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Speaker Pairing - First Watt F8

Entering into 2024 with a mid-term (12 month ) plan to add a set of new speakers to my system.  I have the time to do the research and as geography permits to listen to a narrowed down list of choices - would like to consider three finalists.  

My system consists of the First Watt F8, Modwright LS 100 preamp, Aurender N200, Schitt Yggy LIM, ClearAudio Concept with MCRU power supply & AT- ART9XI cartridge and Modwright PH 9.0 phono stage.  Speakers are the Zu DW6 Supreme.  I plan on repurposing these speakers to a separate system.  I find the Zu's to be easy to listen to and a sound that I would describe as warm, clean and able to punch.  I would like to take it up a notch and have a more detailed speaker thats in line with my other components.  

Listen to mainly jazz, female vocals ( think Melody Gardot, Madeline Peyroux, etc), R&B and Indie. Large room thats a combination great room/ kitchen/bar  thats 23' by 27' with 10 ft ceilings. Furniture, rugs, island etc with the speakers on a back wall and 12' apart.  

In an article by Herb Reichert in Stereophile, Herb asked Nelson Pass what speakers could most effectively be driven by the F8.  Nelson goes on to say the F8 excels with efficient speakers ( 90 db & above ) that have good dynamics and an impedance above 8 ohms.  The article also has Herb stating that in his experience choosing a speaker with high impedance and a benign phase characteristic is more important than high sensitivity.   Maybe someone can help me out with what is meant by "benign phase characteristic" ? 

Lastly, budget is in the neighborhood of $7.5K and certainly would entertain lightly used preowned speakers.  On my beginning list to further research at this time are the Zu Soul 6, Living Voice Avatar 4, Devore O 93 and Volti Razz.  

Net is that I would really appreciate your thoughts on the above.  Thanks in advance!  

norust
perkadin's avatar
perkadin
281 posts
 

Guttenberg uses an F7 with Cornwall IVs and has had some Devore Speakers in his system. Id go Cornwall, but if sticking within the three mentioned, I’d vote Volti. The Devore might also be a nice fit but you’ve got a really room to fill, and I think that would struggle a bit. Same with the Living Voice, they are both significantly less sensitive then the horn designs.

norust OP
42 posts
 

My "List" is totally open - I just mentioned three that I was somewhat familiar with at this time.  

fatdaddy2
368 posts
 

+1 Klipsch Heritage

mrclick123
19 posts
 

I would think Cornwall IV’s. As I’m reading your post I’m checking off boxes with each sentence. I’ve had very good results with lower power Pass amp, XA25 and Cornwall’s I think they are a fantastic combination, so much so I was thinking of getting an F8 myself as I regrettably let my XA25 go a couple years ago. 

rmdmoore
148 posts
 

I think it depends a lot on what you're looking for in the sound characteristics and what you're listening patterns are. My experience is that horns, like Klipsch, can sound amazing and have a very wide sweet spot but that they don't image as well as a standard driver speaker. The "liveness" is very appealing and fun to listen to. I have a dream of a second syst that's SET and horns. For me though, I love a detailed soundstage and while I definitely lean musical in sound, I also like a fair bit of detail. For all these reasons I'm not a horn guy but then that leaves you in a difficult space because you have quite a room to fill. I know the Devore's are definitely designed to run with low wattage but I'm not sure you'll fill that giant room. 

I'd encourage you to take a different approach. I always learned that you build a system around the speakers. It's clear that you love your first watt amp but if argue what you love is it with your current Zu speakers. If you want to meaningfully upgrade your system find the pairing speakers you absolutely love and then go from there. Don't limit yourself to what you can drive with your first watt. If needed, sell that too and get something that can drive the speakers you love. 

I have Vandersteen Quatros. I heard them and fell in love with them. Over the 8 or so years I've had them I've rebuilt my entire system around them. Every time I make an upgrade I just hear more of what I love about my speakers. I'm aware Im not answering your question, just providing an alternate approach. 

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