Thinking to upgrade speakers

If you're gonna' spend big bucks, you may as well get Tannoy Prestige series. 

I am a big fan of concentric driver speaker and had a pair of Tannoy back then but their high end range appearances are too fagly ;)  I demo KEF Ref series and like them though generally British speakers are too polite for my taste!
I heard Focal and SF in exhibitions though SF has a killer appearances but liked Focal sopra much more!
I also demoed Revel performa and liked them a lot !
The problem with buying expensive speakers is that selling them as 2nd hand market isn’t easy and demo in shop also maybe bc of their expensive setup( amps, source, cables) be a bit risky!
Hope ppl here can share their experience!

I think if you want help you might rephrase your aesthetic requirements description to less charged and offensive terms.

At that price range, I would also hear the Dali Epicon 8.  Sopra No 3 sounded great at RMAF, driven by the newly reborn Classe mono amps.  Legacy Audio Aeris should also be considered.  If you can get to $29k, run, don't walk, to hear the Vimberg Mino, which was also fabulous at RMAF. 

fagly?

Buy my JBL 4367

I love my Serafino’s!  Wonderful sound.  If I had the money and the room to warrant it I would be happy with the Amati.  But you need to the power for the Amati pair. I power my Serafino with Tubes at 150W and I couldn’t be happier.  They can fill my room wonderfully.  What I also like about them is how they look.  They are beautiful pieces of craftsmanship that fit into the room without someone looking at them going, ayh?  Frankly some speakers these days, including Focal, IMHO, and just plain ugly and a real draw on the eye.  My Serafino’s can master any type of music I am putting through them, and they are not even broken in yet.  

If willing to spend 10K ,
one brand I would audition is VOLTI Audio..
Their least expensive line of speakers ($9,000) had me spellbound, at both LAAS 2017, and The SHOW in Oakland..
Competing against rooms with much much more invested.

Hi fellow Stockholmer!

I'm sorry but I can't help you choose from those models.

Did you go to High-end Mässan?
They played the Revel Perfoma and it sounded great. I also liked the Kii Three with bass towers, should be about the same price. And the Aequo Stilla were impressive.

@d2girls are you actually selling your JBLs? I thought you loved them! 

Don't know about anyone else-- but it is so hard to get to demo speakers!  I live only 50 miles from NYC, but I either have to go to New Haven or NYC, and even with that, the options are very limited.

Anyway-- sound is very dependent upon listener preference!  In other words, some folks on these boards might prefer one over the other, but your tastes might not align with that.  But I appreciate your efforts, I guess that's in part why we have these boards.

I own Raidho's (XT-2's) and they are phenomenal.  Depending upon how much you want to spend, I would consider the Raidho D-line.  They can go as loud as you want-- maybe not the D-1 standmount.  But the D-2.1 and D-3.1 are killer speakers, that play any type of music really well.

I did see a reviewer mention that while at Harman he listened to both the Revel Performa F228Be and the Revel Studio or Salon (can't remember which) and they were basically indistinguishable.  So you would be getting the latest technology with the Performa, at $10K/pr they are much less than the Studio 2 and Salon 2 (which are now over a decade old) and maybe a reason why Revel haven't come out with a new Studio 3 or Salon 3.

Thanks guys ! So far no love for lovely Revel :)
Let first clear one thing, I do believe Tannoy speakers are really good and I don’t have anything against them just their physical appearances are not appealing enough for me to spend fortune!
let first, I explain how I go for hunt in HIFI jungle! First start with magazine and searching online base on my taste and then narrow the options based on my budget! Then spend many hours on forums to see what other people think! Last step is searching for place to buy! 
I started this hobby 7 years ago with a very humble setup and have learned an important lessons: FOR BETTER SOUND YOU MUST PAY MORE but this argument doesn’t work other way : BIG MONEY WON’T BRING BETTER SOUND!
I live in Sweden and because of VAT, the price goes very high on high end models so to quench my thirst I focus on second hand market and so far was damn lucky!
There is one aspect in HIFI businesses that maybe as end users, we don’t talk so much about: DEALERS/MARKETING
Dealers like all of us want to make a life and I think most of their profits come from midrange products not very expensive items so they don’t bother to put so much time for speakers that can sell 2 or 3 pairs per year! Also distributors don’t provide dealers with rival brands so it’s hard to compare them in the same shop!
the only options left are exhibition and asking other ppl for their experience!

mtrotAt that price range, I would also hear the Dali Epicon 8. Sopra No 3 sounded great at RMAF, driven by the newly reborn Classe mono amps. Legacy Audio Aeris should also be considered. If you can get to $29k, run, don't walk, to hear the Vimberg Mino, which was also fabulous at RMAF.  

I would second taking a look at Legacy Audio, though I would look at the Whisper as well. I auditioned the Whisper & Aeris a month ago, the Whisper will be arriving this Saturday.

Back to technical subject, I think omni and concentric twitters plus paper woofer produce most pleasant sounds specially concentric drivers for female vocal! There is a down side of paper woofers! Distortion in higher volume and that’s the reason metallic ones( mostly aluminum) are popular! To my ears, metallic woofer causes fatigue and can’t hear to them for long time same as horn twitters ! Other problem with metallic woofers is you need a certain level of volume to see them and in lower volume don’t work very well! 
REMINDER : this is my taste and based on my experience so don’t take it against any model or manufacturer!
about size and appearances! Some of you mentioned in same series , little brother works better in smaller room but with smaller speakers, you need to sit on sweet spot to get the best ! And plus the sound weight from bigger ones are nicer! Appearance, anything close the Sonus Faber, you must see them by yourself, so beutful and charming (>

@headphonedream tyvärr could not make this year but will go to Munich if I don’t buy anything till then! Agree Revel is amazing, haven’t heard Stilla but those are over my budget though the review in 6moons was so delicious, I don’ like KII !
@d2girls those JBLs are amazing but fagly so nope :)

My Tannoy 215 DMT II speakers are futt bugly -- even my kitty cat thinks so. But the Glenair and Kingdom Royal have a pleasing appearance, if you don't like the looks of the rest of the Prestige line.

http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/2/25134/284291.JPG

Agree with tomic601 about your descriptive terms. You might also consider ending some of your sentences with a period instead of the never-ending exclamation mark. 

@jburidan agree with u about Tannoy Royal but they are over my budget and not often showed up in 2nd market!
@maxvave Macintosh gears are very expensive outside USA and I won’t any budget for a while. Just one question, for focal+ Mac, which section is more important, pre or power- amp?
@tomcarr are u owner of those SMALL speakers that reading this post hurts you? I am sorry, that was not my intention!!!!!

I love my Serafino’s! Wonderful sound. If I had the money and the room to warrant it I would be happy with the Amati. But you need to the power for the Amati pair. I power my Serafino with Tubes at 150W and I couldn’t be happier. They can fill my room wonderfully. What I also like about them is how they look. They are beautiful pieces of craftsmanship that fit into the room without someone looking at them going, ayh? Frankly some speakers these days, including Focal, IMHO, and just plain ugly and a real draw on the eye. My Serafino’s can master any type of music I am putting through them, and they are not even broken in yet.

@pgaulke60 What tube amp are you using with the Serafinos? I’m debating between a used Amati Futura vs. the Serafino. From my one demo, the Serafino sounded a bit bright on top and lost the lush rich midrange of the Futura.

I would recommend Boenicke W11 speakers. They are very open, naturally balanced, great bass extension, dynamic and beautifully made in Switzerland. We have the W5 and W11.

Like STHLM78, I am also a big fan of Concentric drivers and currently own and listen to KEF Blade 2's and LS50's. I also own a beautiful pair of Focal Electra 1028 BE speakers, which I adore! When I auditioned the Focal speakers, I listened to the Kanta no. 2, Sopra 2 & 3, Electra 1028 &1038 Be. I liked them all, but my favorites were the Sopra 2 &1038 Be, which were very close in sound and feature similar drivers. I purchased the 1028's because they fit better into the system configuration and my wife did not want anything as large or visually commanding as the Sopra or 1038 (she loves the 1028). If you have a chance to listen to the 1038 Be speakers. do so. There were some terrific close-out deals on the Electra line which may still be available. I also highly recommend the KEF Reference, Blade and R series speakers at their given price points.

@transnova lucky you! I am so jealous :) never heard Blade but have a pair of KEF LS 50 wireless and compare to their size and price, they are really good! one question refer to KEF blade 2, do they sound nice in low volume ? How much free space need from side and back for clean sound ?
@toetabaudio, thanks for bringing up Boenicke namn, saw reviews on net and they need space to breathe and I don’t have room for that! Btw, among high end slim speakers, Audio Physics ,PMC and Boenicke are my favorites.

Sadly I removed SF and added Zu Audio Definition , Spaitial X2  and German physiks HS130 to my list! 
I am wondering why here Lagacy Audio is so popular, almost in all discussions about new speakers , someone recommended them, though their appearances not my taste but badly want to check them too!

the salon 2 would be the most accurate but need gobs of power seriously 1000 wpc would probably be safe then careful set up, but I think they have the highest ceiling. Focal Sopra's would probably be the easiest for me to get the best sound out of and don't require an arc welder to drive them. SF sound if they're like they used to be are warm sounding so the room could make them sink or swim. We tend to recommend what has worked for us and the reason there's no repeats is all our rooms and systems besides our own personal taste make speakers sound different. buying without a home demo is like throwing darts with the lights off.

sthlm78, You are doing very well. I think the powered LS 50s are better then I can make my passive LS 50’ssound with any combination of amplifier, pre-amplifier, or DAC.  The blade twos   are surprisingly versatile. I had them in my 12 x 14 office powered by a Rogue Atlas Magnum amplifier and they did not overload the room. They were a few feet away from the corners, however closer to the back wall than you would want them to be. In my main to channel system I am able to get them a little further Away from the rear wall, but they are only 2 to 3 feet away from the side walls. I find the results are still excellent.

 I also was very interested in legacy speakers. I had seen pictures but never heard a pair until recently when I picked up a demo pair of  Studio HD reference monitors. They look beautiful and the sound is gorgeous as well. Very well balanced with clear, detailed mids and highs. I am driving them with a Macintosh 275 amplifier. The bass is not offensive in anyway, but it could be stronger. I have a feeling this could be remedied with a more powerful solid-state amplifier.   My friend just picked up a pair of Proac Response Tri-Towers. For slim speakers the bottom ported base is surprisingly powerful. The overall sound is outstanding! I do not believe they are current anymore. He got a great deal on his!