Pondering a change after 30 odd years...


After 30 years I think it's time to move on. I have a set of Acoustat 1+1s that I've owned since new, paired with an RHLabs passive sub. It's been a great combination and still sounds pretty nice but it's all long in the tooth. Sooner or later a panel will quit then I'm dead in the water. I love the soundstage with it's "fullsized" presentation even if it's a PITA to get them dialed in just so. Maybe I'm just getting restless! I've heard many "box" speakers but damn no matter the price point it seems I can hear the "box". Granted I haven't listened to some of the big $$ stuff like Wilson but that's way outside my budget anyways. LOL! I'm wondering how some of the smaller "monitors" on stands sound? One thing I'm thinking I'd miss is the vertical part of my large soundstage. I've read about the Golden Ear line which get decent reviews. Or should I just stick with a panel of some sort, like Maggies? I've about 110 watts/side of tube power to work with. As for budget, I'm thinking somewhere in the $5-7.5K range. I'm listening to a lot of jazz these days with a dash of classical. But I'd hate to think my old rock vinyl wouldn't be welcome anymore. I know this is all pretty vague but hoping to get a nice discussion with things to think about versus "buy this" sorts of recommendations. AdThanksVance!
128x128musicfan2349
I am much like you; I had some fabulous, at least they were in their day, tower speakers from the 70's which I purchased while in college and working as a campus 'rep' for an audio retailer in the Boston area.  They cost me dearly in the day.   They were finally killed by a lightning strike which took out my entire system and I almost died with it as my beloved vintage, walnut speakers were gone.
I ended up visiting a high end audio retailer who had multiple floor levels of systems set up with dozens of very cool speakers, some which were extremely expensive.  I spent an entire day at this store, starting with the lower end stuff working my way up to the extreme and with each change, I could hear in real time the subtle and not so subtle differences.  I finally decided that the Bryston Middle T speakers which were around $5K were by far the best bang for the buck.  These speakers were 95% of the best ones he had and twice as good as any of the lesser ones on hand.  The sales guy smiled and said that he didn't really want to push me in any direction, but after I voiced my opinion he said he agreed and the Bryston's were among his most favored speakers in the store.  They let me take them home for a demo and I had them for around a month.  I just fell in love with this speaker..... fast forward>  I was so impressed with them that I ended up the phone for quite a long time with James Tanner at Bryston who was the guy behind their speaker project.  I asked him what the Model T would do in my situation and he said it is very similar to the Middle T only a major does of steroids have been injected.   
That was it, I had to have those and I ended up with the highest level of Model T which is a triple input fully active ready speaker, only I am using the Bryston PX-1 external crossovers which are beasts!   These are full mil spec construction internally with air core massive inductors, super duty PC boards and massive components all designed to be used with the Monster Bryston 28B3 monoblocks which are 1800 watts per channel at 4 ohms.  My Model T's in Santose Rosewood are around $13K for the pair and if you can afford that budget, I would order them!   They come with a 20 year warranty from Bryston.   If that is out of budget, I would look at some of the amazing speakers at Axiom Audio in Ontario.  They make amazing stuff too and in fact Axiom is the partner with Bryston; they build all of Bryston's speakers.  The main differences are the woofer drivers of all of Bryston's big floor towers use 8 inch woofer drivers and Axioms are 6.5 inch.  If you don't have a monster listening space, you probably don't need the 8 inch triple woofers like my Model T's.  Also if you get anything from Axiom, they are sold direct to the end user from the manufacturer which eliminates a dealer mark up and you get a 30 day trial period; if you don't like what you ordered, they will even pay the return shipping!   That is a a great opportunity in my opinion.
Anyway, that is my input for you to consider.
A long time ago in a far distant galaxy I replaced 4 Fisher XP7 speakers and a mid level Marantz integrated (PM500 I think, I was long ago) with a pair of Acoustat 1100's and a Sumo Andromeda 2 amp..  Our first job after room placement was to re-pack the woofer boxes to tighten up the base.  Then a bit of attention to room acoustics, cables and the like.  They were great and could play loud enough to make your rock and roll ears bleed.  Along the way I about 15 years ago I found another Sumo 2 digits away in serial number, built same day, same parts bins and now bi-amp, one amp a side, one channel to the woofer and the other to the panel.  MOSFET amps and Sumos have a synergistic love affair going on when cabled right.
I audition components from time to tie...  tube amps, different pre-amps, CD players, from my Audio Research LS 2B MKII (remote) and Sony XA 5400 ES, the pre is same time period of the same time period as the Acoustats, now undressed, the CD newer but still quite old in the digital world.  The problem is everything I listen to in a system under about $175K or more sounds like garbage.  You may be able to pry those Acoustats out of my hands but not while I'm still living.  As far as I know there is a guy in Fort Lauderdale who still repairs and does mods to them.  Mine are not going anywhere while still working.
Agree with @pinwa & @rodman99999 on the Spatial Audio Lab line of speakers. Here’s a couple of links the are straight forward review of the Sapphire M3s .

https://www.spatialaudio.us/  Product site.
https://youtu.be/YHv9wBB3bjw    Review
https://youtu.be/pbH9wWr-Xrw  Sound clips with commentary. Yes I know, can’t expect any serious listening on YouTube sound. Just thought it would help get you acquainted with the speakers.


no since in a change  You can't hear anyway   Don't talk this the wrong way  

 
The engineers at Tannoy left to form a new company, Fyne Audio. They are taking the Tannoy sound to the next level; from low cost to high, an impressive new line up.