Speaker Upgrade Help Please

It's hard to say what you will like since speakers are a very personal choice. I would look at Vandersteen, ProAc and DeVore. They all sound great and should be easy to place. Especially Vandersteen. They give you a lot of setup adjustments to work with.

vandersteen quatros were designed to be about 12" from the wall

How bout new Dynaudios. The C1 signature sounds pretty darn good, especially if you like the Dyn house sound......

Thanks for the responses.

The wife won't go for Vandersteens, but I would love to demo ProAcs in the Bay Area.

I'm also interested in upgrading within the Dynaudio line, but don't want to go to monitors given the large amount of space I want to fill.

Also, regarding Dynaudios, the pricing on their new Focus speakers have really jumped up.

If debt default comes to pass, their cheapest speaker will be 100K US$ . On sale that is.

Too bad your wife can't be persuaded to go for Vandersteen...they are your best bet. Their more expensive speakers have more wife acceptance.

I'm going to dissent on the Vandy recommendations, only because I think placing them close to the back wall while possible would likely greatly diminish their outstanding imaging and soundstaging capabilities (as it would with many speakers). I'd skew toward a design meant specifically to be placed near the back wall -- something like a VonSchweikert VR-33 might be ideal if it passes the all-powerful WAF. Best of luck.

If you look enough you should be able to pick up a pair of pre-owned Contour 5.4's for the upper part of you budget. They even have the Esotar2 tweeter. Not quite the Confidence level but very very close. You'll get a more refined Dyn 'house sound'. Or wait a bit... The Contour line has not been upgraded in quite a while especially when looking at the Confidence line down.

Best of luck whatever you decide

I guess before we go down this road any further, you should tell us what wifey WILL and WILL NOT allow. What criteria prevented Vandersteens from passing muster?

Shakey

Adam S3X-V or Quested V3110. Either of these will be more dynamic and have a much greater SPL with no compression.

Absolutely stunning.

Also both are three ways.

Again, thanks all for the responses.

The wifey prefers wood Cherry finish, as it matches other stuff like my REL B1 and furniture. The big black fronts of the Vandy's won't go over, nor will some 9 foot metal and black monstrosity.

So, basically I'm looking for Cherry wood finish, with relatively small footprint that moves a lot of air and is forgiving on placement. I know it's pretty specific.

I've never heard Totem Forest, but not sure if that's a lateral move from the Dyn Focus 220s.

Any thoughts on PSB Synchrony 1?

ProAc sounds interesting, and I loved Dali, but their depth at almost 20" and recommendation of 2 feet from the back wall would put the speakers out into the middle of the room.

Although I like Dynaudio, I'm curious to try something else. I loved Naim and Dali pairing for classical, but it didn't kick hard enough for the rock and jazz that I enjoy.

How about in-walls? Dali makes an awesome in wall. Triad also make great in-walls. Also Wisdom Audio.

Are there corners? You can have my mint Allison 3's that are 30 years old but till unsurpassed in corners and are pure wood:)

Here are rare speakers that are not monitors and designed for near wall placement:

North Creek Big Kat Revelators

http://www.northcreekmusic.com/Kitty/Big_Kat_Info.htm

I think the Forest may indeed be a lateral move. PBN Montana makes some very nice speakers with furniture grade cabinets. They wouldn't be my first choice for sonics, but it looks like that is taking a back seat in your application.

Shakey

With your REL B1 a monitor will work well. I personally feel that monitors do a better job of projecting sound stage. I use a pair of Sonus faber Cremona Auditor Ms in my 12 X 18 X 12 room with a REL B1 and they fill the room nicely. If I were to upgrade my speakers I would keep my REL B1 and go with the Sf Guaneri Mementos.