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usual speaker advice question

Listen room – finished basement game room 17ft by 30ft 7ft ceilings. Power : a four tube 6550 valve amp producing 50watts or a 200 watt high current Conrad johnson amp. My current speakers is a set of double stacked Klipsch kg4 on top of Klipsch fortes. Normal Listening levels for me is - 10 to 11 on the dial. Type of Music: rock, classic rock, blues. I like a large soundstage, nice mids and a touch of slamming base with clear top ends. Back end of game room is my workout space so usually I listen to music for a hour or so each night when I do my workouts.
I have a bit of the upgrade bug and looking to get new speakers. My current speakers move a lot of air no doubt and can sound fairly nice at times. However with some music the bass seems to get a bit muddled at time and the highs a bit bright.
My speaker budget is $1000 – on the used market that should get me speakers that cost 2000 to 2500 originally. Looking at Dynaudio focus 140, SCM 11, Totem model one sig, Monitor audio GS10, Proac 1s, etc. any thing else I should be looking at or any recommendations?
My problem is I can’t do listen tests where I live so it pretty much role the dice and buy something sight unheard so to speak and since it’s the used market would not be able to return so would have to be able to resell for same price.
lvas12
12 responses Add your response
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,984 posts
 
Slow down Bigby...his budget is $1000.00.
bigby
150 posts
 
I'd try a smaller Eggleston. I have the Rosa's in a room 24' x 13' with 8' ceilings. They are perfect for the room.

If you want something a little bigger, with more bass, go with the Nine or Andra III.
jrinkerptdnet
430 posts
 
maybe sell the KG4 and purchase a pair of good subwoofers to run with the single pair of Forte's ... Forte's are VERY good speakers even by 2011 standards. if you have not upgraded the crossovers in the Forte's with the Crites version, that would most likely cure the issue with the treble. when I upgraded mine I was very surprised with the change (for the better)
mrdecibel
3,063 posts
 
Correction : 6 passives....my bad.....
rbstehno
1,434 posts
 
If you want a quality speaker, go with the totem. For this size room, you will need to pair them with a good single or double sub crossed over around 80 or higher. I used to own these speakers and they are very good. If you want a killer floor standing speaker that would be as good or better than your stated choices would be the usher cp-6311 or its bigger brother cp-6381. I sold all of my totem speakers (model 1, mani2, others) and went with all usher. I use the cp-6381 in a larger room with excellent results. The cp-6311 might need a sub if you push them hard.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,199 posts
 
If never tried prior, i would also try the Fortes alone as a first step and see if that + some tweaking does the trick.
mrdecibel
3,063 posts
 
Klipsch Fortes should do the job nicely by themselves. I think you are introducing bass coherency problems with 6 woofers, not to mention the 3 passives. This will give you muddy bass, although a lot of it. As far as the treble, if you like the treble from them, you might want to eliminate some early reflection spots. I am not sure if what you mean by a "finished" basement is a acoustically treated room. Back to the bass....different sub systems all reaching your ears at slightly different times. This is my opinion. If you do not like the Fortes, well..........
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,199 posts
 
I'm wondering if the double stacking of two different speaker designs is a good idea or not?

I agree you will need some kind of larger speaker setup that matches well to your tube amp to match what you have in that regard and that may not come cheap if they must do better in all regards compared to what you have.

Rather than replacing both, how about trying adding a pair of good subwoofers to just the Forte's or the others, whichever you like best?

Maybe that in conjunction with some tweaks to fine tune the sound might fit the bill well.

Other than that, something like the AudioKinesis Jazz modules come to mind.

Or a pair of Klipschorns maybe if they would fit into your room.

If the larger CJ amp can handle less efficient speakers with more challenging impedance curves, then a pair of OHM Walsh speakers might be worth looking into. If not, then even a smaller pair of OHMs + subwoofer would likely not leave much for wanting.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,984 posts
 
I second the Klipsch Epic CF-4, as I own a pair and love them, but in the same vein, the Cerwin Vega CLS 215 ia supposed to be great. They can also be had new for a good price.
daber_audio
28 posts
 
If you like the Klipsch sound, go for Epic CF-4 v1 speakers. Those things are monsters. They are pretty uncommon, so you might be looking for a while. Do some googling and read about them.
ck
101 posts
 
I would look into a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers. Very efficient and will crack the plaster in the room if desired.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Lvas12, Since you work out every night I will be nice. All of those little monitors won't cut it. Since you are stacking Klipsch speakers you obviously like a big sound and 10-11 on the volume with efficient speakers is pretty loud. I was going to recommend Magnepan, but you will need more than 50 watts for your room size and listening level. The only logical recommendation is bigger Klipsch speakers.
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