I would also recommend the Revel and Monitor Audio Silver mentioned above and would add Focal Chora new or Focal Aria second hand.
Please recommend speakers
I’m just starting my audiophile journey and want to make sure I pair the right equipment before going too far down the rabbit hole. I am coming into this as a complete newbie. I listen pretty much to everything but mostly pop, classical and jazz in a fairly large-ish lower level living room (maybe 20 x 20 feet square) and speakers sitting on bookshelves. I know they should be on stands or floor-mounted, but that doesn’t really work for me right now space-wise. So far I have Jamo 803 bookshelf speakers with newly purchased SMSL DA-9 amp and matching SMSL SU-9 DAC (previously was using an old NAD D 3020 V1 integrated amp with direct connection from iPad to internal DAC). Now I stream directly from an old iPhone/iPad via a USB camera adapter to the DAC which has balanced connections to the DA-9 amp. I pretty much stream music exclusively (currently on free trials with Tidal and Amazon HD). No other sources. No library to speak of. No headphones. The Jamos sound great to me, but I feel like I need something better to pair with the mid-fi DAC and AMP. So I’m looking for upgrade the Jamo 803s which were purchased on sale for $130. Looking to spend up to maybe $800 for a pair. Recommendations? Thanks in advance!
Edit: Here's what I'm considering so far. KEF350, Polk R200s, Audio Monitor Bronze. Thoughts on pros and cons? Anything else?
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And no matter what speakers you end up with....They won't be "perfect"....no speaker is. BUT , you can make it sound "perfect" to your ears with the best investment I've ever made in Hi- Fi....the Schiit audio LOKI mini+ for $149...a must have. I'm running one in a 10K system and it's beautiful to make your speakers sound exactly how you want them to sound without adding the normal EQ. distortion. |
+1 @buddyboy1 I’ve used the Loki to help tame some strange rooms. It’s a game changer. |
See if you can find any Monitor Audio Silver 100s on closeout. They are priced last I checked at $799.99 I actually picked up a closeout deal for $625+tax, ultimately sent them back because I preferred my Focal 807Ws for upper mids and highs but, the lows and lower mids were really nice and fuller than the Focals. The Silver 100s are very competent with music and I think even better for home theater. Focals even better for music and good enough for movies for me. A sub would really enhance the Focals. Silvers, you can get away without a sub...unless you like alot of low bass. If you can’t find the 100s new, maybe used but they won’t be much cheaper. Otherwise look at Focal Focal 807w/806w used, very hard to find. Lots of good budget deals out there too. However, the two I mentioned are easy to drive and sound fantastic IMO. Used options, there are alot of speakers, just research a bit. Figure out what you like, I prefer a more forward sounding speaker, detail, resolution, stage depth and instrument separation that results in the most natural sound I can get. Depends on your amp too. I use a Keces E40 with a Topping D70s resulting in enough warmth and smoothness I like. Some amps are too bright in the upper registers and too 2D sounding, that's why system matching is also important.
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