[Rednamalas1]

hey guys, I'm looking for good pair of floorstanders, as I'm moving more towards speakers than headphones.

I currently have:

JA Michell Gyro SE + Rega RB300 tonearm + Ortofon Rhondo Bronze + Cambridge Audio azur 640p (ordered bottlehead Eros phono to replace 640p)

Apogee duet

Conrad Johnson PV-5

Audio Research VS55 (on loan currently)

Quad 12L



I mostly listen to classic rock, prog rock, as well as occasional classical.

I would prefer slight midrange emphasis, rather than recession, and I don't mind good amount of bass with control.

I'm not afraid of used gear, and I prefer tubbes for amping.

I was thinking of melody I2a3 -> Triangle celius esws, as I heard great things about that combo.

As for the budget, I was thinking around 3K - 4K for amp and speakers.

thanks for the help!

 

[spacemanspliff]

Usher Tiny Dancer? Pretty sweet sounding to me. I heard them with a tube amp but forget which sorry.

Usher Audio > Dancer Series Loudspeaker > Be-718

Erm. Not floorstanders though. Let me think about that.

Strata Mini. Nice speaker mate. My little old 550MkIIs are amazing and the strata kills them for music.

http://av123.com/component/page,shop...art/Itemid,37/

 

[gotchaforce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey guys, I'm looking for good pair of floorstanders, as I'm moving more towards speakers than headphones. I currently have: JA Michell Gyro SE + Rega RB300 tonearm + Ortofon Rhondo Bronze + Cambridge Audio azur 640p (ordered bottlehead Eros phono to replace 640p) Apogee duet Conrad Johnson PV-5 Audio Research VS55 (on loan currently) Quad 12L I mostly listen to classic rock, prog rock, as well as occasional classical. I would prefer slight midrange emphasis, rather than recession, and I don't mind good amount of bass with control. I'm not afraid of used gear, and I prefer tubbes for amping. I was thinking of melody I2a3 -> Triangle celius esws, as I heard great things about that combo. As for the budget, I was thinking around 3K - 4K for amp and speakers. thanks for the help!

As someone who has blind bought $4500 msrp speakers online i recommend you audition whatevers near you, and buy from that. I wish i had auditioned my speakers because i would have gone with something else (and selling isnt really an option for me right now...)

good companies are dynaudio, dali, monitor audio, usher, mark and daniel, revel, to name a few.

 

[Rednamalas1]

^ I would love to as well, but I have no idea what brand I should look at (which you have pointed, thanks!). I will be trying to audition them in person, and I'll be auditioning pair of celius fairly soon.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Do check the local craigslist or equivalent for good used gear that you can go listen to. Ask if you can take them home to listen b/c every room has different issues. It might sound great where your house might suck the soul out of it. Take it slow.

 

[MatsudaMan]

I just bought a pair of Spendor S5e floorstanders - highly recommended all-rounders in the hi-fi world (Classics!) - for under a grand in mint condition. They are wonderful speakers for all genres. I would check out audiogon for a used pair. I think there's a pair currently up for 900.

Just know that they do crave power. I have a 100watt integrated with plenty of power reserves and the speakers still want more.

AS for the amp, I would get a Musical Fidelity A5.5 or A3.5 - pair really well with Spendor. Either that or an Atoll in200 - kind of hard to find but really worth it. As a powerful presentation with a lush almost tubey sound, thanks to it's dual MOSFET design.

Good luck!

 

[NightOwl]

I'm assuming that you don't like Magneplanars.

Speakers:

Gallo Reference 3.1 (lots of reviews available)
Focal-JM Lab Electra 926 (really well-balanced, almost analytical, but not cold)
Meadowlark Kestrel 2 (huge sound for the size, discontinued, would have to buy used)
PSB Stratus Goldi (my favourite under $1,000. speaker. Punches well above its weight.)

I like the Conrad-Johnson PV5 preamp. Not the nth for detail or bass, but very musical with a really nice mid-range.
The only other tube preamp I've heard that I like, for a reasonable price, is a used Audible Illusions Modulus 3A.
Maybe the Rogue Audio preamps, I haven't heard them, but their amps are very good.

Amps:

Quicksilver V4 Mono Blocks (you'd have to buy them used)
Counterpoint SA-220 (if you can find one, long discontinued, can really be tweaked and upgraded)
Rogue Audio M150 monoblocks (Canadian, but you would have to buy used)
Rogue Audio Atlas (about equal to the Audio Research VS55, not as bassy but with a more forward and clearer midrange. My budget chioice)

I've never heard the Triangles or the Melody. The Melody looks like a fantastic integrated but is the output enough?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've enjoyed the mids and bass on the ProAc Response 2.5 clones that I built. If you'd consider building a pair, I put them together for a little over $1,000. You don't have to build the cabinets, either. I was pinched for time and paid a guy about $200 to build them for me. It was worth it. I just built the crossovers (easy), screwed the drivers in place and finished them.

Used ProAcs usually run $2,000-$2,500 a pair if you wanted to go that route. I think the Stereophile review of them is spot on - these are wonderful speakers.

I run them with a Conrad-Jonson MV52 which gives them wonderfully sweet mids, though they're a little rounded off at the ends. Still, it's a luscious, wonderful sound. I think I paid about $700 for the MV52, but I'd recommend any of the used Conrad-Johnson power amps. You already have the PV5 (I run a PV2), so you'd find a good match with one of their amps. Maybe even pick up a Premier if you save a few dollars on the speakers.

 

[Rednamalas1]

Hmmmm I can't DIY a light switch even if my life depended on it.
More research is needed I guess.

I tried out celious esws, and they sound absolutely marvelous, Very rich sound, without being congested at all. Lovely soundstage as well.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmmm I can't DIY a light switch even if my life depended on it. More research is needed I guess. I tried out celious esws, and they sound absolutely marvelous, Very rich sound, without being congested at all. Lovely sound stage as well.

There you go. Try a few others locally though. It will give you a benchmark to judge others by. I would not buy anything I have not heard when the $$ amount is above $1000. Still, those are nice speakers by all accounts. Might be the ones for you. Was the room of similar size to yours? Was it treated at all?

 

[Rednamalas1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif There you go. Try a few others locally though. It will give you a benchmark to judge others by. I would not buy anything I have not heard when the $$ amount is above $1000. Still, those are nice speakers by all accounts. Might be the ones for you. Was the room of similar size to yours? Was it treated at all?

room was slightly smaller than mine, without any treatment.
I have a rather large room - about 6metres by 10 meters without too much furniture in the way.
I had a good 40 minute listen, and I liked what I heard - I'll use that as the benchmark and try other speakers available.

 

[dura]

Think about the room and synergy between amp and speaker; f.i. I've got dynaudiospeakers, very nice but insensitive so they need a really powerful amp to show their best.
OTOH, If you prefer a less powerful valve amp, make sure you get pretty sensitive speakers.

 

[Lenni]

if I had the cash that's what I'd get:

Moon i-1 integrated amplifier by Simaudio

Rainmaker loudspeaker by Totem Acoustic

add Stands + Cables

 

[wuwhere]

Vandersteen 2CEs are very good speakers.

 

[Rednamalas1]

I'll go to the showroom today and check out few of the usual suspects - B&W, Dynaudio, Totem, Monitor audio, etc.
I have heard Usher tiny Dacer before, and I liked them a lot, but unfortunately I'm looking for floorstanders -and usher's floorstanders are quite expensive (in dancer series anyways)

@Nightowl: yup, melody I2A3 will drive those fine, Triangles are quite sensitive and doesn't need too much power.

6moons audio reviews: Melody I2A3

It's a sexy amp not only on the outside, but inside as well: