Do my ears deceive me??


     The money is in the bank, thinking of upgrading speakers, but everything I demo is no better or worse than what I have.   Willing to spend up to $6,000.      Upgraditis??   My main system is Mcintosh MX 134 that I bought in 2003, with a pair of Focal 836v's and a Parasound 5250  (250w/channel) amp I bought around 2012.   I either blew the tweeters or crossover on my 836's, so they are in for repair.   Since I've owned them for 10 years, I was considering new speakers.    The blades are way more than I would spend, but I also demoed the Kef R11s, Martin Logan xtf 200's, Mcintosh XR 100s, and B&W 703 S3.   

       None of them sounded better than what I'm hearing right now from my BP 2006s.    Would I really need to demo them in my room to make a fair comparison??  Or are speakers just not much better than they were 20 years ago?   I know I love detail, and tend to lean towards aluminum tweeters.  I pretty much only listen to classic rock and roll.   Of all I demoed, I really like the B&W 706s.   They sounded much brighter/cleaner than the others.   But they had the reciever set up so I couldn't adjust the treble/bass.  I love a V equalizer curve, and bump up the bass and treble a bit on my home/car systems.   Maybe I just have the good luck of prefering cheaper speakers.   

 

  

fenderu2

lemonhaze, I hear what you said. I know the room is 100% important. But I can’t get 3 or 4 subs in this room. It is a bedroom, and way too small. Unless I do Goldenear/Definitive with subs built in. I stil have to be able to walk around the room without hitting something. If I ever do a dedicated listening room, I would do all the above.

   On a side note, I picked up an Arcam avr-30 from best buy on closeout to demo for 14 days.  It sounds phenomenal, even on my old Definitive BP 2006 speakers.  I haven't even hooked up my parasound external amp or run dirac yet.   May try to do that on Wednesday.   I think it's a keeper but will keep playing with it.    As to speakers, I hope to get my focal 836s back in the next week or two.  Probably going to take some time (3 to 12 months) to buy new speakers now.   

Ok, understood.  Perhaps next time you could provide more info about your existing room, you will receive more to the point help. I thought you mentioned including a sub.

Just one sub will make a difference when space is limited and it does not need to be huge. SVS make a micro sub for small rooms but the design will not disappoint.

If a sub of any size is out of the question still attend to your room acoustics for the reasons mentioned in my previous post. Bass will appear as if by magic regardless of your final speaker choice.

Good luck.

I didn’t read every post but if no one else mentioned them, check out Volti Audio Razz.  Nice combo of kick a… dynamics , tone, image. Around $6K w/ many finish options 

@jonwolfpell  I'm completely smitten with my Razz. Spent all day yesterday with them, avoiding all the outdoor chores in the process. 

Hilarious! I really enjoy my Volti Rivals too! Very few (if any) speakers are as sensitive,  dynamic & live sounding along with tone, imaging & detail as both the speakers are in their respective price categories.