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Speaker upgrade for classical music

Hi, I need recommendations for a speaker upgrade. I’m a classical violinist and listen almost exclusively to classical, opera and jazz. No movies, Atmos, etc.  I have a 17x14 listening room (doubles as practice room) with acoustical treatments (phase coherent diffusers at main reflection points and regular ones elsewhere).
Half my listening is in stereo and half in multi-channel (4.0 and 5.1).   All my recordings are either CDs or high-res—DSD and FLAC—audio files. I don’t have a turntable. 

My current system: Marantz SR 8012 amp, Yamaha S1000 CD transport, Exasound e38 DAC and Sigma streamer (connected to the Marantz with analog 5.0 inputs). Speakers: Polk Rti A7 stereo, CSi A6 center, Rti A3 surround, and dual REL T/7i subs. 
What I want: speakers with improved musical detail and clarity that really reproduces the expansiveness of the symphony hall or church. I like a warmer sound than a drier one.  What’s most important to me is to hear what the recording engineer heard. Budget: say 8k or less.

Recommendations?  One other thing: Can I try them out?  And how?  I’m in Santa Fe, not a huge metropolis with lots of audiophile shops. 
Thanks very much. 
ssmaudio

Showing 1 response by corelli

corelli
950 posts
 
As much as I have enjoyed Magnepans in the past, they have several limitations for the OP.

For one, they are very demanding of amplification. This has been documented ad nauseum so I won’t get into that.

More critically, they inflate the image and are not what I hear in a concert hall. In my dedicated audio room, even set up ideally with room treatments, they were limited in this regard.

My Tekton DI’s recreate a much more precise and realistic recreation of a concert hall. Instrument location, depth, instrument size are all much more accurate. One can debate what accounts for this--wave launch, back wave interference, among others.

Right now I am listening to an old CD, An English Christmas, performed in Westminster Cathedral. Choir, brass, thundering organ. Magnificent! (My DI’s are augmented by a pair of subs)

I have had the pleasure on hearing music in that cathedral, among others. My current system transports me back to that place and brings a smile to my face.

Best wishes on your search.

P.S.--virtuoso violin performances have sounded great on the DI’s.
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