thorens 160 mkII & Mission Cyrus Two...speaker advice?

[nyvinyl]

I recently acquired a Thorens TT and second generation Cyrus Two. Looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers in the $300-$400 range that would match up well with them. I'm leaning towards a set of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s. Any advice for somebody who likes overall neutral sound with a taste in generally bass-heavy music?

[topspeed]

The Cyrus Two has a slightly rolled off top end that mates well with Farad Azima's speaker designs at the time, which tended to be somewhat agressive on the top. I know this because I'm listening to Mission 780 Argonauts as I type this :). Your best bet for neutrality would likely be with a speaker that is known to be tipped hot. Paradigm Monitors, Axiom, Infinity, and Klipsch come to mind. I've heard NHT's SB2's are pretty good, but I've only listened to the ST4's. Of course, there's certainly nothing wrong with those Wharfie's either.

The challenge is going to be the bass. You can get deep bass at this price, unfortunately it likely won't be very accurate. The flip side is you can get accurate bass, it just won't be very deep. Pick your poison.

Interesting integrated you've got there. The good thing is it's so small you can take it with you to audition speakers quite easily. Good luck in your search and I hope this helps.