with your modded Cornwalls, the Volti's can take you the rest of the way.

I'm on board with the Volti recommendations also heard the Rivals a few times and really love them. I've not heard the new Lucera which I'm sure is fantastic. I also think staying with horns is a good idea as you may miss that live quality horns give you.

That said Fyne, Spendor Classic, and Devore are all fine choices I'd be hard pressed to choose between them though the Classic 100 or older versions in the 100 series are definite favorites.

Classic Audio Reproductions have some interesting high efficiency loudspeakers that are probably a step up from the Cornwalls.  They are highly customizable.

@jbhiller Curiosity killed the cat. I know Cornwalls well and I know for a fact they are capable of much more than the usual set up. They can get very close to the state of the art with the right electronics. They can image much better and have more depth, much more depth. Instead of buying new loudspeakers I suggest you get a new preamp, a digital processing one. I have turned several sows ears into silk purses this way. On the low end is the MiniDSP SHD followed by the SHD Studio with outboard DACs. The there is the Anthem STR, the Trinnov Amethyst and finally the DEQX Pre 4 and 8. What these processors will do is remove any group delays, integrate subwoofers perfectly and most importantly will EQ the system so that the frequency response of both channels is identical given the space they are in also known as room control. After the processor does it's thing you can EQ the system to sound exactly the way you want. With the Pre 8 you can even triamp your Cornwalls. You will never look back and you will lose any interest in new speakers. 

The only good reason to look at other speakers is if you want to switch to a line source system like the Magnepan 3.7i and 20.7 or Sound Labs ESLs. These speakers will give you a larger life like image at the expense of maximal volumes and efficiency. The reason Cornwalls have the potential to be so good is they are very efficient and like Dipoles have very controlled dispersion  which minimizes room interaction. They are not built to the same level of quality as a Magico or Wilson speaker which means there is more variability between speakers which causes issues with imaging. A digital preamp fixes this problem perfectly so that the channels are even more identical than the finest speakers. 

Hello @ozzy62 , Good to see you chime in here as I recall your history with the Heritage line and several excellent discussions with you in the past!

I'm off to look at Qualio IQ per your recommendation. THANK YOU!

I think the Volti recommendation would be a natural progression for you, especially the Lucera. I had thought about that one myself.

But I have another suggestion. I have been living with the Qualio IQ speakers for about two months now and they are very impressive. Our rooms are of very similar dimensions and they have no problem pressurizing and filling the room. They do what you would expect an OB to do, but with very impressive bass down to the upper 20s. Your budget would allow the Ultra version, which I have no experience with, but it adds better xover components.

I have an extensive history with Klipsch Heritage speakers. I did in fact own the CW IV for about a year. My last klipsch speaker was the Lascala II, which I absolutely loved. I can tell you that the IQ does everything the LS could do and ups the game with better resolution and refinement. The soundstage is just as wide, but much deeper. And dynamics are a toss up between the two.

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@doyle3433 which model do you have? I have heard the rivals at a recent Axpona and loved them. 

I honestly feel looking to either the Volti Lucera, or Volti Rival. Lucera new, in whatever nice finish you want, can be had at the lower end of your budget. The Rival, at the top end, (though you may need to search for a deal). Sometimes Volti has a pre-loved pair at a really good price. 

Volti will match well with either of your solid state or tube options. Have all the dynamics, depth and detail one could want. Honestly I have never owned a more exciting and fun speaker.