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Help a confused newbie build his first setup...

Hello everyone,

After saving my pennies for the last few years, I have finally saved up the money to buy some speakers but to be honest I am confused with two thing and would love everyones opinion. First off, what would be a better bang for the buck, floor standers or monitors?. I am a musician by trade with good ears that listens to everything and love to hear things as truthfully as possible. To me accuracy, neutrality, musicality, and soundstage are very important. For instance, I am not concern about bloated, unrealistic bass, since I know exactly how a bass should sound like. I need a speaker that can handle different situation effectively. Additionally, my living room is connected to a dinning room and kitchen. The living room itself is 20 X 12 with 10 foot high ceiling.

My other concern is how much do I need to spend. Right now all I have is a dac going going to airport express. I was thinking of buying a good speaker first then buying a fairly cheap amp and upgrade later. Is that the right way to go about it? I do know I want to use SS amp for this setup since it is overall easier for me. All this being said, I have collected $1000 so far but am not sure if this would be enough to get a good setup. I do not mind saving up if I have to.

What would be your ideal setup for the following price points (amp included if possible).

$1000

$2000

$3000

Thank you in advance and let me know if you would like more information.
aldres
weseixas
519 posts
 
Here let me help ..

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrplan&1295662292&/Magneplanar-mg-iiia

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrplan&1298640418

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrplan&1296264201&/Acoustat-1+1

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298132185&/Acoustat-2+2

You can use the xtra money you saved for a subwoofer if necessary, i would suggest you put it towards a good amplifier, you can find a Thresholds S200 or S300 for the balanced left over for eg.

Stay away from cheap small box speakers the sound will drive you nuts overtime. Ohh ! in case you lost some appendages and need WAF speakers ..

2nd tier choice :

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298414736&/KEF-Model-105 *

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298409151&/ERA-Design-10-Rosewood

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ddspkrfull&1296876489&demo&3&4&

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298577354&/PSB-Image-T5

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1297961635&/Thiel-CS-2.2

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298409142&/Rega-R-5

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298387606&/Quad-21L

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1298311091&/Snell-Acoustics-Type-CV *

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1297784614&/KEF-105

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1297601531&/Role-Audio-Enterprise-black-/

Of course no affiliation, Yaddy , Yadda... Better to start with the panel speakers, the maggies will have more bass than the acoustats, Both will eventually need subwoofers IMO , but closer to sounding like real music at anything near this price point.

Happy hunting .....
coltrane1's avatar
coltrane1
799 posts
 
Ojgalli, way to really put it out there. Your an audiophile talkin' my kinda talk!
jult52
155 posts
 
Aldres - You need to check out Magnepan MMGs. New at $600 and can usually be found here at $400 in good condition. An amazing speaker and widely thought to present unbelievable value at this price.

It requires a good set of upstream components so if you go that route, you can put together a really good system for about $2000, including separate pre and power amps and some upgraded cables. The MMG will be difficult to preview in person but do some research. I am an ex-musician and ordered MMGs based on web reviews and as a result was unprepared for just how good they are.
aldres OP
4 posts
 
Wow thanks for the replies. Actually, considering I do leave in NYC space is an issue to some extent. I was generally looking for something that was small but produced big sound. I know for a fact, the magnepan, although wonderful, would not go well with the wife.

Another factor I just thought about was having a speaker that could produce good sound throughout the house instead of getting good sound from a small sweet spot.

Did all that make sense?
weseixas
519 posts
 
Only a planar type speaker will do that .....
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