I have Silverline 11's, which I like. I would like to upgrade, however. I live in an area without great audiophile resources therefore I'm buying without hearing. Any suggestions for upgrading?? Thanks...
What do you want that the Silverline 11's are not giving you now? (Better bass, more refined treble, better imaging, bigger soundstage, etc....)
Other items that would be good to know: Your budget; Your amplifier; (i.e. make, model, power, etc.) Your room size; Your tastes in music; (i.e. rock, classical, jazz, polka, death metal, etc....)
This additional information will allow us to give you a better list of suggestions.
I would check out the Merlin TSM-mm. Pre -owned they would be within your budget. I'm using a pair with my NAD 325BEE (see my system) and it is outstanding.
I agree with Samac that the TSMs are very good speakers. I had a pair of Merlin TSM-SE speakers, and they were nice. It is my understanding that they were not a stock pair but had been tweaked for a review. I've heard the MXe version too.
However, I replaced the Merlins in my system with a pair of Silverline SR-17.5 speakers. I found that the Siverlines handled a wider range of music than the TSM. I also preferred the articulation of the 1st order crossover in the 17.5s. To get a more refined sound, I did, however, replace the stock capacitor and resistor. So if you just want to refine your SR-11s, I you might want to think about that.
You should listen to the TSM speaker to see if it works well with your range of music. It is a good speaker. The 17.5s with an upgraded crossover has the potential perhaps to give you the refinement for which you are looking along with more dynamics. But don't get me wrong, the stock 17.5 is an excellent speaker and worth your consideration whether you upgrade the crossover or not.
If you don't want a floor standing speaker you should consider the Silverline 17 or 17.5. If you like the sound of Silverline, move up the chain, you won't be disappointed and there shouldn't be any surprises.
As I mentioned in my previous note, I own a pair of 17.5s. I I also have a pair of 17s that I am holding for a friend until he can pick them up. The 17s have less bass and run out of steam before the 17.5s, but for my tastes, I prefer either of them before the TSM. That is a roundabout way of saying that I think Lak made an excellent suggestion if you want to stay with a Silverline monitor type speaker. I don't see a 17 or 17.5 listed for sale at the moment, but there is a pair of TSM-MXe listed for $1750. They would be a good speaker, are within your budget, are available now, but in my experience don't handle as wide a range of music as well as the 17.5s. If you wait and find a pair of 17.5s I am sure you would like them. But if you are not in a hurry, if you can snag a pair of 17.5s I think you'd be pleased.
Since the Merlins have been suggested I would also take a look at Ushers higher end monitors;I have rw729's driven with both tubes and solid state and they perform extremely well.
I was going to suggest the same thing - stick with Silverline since you like the 11's - he makes excellent speakers all around. That said, I don't know that the step up to the 17's would be that significant for your having owned three different pairs of them. They are certainly excellent speakers and for monitors give you a pretty great low-end, but if you really want to improve on that aspect of performance, why not go to a floorstander? The Silverline Sonatina would be a great choice, or the Sonata if you can find one in your price range. You will loose a bit in the imaging department going from monitors to floorstanders, but you will gain quite a bit in terms of low-end over going to the 17's in my experience. One footnote - do be careful in purchasing used speakers that the seller has a good reputation and either original or professional packing, and with shipping insurance mandatory. Better to buy local whenever possible. The downside of the older Silverline models is that some of them no longer have drivers available should one become damaged :-( Still, I would consider a floorstander for what you are asking for in improvements in the low end (which do necessarily come with a high price tag to get that really great - but used you might be able to find something very good). Certainly an SR17(.5) would be a step up as well, I just don't know how big a step up in terms of perceived differences.
I would be very careful in moving to floorstanding speakers for a 10x15 room. My room is 13x15 and I've gone through four different floorstanders and three different monitors. All of the monitors were a better fit.
The danger is overloading the room with bass, along with losing imaging capabilities. You need to move floorstanders well out into the room to escape bass issues and enjoy proper imaging, and you likely don't have the real estate for that.
I've gone to Audio Note AN-J's and love the fact that I can tuck them into the room corners for extra space and due to their design get near the bass of a floorstander without any overloading issues.
I've been offered Silverline 17's from Audiogon member that lacks references (rating). It could be alot of money to lose. Thanks.
SR17's have gone through at least four significant changes over the years. There were three versions of the original SR17's where Alan changed specific aspects of them (drivers, crossover, cabinet maker and internal bracing, in the very last iteration as I recall). The biggest differences were between the first and the second/third versions (not as much between the latter two). Then there's the 17.5 which succeeded all of them and is supposed to be better still. I have not heard one so cannot comment there.
Personally I would be very careful with buying speakers from someone with no track record. Yes, it's a lot of $ to loose and not worth the risk IMO.
Good points about overloading a small room - I'd missed that point in the OP. I've used Sonatina I's and Soliloquy floor standers in pretty small rooms with some treatments and had good luck there, though I'd say the Soliloquy did better in a larger space. The Sonatina did fine in both. Neither are the last word in low-end reproduction, but both were pretty good and sounded quite a bit more substantial than SR17's do. It is certainly something to be careful of though. It will depend on the room, contents, treatments, volume you like to listen at, and of course the specific speakers themselves. The good part is that in a smaller room you can get some bass reinforcement using smaller speakers. AudioNote was a good suggestion in that regard, since they were designed with corner-placement in mind, though I don't know how they'd go with your SS NAD amp. No experience there. It probably goes without saying, but if you do use monitors their performance is significantly enhanced by the use of a good stand (as opposed to putting them on a shelf).
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have a pair of 17s and 17.5s in my listening room. For a 10'x15' room I think either would be fine, but the 17s are going to run out of steam before the 17.5s. It just depends on how loud you play your music. The 17.5s really are quite ballsy.
I will check out the Merlins and hold out as I have for some 17' or 17.5's to appear also. In the meantime I will listen to the Silverline 11's and my Tyler talo mini's. Keep the tips coming, everyone's input is very useful to the novice I am. Thanks.
1. Your amp might be more of a constraining factor than the speakers.
2. Both the 11 and the 17 series are among Silverlines more neutral and analytical speakers. Others have a more natural sweetness to them, as I recall, at the expense of (perhaps) a little detail. In the sweeter range include - again I'm working on memory - the Sonatina I and II, models 15 or 16 or 12.
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