speaker upgrade fever

If you are looking at the Vandersteen treos, I’d suggest you listen to the Vandersteen Quatro CT’s. Which have better bass and great self amped subs in them already. I think you can find for &14,000 used. Which is a bargain.  

I have a Mimas. I tried some NOS tubes I preferred the OE tubes for overall balance. I also had my Mimas built with Cardas Rhodium Binding posts. I also use a Shunyata Alpha NR v.2 power cord. My speakers are the Dynaudio Heritage Special. Oh and a pair of REL Classic 98’s . The very limited Dynaudio Contour Heritage would work great, ProAc D48R are great, and the Vandersteen would be excellent. 

Hi Larseand, 

I have no idea if you have purchased a new pair of monitors or not but I thought I would at least weigh in on my experience.  I wanted a pair of Focal 1028BE's. However, I had limited space as well.  I found a pair of brand new 1008BE stand mount speakers at Dedicated Audio for $2,999 (1/2 original asking price).  With the Beryllium tweeter I knew they would be on the bright side but by no means are they too bright (no listening fatigue whatsoever).  I did a ton of due diligence regarding matching them with a proper amplifier.  I had a limited budget as well so could not go crazy.  I "settled" on a Hegel H90.  It has been a match made in sonic heaven. I have the Focal sitting on a pair of Sound Anchor stands (look them up) so no need for a sub. I'm currently only streaming using Tidal to a Bluesound Node 2i. I connect the speakers to the amp using Cardas Parsec cables which helps keep the noise floor low as well.  Do I have a vision to upgrade? Of course. My current go to would be T+A 3100HV integrated and Rosso Fiorentino Arno40 floor standers but it changes all the time.  By the way, I did not demo the Hegel with the Focal, I trusted my research and took a risk but it paid off.  Considering your preferred type of music, here are a few suggested options in no particular order: Fyne Audio F1-8 ($10,400), TAD ME1 ($15,400), Fleetwood Seville ($15,600), Franco Serblin Accordo ($14,000) Good luck and all the best in your search.

+1 for Harbeths. I have the 30.1s (large 2-ways) and have heard the 40.1s (even larger 3-ways). Superb, musical sound in both cases.

Well, I've decided to buy a pair of JA Pulsar 2 graphene monitors. My rationale, it's RARE to find them available on the used market. I can't pass on a chance to own this speaker at 1/2 retail. They've always. been on my speaker bucket list. Also, there are always Harbeth 30's available if I change my mind.