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Young audiophile metal head looking to level up speaker choice

Hello Audiogon,

I'm a pretty new to the world of audio and looking to make a signifiant upgrade from my first self purchased speaker, the Q Acoustics 3030i.  I was encouraged by an audiophile friend to join Audiogon and post a question regarding what speaker would be best.

I decided to pick up a much nicer amplifier last year, upgrading from a Cambridge AXR85 to a Rogue Sphinx V3. This 2024 I am wanting to make a similar upgrade to my speakers.  I wanted a more dynamic amplifier and found the Cambridge to smooth when combined with my Q Acoustics.

I have my own listening room but it's rather small 11ft x13ft.  I listen to mostly heavy metal/rock music at 70-85 decibels.   I have looked at been cross shopping the Buchart S400 mkII, Dynaudio Evoke 20, Zu DWX, Arendale 1723 - but have also heard good things about vintage Usher speakers..

Thanks for your consideration and advice here.

cheers

killingforcompany

Showing 2 responses by j-wall

j-wall's avatar
j-wall
346 posts
 

@audphile1 you'd be surprised at how well recorded and pressed metal bands are. I highly encourage you to pick a few LP's up. I'd always heard that saying and I have a ton of metal and punk records that sound fantastic and are recorded, mastered and pressed very well. 

j-wall's avatar
j-wall
346 posts
 

I listen to primarily hardcore, punk and grind and my room is smaller than yours at 9x13. I’d recommend any room this small to load up on bass traps and at treat first reflections with anything you can afford. Bass bloat was a problem in my smaller room and after the $500 to fix it with bass traps the depth and detail of music really comes alive. Really, don’t skimp on this section. I made the same mistake as others and it’s definitely not the coolest or most fun upgrade, but the gains are worth it.

 

Speaker wise I ran Kef’s and was super happy with them. Detailed and fast. I guess it depends on the type of metal you listen to , but if it’s fast you want something that can keep up. I run focal now and am also really happy with the detail and speed. From personal experience you should be fine with any recommendations here. Good luck!

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