Upgradeitis

I had the same upgrade considerations:

1) KEF Blade Meta or KEF Reference 3 Meta

2) Vivid Kaya 45

3) Magico A3

4) Yamaha NS5000

I also upgraded from the CODA CSiB | CODA #8 | CODA #16

My DAC was a Lumin X1 but sold that to buy speakers and now use a Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More. Which has turned out to be my fav DAC.

I found the Magico A3 not as coherent as the KEF's, Vivid, and Yamaha. My fav was the Blade 2 and the Yamaha was a sleeper since i heard it in the worst possible demo room with Yamaha 5000 series gear. Given the circumstances I thought it could be a great speaker. 

The Vivid was really good but I was hard pressed to say it was much better than the cheaper KEF Reference 3. The Blade is at another level.

I decided to not get the Blade due to concerns about the traffic in the room where the Blades would reside (wife and dog, kid is behaved). I went with the Yamaha on a hunch. It turned out to be a very satisfying purchase. The Yamaha is incredibly coherent and musical. 

I thought no 2 channel speakers would be as good as my RAAL SR1a earphones with the VM-1a amp. The Yamaha NS5000 with the CODA #16 turned out to be better and my best system. I am OK with not getting the Blade though I think the Blade would be nice to get.

I also have a Magnepan LRS+ in my office, while not as good as the Yamaha or the RAAL, it is a very fine sounding speaker. 

Gotta love “the itch.”  What specific improvements are you looking for, what’s your budget, and are you looking for new or used?

@yyzsantabarbara 

I bet your wife would be glad to hear that she is not “behaved”.

The meta version would be a clear upgrade as would the blade meta.

Or maybe it’s more a different sound you seek as opposed to a clear upgrade?

Go to an audio show to see and hear before you buy.  Personally, I find very few that I would want after being a Magnepanar owner for 20+ years.