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What now?

At the risk of repeating a question that has been asked and answered a few times, let me tell you my story.  I am an old-time audiophile (now 79) who has to adapt to new circumstances.  For the past forty years or more I have listened to music on two pairs of Snell type A speakers (A and AIII), one pair in my living room and another pair in the studio where I paint.  I have moved to a smaller house.  I had to sell the Snells because I don't have room for them (they went to a good home).  I also have sold some fairly high end equipment that powered them.  I now have two Marantz 60009 receivers and a nice vintage turntable.  The turntable is in a small (about 12x15) room, with a piano.  I need to find floor-standing speakers I can put on either side of the piano and close to the wall behind them.  I want to find them used, but not too used - I don't want to need to repair them anytime soon.  I am used to good sound and my hearing is still pretty good.  I listen to some classical, some choral, some solo voice, some guitar, etc.  I like what might be called a "warm" tone - without wanting to get into a debate about what that means - just don't want treble that is on the edgy side.  My budget is flexible, but not unlimited - maybe from $700 to $3000.  I do care how they look.  Some years ago I had a pair of Acoustic Zen adagios, which were OK, but I always preferred the Snells (maybe I was just used to them).  So - what do you recommend?  Adagio?  Vienna Acoustic Bach?  Tannoy?  Sonus Faber?  I am not in a place where I can easily audition speakers, and many of the ones I would consider are no longer sold new anyway, so I need to rely to some extent on the judgment of others.  What do you think?

 

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Showing 9 responses by grislybutter

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

I don't get it. A piano is about 5'x7'. It takes up most of the room. Where would you sit to listen?

 

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

did anyone understand/visualize the room layout? Or you guys are just throwing out names of speakers that you like?

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

@soix I see no arrangement that's not a giant mess and a compromise. This piano is a giant whale in a small room. Maybe wall-in speakers at least 2 feet above the top of the piano on the back wall? But I wouldn't hold my breath. Along the same lines, the piano must pretty bad in such a small room. 

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

there are speakers that make a small room sound big - monitors - not towers. Your budget is a big range, you can look at real sweet boutique brands. Are there dealers near you?

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

i would cast a wider net. If you are comfortable with ordering from Amazon and Crutchfield, you can try out a lot of great options. But it sounds like you are set on the Ohm, and just want confirmation?

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

If you have the return option on the Ohm, why don't you try it. I know nothing about them, but the list is long for great speaker that work well near the wall.

 

 

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

I haven't heard the dancers but they were on my list. I have read every review about them and I was very impressed. 

this looks like a pretty cool monitor:

 

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

there are literally 2-3 posts every week in the speaker section asking for recommendation in the 2-3-4-5 grand range, with 100s of comments

grislybutter
3,566 posts
 

@twilightround

you are special :)

you can try Crutchfield and Amazon 60 days no cost about 8 great brands combined. I would say your room is OK but your listening position is definitely a little unusual.
Because of your space, culturally, I would say speakers from countries that have typically small apartments will be a better fit (NOT THE USA) because they have to solve the space problem. As I read on this forum: these effluent people build rooms for speakers, in Europe, people build speakers for (whatever) rooms. >> the Brits? the Austrians?
But of course that was a pretty stupid generalization. 

My space is worse than yours. You are not pursuing perfection, you are pursuing maximum joy and a lot of high quality speakers will get you there. It will be a great journey.

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