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DGillies
03-15-2005, 06:03 PM
Hi all, I am seeking some opinions and ideas for a speaker upgrade. I listen to everything from Jazz to Rock/pop and some Dance/House music, not much Classical at this point but it is growing on me. I am a two channel only person and have no plans to venture into home theatre so I don't need a speaker for dual purposes. Because of my musical tastes I feel that I will be better served by a floorstander over a stand mounted design - just because most floorstanders dig a little deeper in the bass.

I am looking to spend AUD$4000-$5000, which equates to something around US$2500 +/- a few hundred although some models seem to be grossly overpriced in Australia.

I have listened to Monitor Audio GR20's (AUD$5400), Energy Veritas 2.3i's ($6000 - one of the overpriced imports) and Dynaudio Audience 82 and 72SE (both $4500). Of these the Dynaudio 82's have impressed me the most. The 72SE seems to be trying too hard to sound like a bigger speaker, the Energy's were nice but a little too laid back, and the Monitor Audio's were great but not THAT great and seemed to lack a bit of bass extension.

I am toying with the idea of Hybrid Ribbon's or Electrostatics - Aussie made Ambience or Martin Logan's Clarity model. The speakers will be housed in a medium to large room with carpet floors and 8.5 foot ceilings. My current system is as follows:
Rotel RC972 pre and RB1070 power amp (130W/ch)
Marantz CD17KI Signature CD player
Denon TU260L tuner
Krix Lyrix speakers
TMC White label IC's and Gold Reference speaker cable

The amps will be the next upgrade, probably to the Odyssey Audio combo, but not for a while yet. Any opinions on the list or any other ideas will be greatly appreciated.

topspeed
03-16-2005, 11:58 AM
Outside of what you've heard and mentioned, the usual suspects come to mind: B&W 704, Paradigm Studio 100 v3, JM Lab Cobalt S, DefTech, Spendor, Magnepan, Vandersteen, Thiel, etc. I really like the Von Schweikert VR2 or, if you don't mind used, you can probably pick up a used pair of VR4jr's around that price range. The Jr's are pretty amazing but in the end, it really just comes down to what sounds best to you. You have a veritable cornucopia of choices at this price point so my suggestion is to listen to everything you can find. I like that you're considering panels and hybrids as well, don't forget to throw in acoustic suspension, bass reflex, time aligned, phase aligned, and transmission line styles as well. There are a lot of theories as to what is best and only you can decide what works for you.

As for your amp "upgrade," I'm just curious how you choose Odyssey? I'm guessing you really like a forward, analytical presentation that leans to the cold side of neutral, which is fine. Personally, I doubt it will be better than your Rotel (no slouch btw). I've found the Rotels to be more neutral, but to each their own.

paul_pci
03-16-2005, 08:01 PM
I love the Dynaudio, but I would also mention that Boston Acoustics make a good musical floorstander. Can't recall the model numberr, but it was $1500/pair. Give it a listen if you can. Have you heard Vienna Acoustics? I listened to their lower end bookshelf model and really liked what I heard. I could only hope/assume their higher end models are that much better.