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 nekoaudio

I listen to a lot of classical music, used to play a few instruments, and we try to see a few live performances (both amplified and unamplified) a year although that's obviously been on hold for a while now.

Personally I would recommend auditioning Magico, Vivid Audio, or YG Acoustics however only Magico and Vivid have speakers in your budget when purchased new and they're the bookshelf speakers. A used pair might be an option for one of their floorstanding models.

When I want to hear everything as realistically as possible, with all the detail and clarity, I listen to the Magico M2 speakers with the Devialet Expert 440 Pro all-in-one electronics. This combination will not sound warm, but you could add some warmth using the Devialet Sweet Room PEQ.

I agree with 4vintplay that the Acoustic Zen speakers would also be a good option. While not providing the transparency of Magico, Vivid, or YG, in my opinion they will outperform many other speakers at similar price points and provide a warm, realistic sound that many musicians would like.

On the other hand, if you want to hear what the recording engineer heard, you might want to look at ATC speakers and Bryston electronics. Or the Trinnov Amethsyt / ST2-HiFi. And maybe a DAC with a pro-audio lineage like RME, Prism Sound, Antelope Audio, etc.