Thank you all for your responses! Much appreciated.
speaker upgrade from Magico A3
I'm hoping for some opinions and recommendations on a speaker upgrade. Thanks in advance for any helpful, non judgmental advice or recommendations.
Current system is : Aurender N200, T+A 200 DAC, T+A PA 3100 HV integrated, Magico A3 speakers, Pair REL S/510.
System is in a large room ( 30x35ft with 20 ft high pitched ceiling). Speakers 8ft apart 24" from front wall, subs next to speakers on outside. Very little to no opportunity for alternate positioning or room treatment.
Music prefs are 80% classical, 20% rock and techno.
I initially found the A3s to be lacking in base, so I added the subs which helped a lot. At times the A3s boarder on bright sounding to me, but not to my wife whose ears are better. I do fit into the category of "old man whose hearing is deteriorating." Just the same I would like to upgrade the speakers to something that would be an SQ upgrade and perhaps a better match to the room size. I can still appreciate musical nuances and although I may not have the ear I had 10 years ago, I am certain I could appreciate the upgraded SQ from a big jump in speakers. My ideal budget is roughly $20K but have the means to go higher if it meant amazing SQ.
If possible, I prefer to buy pre-owned, but have never purchased speakers out of state or had them shipped. I now have an opportunity for out of state pre-owned SF Amati Traditions for $19K or out of state dealer demo Magico A5s for $19.5K.
Local dealer has demo SF Serafino G2s for $23K which I could home demo if wanted or Amati G5s for $34K, also available for home demo.
I know Magico and SF are totally different. I have heard SFs several times at dealers (never at home) but my only Magico experience is current A3s. Is it weird to say I like both and not certain about which I prefer?
Intuition is telling me to go towards warmer and more musical which is why I've started to look at SFs. I live very close to The Music Room, but am not seeing any current speaker offerings that are calling to me, They have a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 50s for $20K, but it would cost me a 5% restocking fee and a PIA to home demo them. I can't seem to find much online info regarding them.
In case its relevant:
My previous system in this room (sold to finance something else) consisted of B&W 802 D3 with Macintosh MC462 ,Simaudio Moon 740P preamp and MSB discrete dac.. I found I was missing hifi music and started again with a small system, consisting of pre-owned Hegel H390 and the A3 speakers. I eventually added the Aurender and T+A Dac. A few weeks ago I had a local opportunity to trade the H390 for the T+A PA 3100 (plus cash), so I took it.
Showing 7 responses by mintakax
A lot of great advice in these responses, thank you all for your considerations. If I were younger I would consider less established brands, but at these prices I need to be aware of the resale opportunities when I'm not around to supervise :). I'm going to make an excursion next week to dealers in my area (Boulder/Denver) and hear more varieties. The decision to buy new or used is the biggest dilemma. I can get in home demos of SF, Focal, B&W, KEF maybe a couple more but then the cost is close to 90% MSRP and then tax.. Pre-owned is much more tolerable. The new vs pre-owned decision for speakers seems more stressful than for cars :). |
Wow-- thanks again everyone. AFAIK, TMR doesn't do any auditioning at all, I've been there several times to drop off and pick up equipment. They are not a brick and mortar store. I'll be home auditioning some SF Serafinos next week followed by Amatis, at least that's the plan so far. Actually we're going into Denver to hear the Serafinos and if we like them the next step will be a home audition. Amatis will come later in the month. @jimmy2615 I have spoken to Bliss Hifi, very knowledgeable guy, he recommended Vivid Kaya 90s which he will be showing at AXPONA. Turns out I have a conflict and cannot go. |
I won't say that the SF Serafinos were disappointing, but I will say that it was immediately obvious that they would not be an upgrade to the current A3 system. Neither my wife or I connected with them and I suspect that the "SF sound" is not for us. I could list some specific details, but dont feel that would be especially pertinent. We did spend a fair bit of time listening to a pair of KEF Blade One Metas. For the past three months, my wife has been, at best indifferent, and at worst flat out "anti upgrading" our system. So, I was shocked to hear her say that she really like the sound and design of the Blades. I also gave them a big thumbs up. They were in a highly treated room and I can't say how they will sound at home, but we are arranging a home demo. I am concerned that a home demo is a commitment to buying from the dealer as opposed to buying pre-owned. TMR currently has two pair of pre-owned Blade One Metas and Audiogon lists three. Is that a red flag? @ronboco Funny you should mention Jess from Soundings. He is coming to our house in a few days to look at our system setup and room. Its a paid visit but I thought it would be helpful to have his expertise. |
@rsf507 @soix -- Thanks. Compared to the A3s, the Serafinos seemed to have less midrange detail and also overall less focused (if that makes sense). I played a track that is overly bright on my system and it was still overly bright through the SFs. Vocals did seemed as good as the A3s, possible slightly better, but that may have been the room. I dont listen to many vocals so that wasn't something I cared about. @leeagc -- Thanks, I'm sure that is very true, however I'm finding that I am very reluctant to spend a lot of $$ on pre-owned speakers that I can't return. There are no pre-owned S5s at TMR or at any local dealers that I am aware of. |
@lemonhaze I dont have very much leeway in the subs placement, only where they point. I find the flip phase adjustment to be very limiting. In my case I can hardly hear the difference between the 0 and 180 phases. Another complaint I have is there are no markings on the crossover or volume dials. There are tactile clicks (detents) but they are not very distinct. On the plus side, the subs sound great and I'm confident that I have them dialed in as best as possible. The volume and crossover knobs are just a couple of clicks turned up. @deep_333 -- No need to say again your feelings about the Rels. @ronboco -- Will do on both counts! |