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2.5 Tower vs 2 Way Tower vs 2 Way Monitor

I want to upgrade my Dali Ikon 5 MK2 speakers with another set of small tower speakers.  I’ve had these speakers for 7 years and I want to experiment with some other speakers.  I would prefer to buy used speakers, but I would purchase new speakers if I found something that really appeals to me.  I need to find speakers that are less than 37 inches tall to fit with the décor in my living room.  I’ve been listening to and looking at some other similar 2 ½ way speakers from Monitor Audio, Dynaudio and some other companies.  I have also discovered some small 2 way tower speakers from Totem and Proac that are posted in various internet forums.

I live a large metropolitan area where there a several high end stereo stores within 60 miles.  None of them have any 2 way tower speakers to listen to.  Since two way tower speakers have very similar types of driver/crossover setups as monitor speakers, I am wondering what the differences in sound would be between 2 way tower speakers and similar 2 way monitor speakers on stands.  Would I just as well off getting some good monitor speakers and stands?  There certainly would be a lot more choices.  Your opinions would be appreciated.

FYI,  My setup is pretty simple.  It consists of Roon, a Matrix Audio streamer/DAC, and a Rotel 1570 integrated amplifier.  My room is pretty big, 21 ft wide by 24 feet deep with a cathedral ceiling.

flyfish77
flyfish77 OP
47 posts
 

I do have an NHT subwoofer and it helps a lot.  I have tried used my SVS Micro subwoofer in my system, which works well, too.  I'm looking for improving the speakers.

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soix
9,827 posts
 

You really need to share what improvements sound characteristics you’re looking for.  Without that, this is just a near useless crapshoot.  

erik_squires
16,444 posts
 

The thing about Dali's is that they are tuned for low level listening.  I'm not sure about every model but a lot of them have raised shelves at the mid-treble region.  If you go to another brand you may find this adjustment not to your liking.

One brand you might like though is some of the Dynaudio models.

flyfish77 OP
47 posts
 

My budget is up to $3000 but I don't feel compelled to spend the max.  My Dali speakers sound great with acoustic music and jazz, but not nearly as good with rock and blues music.  I would like to get more mid range crunch and and deeper sound stage.

I have listened to several 2 1/2 way speakers in stereo stores including some B&W and Dynaudio speakers and my impression was that they sounded pretty similar to my current setup.  In those same sessions, I have listened to some 2 way monitors including Revel M106, Dynaudio 40th Anniversary (great but over my budget), Triangle speakers and PSB speakers, and I liked those speakers more and there was better apparent crunch and deeper sound stage.  That one of the reasons why I would like to at least listen to a set of two way towers

This is the first time that I have really shopped for speakers.  I'm trying to figure out which speakers that I want to audition first.  Thanks for your help.

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