I got into this hobby during Covid, browsing YouTube reviews my first speakers were Polk L100s and Sonus Faber Lumina 1s. Not bad as an entry point, but wondering what would be the next level is where a speaker is built with fewer compromises in the drivers and crossover design. My hope was that in the $5k range truer “hifi” entry points may be found in a small room system with a REL t5x. My source and amplification is already in the $5k range.
I visited a hifi store recently but was overwhelmed by the amount of choice and unsure what would be an upgrade based on first listening impressions alone.
"OMG, Fritz is such a small time operator, that there are no used Fritz speakers says nothing about the brand."
I would beg to differ for me it suggests owners tend to keep them because it is superior product. I just spoke with Fritz,he has been building speakers for 50 years and has built thousands of units, good luck finding someone willing to let go of them is what I’m experiencing. Aside from that we discussed the merits of the brand (including video review examples) at length earlier in this thread. Perhaps I misunderstood your comment?
I just don't think the number we find in the used market is an indicator of value one way or another unless we take into account volume vs. say JBL or B&W or Martin Logan.
Point taken however I disagree,no one has made mention of JBL or B&W or Martin Logan thus far in this thread as something the OP should seek out new or used.
@benanders A fair question, and thanks for your insight. The SF is a smaller front ported box and works closer to wall boundaries. The Polk has to be positioned out from the walls, at least in the space where I have them. So they served different purposes for me, and sonically I like the tone of the SF Lumina but also the impact and soundstage of the Polks, which can be a bit less exciting, overall, in my setup/space. The adage “buy cheap buy twice” isn’t lost on me, though; I honestly didn’t know a thing about speakers or placement then and felt 1k was a good starting point. So moving on from this, I’m looking for a speaker that is built to a higher level of performance, hoping that that 3-5k range new or used will get there and seeing some of the great suggestions, it seems that it will, regardless of room treatments or placement options, which are certainly their own important considerations. I really appreciate the suggestions for the Carbons and Joseph Audio, and others. These are products I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I’ll be looking at a few.
@jdavis234you’re welcome. Do consider speakers’ overall design/approach rather than just designer/model name - everything you’ve mentioned is pretty standard (the Joseph Audio’s do garner good comments and I’ll admit, they’re nice… at a price).
You haven’t mentioned considering actives or panels yet. If standmounts, panels seem an unlikely candidate but are worth hearing - they’re different. I’m not sure omnidirectional speakers are in your price range or would work for a small room, haven’t looked. They do neat (different) stuff too. If you only listen to more typical box-cone speakers, you’ll be limiting yourself to evaluating more nuanced differences in a “type”, so to speak. Start broader than that, and narrow down based on whether you discover a preference for transducer type. It can be a real thing.
Also consider speakers that are floorstanders but require only the on-floor real estate of a standmount. Reason being, if you don’t get carried away and aim to overpower your room, it’s worth comparing models with greater driver surface area. This reduces drivers’ legwork between each crossover range. It can have a considerable effect on your in-room sound. Beware paying more for exotic cabinetry whatever the size of your speakers.
KEF LS60 is past your price point, but a curious example of an active speaker that takes up the same floor real estate as a standmount and offers even greater individual driver control (being, of course, active). I don’t keep up with Genelec prices but they have a pretty hardcore niche following outside recording studios. Probably hard to find a “cleaner” small format speaker, but like anything, that’s to taste. And you kinda need a Star Wars-themed room for Genelec’s to blend in. Educate yourself on actives, panels, omni’s, whether or not they wind up being approaches you ultimately consider.
With standmounts, you’ll do well to also educate yourself on how in-room bass can work since you may eventually want to implement 1+ sub(s). Probably worth a look:
Have you run REW software on your room? It’s free (although you need to buy a microphone off Amazon for cheap).
It will tell you a lot about your room and where you can spend money the most effectively.
hardest part is looking at the curve and going “”OK what now”?! But there are 10,000 smart guys on the internet (and 29,000 really stupid ones) to help figure that it.
it will save you a lot of time, money, and false starts.
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