Is it worth it?


I'll make this as brief as I can. I have a 15K front end, Audio Research, Theta, VPI etc. Retired to a small house, gave up my Von Schweikert 4.5s and listening room as part of the compromise my wife and I made. My room now is so small I need a monitor to try to get something I can live with with the quality of sound I'm use to. Nothing in this small town to hear, so can anyone suggest an alternative small speaker with state of the art sound? Envolving yet revealing. Thinking of Revel, Tyler, Totem but don't want to spend that kind of money if a lower cost speaker would come close, don't forget the room is the limiting factor. Help, before I throw in the towel!
jbelley3d7c
P.S.there is that new flor standing $2K Thiel if you like things on the bright side.
Another speaker is the new small ATC (whatever it's called). I heard it recently & quite liked it. If you listen to classical & jazz, you can consider small S-F's as suggested...
with yr superb front end & depending upon amp, you might even consider used upscale S-F. Excellent speakers, & small. The smaller A-Physics (Step, etc) need a sub to reproduce correctly -- maybe difficult to fit it all in yr room? Good luck.
I found that the Dynaudio Contour 1.3 SE is very satisfying and very easy to set up. They have the best midrange integration that I have ever heard. And those special tweeters created especially this speaker they are so smooth and clean. I cannot recommend them enough. I was planning on buying the Contour 3.3 or the Confidence 3.
But the 1.3 Se was just too smooth and musical. The low bass is obviously not there but it does have a lot of bass for it's size and the bass that it does have is extremely satisfying and detailed. I purchased a Velodyne HGS-15 to give it the punch for rock and high energy jazz and classical but I prefer to listen to everything else without the sub. The Velodyne sub is very good but it is just not up to the quality of the seamless 1.3's. I would have been better off buying the 12 inch HGS but for the music that I use the sub for it isn't that big of a deal. I have a very large room and I am still very satisfied. I found my set at an audio shop in New York for 2,700 including tax, stands and shipping. They were in new condition. For about half of that you could probably find the 1.3 MkII and still get a very good setup. The only speaker that I would consider to replace these is the new Dynaudio Contour Special 25 which is a new version larger version of the SE series. Dyn puts every possible trick and tweek in these special version and they make and design and complete the entire speaker. I am kind of infatuated with them. If you are partial to the B&W type sound there is a new Signature 805 that comes in red bird's eye maple that are quite good. Not as good as the Dyn's but good if you are into that speaker line.
While the little Legend two way monitors sound very nice, I just have a hard time recommending any small speaker with a very limited quantity of inexpensive parts / drivers that retail for $4500 or so. If you can find a used pair at a good price, they will not dissapoint. Sean
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If you liked the expansive soundstage of the Von Schweikerts, with space tight you might want to check out those new Maggies which mount to the wall and swing out of the way when not in use. If you don't like the Maggie sound, I might suggest either the Audio Physics, which are optimized for nearfield listening, or the Josephs, whose infinite-slope crossover design should cause minimal lobing anomolies in a close room. And some acoustic treatment is probably a must.