Looking for speaker recommendations that I can purchase on Amazon.com
Budget: under US$5000 and would prefer a price point of less than $3000/pair. The most expensive speakers I have owned so far are Polk RTi A7's, so this will be a big jump for me.
Purpose: music
Room: I tend to move every few years, so I don't want speakers that
will work best only with very specific room conditions. Currently, I
will be using these in a medium size room of about 22 feet x 18 feet.
The room has carpet and window treatments.
Music sources: CD's,
lossless music files stored on computer and MP3's when that's all I have
available. I don't ahve any SACD's yet, but I plan on purchasing more
high quality music once I have this system set up.
Music styles: acoustic, Indian classical (sitar, srangi, flute), alternative rock (Portugal. The Man, Sleeping with Sirens, etc.), older rock (e.g., Rush).
The speakers should sound good playing the Tanpura (aka Tambura). It is a
classical Indian accompaniment instrument in the "drone" category. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanpura) Example of sound here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7tlqXix_eo With bad equipment that sound is fatiguing to me. Live it is beautiful and relaxing. Hopefully I can find speakers that will do it justice.
Personal Preferences: I am looking for non-fatiguing, warm, musical qualities. In another discussion topic here on this forum, @mtrot and I agreed about "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals" as goals.
Amplifier: Yamaha P5000S
DAC: to be determined, but probably something like the Teac NT-503
Finally, the speakers of choice must be sold on Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com (or possibly some other similar retail website). I have personal reasons for this limitation. It isn't always true that I will need to buy all my speakers or audio gear from one of these sites, but for the moment, it is a requirement. Please don't recommend anything that isn't available on one of these sites. Thanks.
@leemaze First I purchased the KEF LS50 speakers from Amazon. I also bought a pair of Magnepan 1.7i speakers through a local dealer. I still had my original speakers, the Polk RTi A7.
After breaking in all the speakers and doing a number of listening tests, I discovered that the Polk speakers have really good sound in comparison to other well-regarded speakers.
I love the Magnepan speakers. However, the Polk speakers sound extremely good too.
Therefore, I returned the KEF LS50 and purchased a pair of Polk RTi A9 speakers that were deeply discounted. These are a larger version of the A7. I have the A9's paired with a pair of SVS PC-2000 subwoofers. It is a great setup in my opinion. Not only do I enjoy it, I get a lot of comments from other people about how good it sounds.
Now I have the Maggies at home and I have the A9's and SVS subwoofers in my office.
Before any recommendations, I would strongly suggest you not to take any metal tweeters design speakers like Klipsch or Focal, or you may need very great electronic to tame it properly, personally I've owned few speakers include Klipsch RP-160M, Elac B6, Q Acoustics 3020, Wharfedale Diamond series, etc. These speakers is good though not great enough for me.
I would recommend the following for wide range of music: Wharfedale Denton (walnut got the heritage classic look, go for it) Class D Audio SDS-470C with upgrade power supply (I’ve just recently got this power amp, I’m shock Denton can be driven to be so powerful and dynamic) Fostex HP-A3 DAC/preamp (It’s one of my favourite DAC/preamp)
For a huge collection of music, this setup give me almost no weak point to comment.
I really dig the Focal Aria 936 speaker that falls within this price range and, which is on Amazon. If you can, i would try to find a local dealer that carries Focal (or any other speaker you’re interested in, as others have suggested) and give them a listen. Of course you’ll never know until it’s paired with your equipment and room.
The previous poster posted the a link to them on Amazon.
If it has not been suggested, check out NHT speakers at Amazon. I’ve tried different brands but always come back to the NHT. They just sound right after all the frustrating of trying others.
I like these speakers; Focal Electra 1038Be Magnepan 1.7i and 3.7i Vandersteen 2CE Sig II
Of these just the Focal is on your list. I understand you only want suggestions for BestBuy and Amazon. I also understand why so many have wanted to suggest you expand your possibilities beyond those two places. You can FIND hi-fi speakers on amazon but it is much harder. Speakers are very subjective, one really has to hear for themselves to make a decision. Good luck.
@courant "Why not simply call them and ask for assistance on what pair of speakers to get?"
Amazon's customer service reps have little to no knowledge of audio products (or any product-specific knowledge at all) in my experience.
However, many of the independent third party sellers on the Amazon marketplace do have customer service phone numbers. Some of these sellers are reputable brick and mortar audio stores, and they do have expert product knowledge. I have been in touch with several such sellers on Amazon. But I'm trying to educate myself by reading the forums too.
I have already learned a lot, but I have much more to learn.
>
Finally, the speakers of choice must be sold on Amazon.com...
I'm surprised no one has suggested this:
Amazon Customer Service Phone Number is 1-888-280-4331.
Why not simply call them and ask for assistance on what pair of speakers to get?
Personally, given the size of your room and the amount of juice your Yammy kicks-out, I'd recommend getting a single
Klipsch Klipschorn
from Amazon, and mono-wiring it PA "auditorium style". Your Yammy has a stereo to mono bridge, so going mono is a piece of cake.
Another thing to consider is to buy your speakers at REI. That way, when you move, you simply: Take the speakers back to REI; Say you don't like them; And ask for a Store Credit. Then, once you've arrived at your new locale, you use your store credit to re-buy the speakers.
EEEngine (Energy Efficient Engine) Technology: EEEngine (Energy
Efficient Engine) Technology makes more efficient use of AC power by reducing
power consumption and heat generation without sacrificing output power or sound
quality. When power requirements are low, the system uses a highly efficient
current buffer to transparently switch input power on and off as needed. As
power requirements increase, an independently responding auxiliary power line
supplies additional power as required. Output isn't compromised because the
auxiliary power line is driven by the power supply voltage which maintains
maximum output to the speaker load.
This makes it perfectly clear: you want a euphonic system, including even order harmonic distortion. That is up to you. Conversely, I don’t want any distortion, just a straight wire with gain. I don’t want electronics to have a sound of their own. My idea of musicality is to leave the music as much as possible as it is. That is my very personal preference. As for the Yamaha, it measures very well (just read the test), but it also sounds very clean and neutral. And it is not class D but A/B. My son’s P2500S and the tested P3500S have traditional power supplies, the bigger P5000S has a switched mode power supply.
" lou_setriodes, You are I think too fast in your scepticism about that Yamaha amplifier. Did you actually read the review of the Yamaha P3500S that I linked to, and the very detailed measurements that the reviewer published? These days I at least rarely see such factual detail in a review. It is a first rate amplifier and fully up to high hifi standards. I therefore bought the smaller P2500S for my son, and I can only confirm that amplifier’s sonic qualities."
No, I have not read the review and I’m not a meaurements guy whatsoever. I’ve heard things that measure horribly that sound amazing and vice versa. I’ve heard classic tube gear that measures horribly but is so sweet and euphonic that it was some of the best sounding gear I ever heard. Cut off in the lows and highs but that midrange was to die for and just so musical.
So I much prefer musicality over measurements. I’ve heard single ended gear that measures poorly but when you hear it, it just sounds so right. I’ll take that anyday over measurements on paper. It certainly is a benchmark to be looked at initially, but I let my ears decide.
You said: " The Yamaha AS2000 costs 3 times as much. I’m not sure it would give me a 3x better experience. And with a 30 day return policy, it would be hard to give it a 100 hr break-in and stay within that return window."
Reply: You leave the component on all the time, turn the speakers off, raise the volume a little and you have your 100 hour break in period done in just over 4 days.
You said: " My most challenging music, classical Indian music (such as sitar with a "drone" accompaniment instrument called a tanpura) sounds enjoyable. (It’s not as good a a live concert, but I don’t think I’ll get close to "live" until I can purchase some really high end speakers, a new subwoofer and optimize my listening room. Switching amps right now is not going to get me to "like live music", as I am sure everyone here will agree.)"
Reply: I disagree with your last sentence but whether you switch amps or not, the main point is to be open to suggestions, open to different gear and listening experiences. Yes, your room will make the biggest impact on the gear that you have and most people pay little attention to their listening room so that is very important. But if you’ve never heard tube gear than your last statement about "never going to like live music" is one based on inexperience and close mindedness. I’m assuming the Yamaha at 26 lbs is some kind of digital class D amp, and yes, they all sound pretty good; however, I have found that most of the digital amps are extremely clean sounding but can sound dry, that is why they are best mated up with a tube preamp. They need the added sweetness of tubes.
For lots of us, this is a journey and the fun of it is trying out different gear and getting different flavors of how things sound. And in all my years of this journey (35+ years), overwhelmingly, I have found that when I have tube gear, all is right in the world and when I have solid state gear, I always find myself wanting tube gear again. There is something just very right, very pleasing to my ears, the even order distortion that nothing but tube gear has that makes it just so right sounding. So I’m saying is just check it out, you might be very amazed with how different the experience is and how you have a preference for it as many people do. And if you do happen to listen to some tube gear, know that there are many different variations of tube gear as well. Each tube has a different sound and whether it’s Push pull, single ended triode, single ended pentode, or OTL all have a much different flavor as well. So many nuances, so many options - yes, but that’s where a forum like this helps. With tube gear, there is an emotional content to what you are hearing that I have rarely, if ever have achieved listening to SS gear and as a result, the guys producing good SS gear always try to make their stuff sound like tubes.
You said: "I am coming to realize that the biggest deficiency in my system is probably the subwoofer, which is too boomy. "
Reply: I doubt it highly, might be improper set up or placement. A lot of people listen with a subwoofer way too loud or for video enhancement. When set up correctly, you should not be able to detect where a subwoofer is placed and it just fills in the bottom end seamlessly without drawing attention to itself.
@mofojo I'm not entirely sure what you were trying to say. However, here is my actual experience with this Yamaha P5000S amp.
First, the problem that originally brought me here, harsh and fatiguing higher frequencies, was mostly cured by switching to this amp. It was the single biggest improvement I made. Changing speakers further improved that issue to the point where it is no longer a problem.
I'm not suggesting there is no room for further improvement -- indeed I am planning to purchase both a pair of floorstanding speakers and a new subwoofer. However, I came here a couple weeks ago with a problem. My music was hurting my ears! With the Yamaha amp, I do not currently have that problem. I'm enjoying my system now.
Furthermore, when I listen to music now, I have a sense of an expansive sound stage, I can easily make out each instrument, I can hear an impressive level of detail. I can turn the volume up and make it loud, and the quality does not degrade. Cymbals sound good, female voices sound good, bass guitars sound good, etc. My most challenging music, classical Indian music (such as sitar with a "drone" accompaniment instrument called a tanpura) sounds enjoyable. (It's not as good a a live concert, but I don't think I'll get close to "live" until I can purchase some really high end speakers, a new subwoofer and optimize my listening room. Switching amps right now is not going to get me to "like live music", as I am sure everyone here will agree.)
I am coming to realize that the biggest deficiency in my system is probably the subwoofer, which is too boomy.
With the range, dynamism, clarity and detail I hear, as well as lack of noise, I don't really see a need to spend energy trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. People here are quick to assume my Yamaha amp is a problem simply because of the "club" tag it carries.
@kalali said, "...polluting this site by providing misinformation based on the absence of actual experience."
I have no idea exactly what or who kalali was referring to, and I absolutely don't care because I have no interest in who said what. In spite of the harsh language, there is a point there. I do observe that there have been an overwhelming number of negative comments about this amp from people who have no actual experience with it. Do those comments "pollute" this site? I'll stay out of that debate.
In terms of my next steps, I am certainly not going to switch amps before I buy new speakers. Some of you can deride the Yamaha amp as much as you wish, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. New speakers are my next step.
If you can take the Yamaha anywhere to try out with different speakers and compare with an amp that is not made for a nightclub you may find that it will not make anything sound good. In other words whatever Speaker you get don’t base the sound off what you are hearing with a cheap class d amp.
Buy yourself the Yamaha AS2000 I listed earlier. If it doesn't smoke
the 5000 you have, just return it. But, give both at least 100 hours of
burn-in time...
I don't have any complaints with the Yamaha P5000S. I don't know if it will be the amp that suits all my music listening needs for the future, but for now, it's doing a good job. I think it was a good recommendation and I'm happy with it.
The Yamaha AS2000 costs 3 times as much. I'm not sure it would give me a 3x better experience. And with a 30 day return policy, it would be hard to give it a 100 hr break-in and stay within that return window.
Furthermore, my objective is not to buy anything and everything with the idea in mind that I can return it. I would prefer to buy stuff that I believe I'll end up keeping. Returns are a fall-back option only.
Anyway, my intent in this question was to select speakers that will work with my current Yamaha P5000S amp, and I'm still proceeding with that intention. I have a good list of speaker candidates.
Save your breathe guys. There's someone who's polluting this site by providing misinformation based on the absence of actual experience. If the criteria for picking gear was based only on measurements, then the only difference among all the different brands, models, etc., would've been the physical appearance, as long as they measured the same. Complete BS. Folks including myself come here for guidance and its the nonsense like this that makes you scratch your head....
OP, my suggestion to make your buying decisions based only on the input that is either based on actual experience or the ones that just intend to point you to information you might have missed about the gear you've selected. And good luck.
Listen, you're clearly an Amazon consumer so you know how it works. Buy yourself the Yamaha AS2000 I listed earlier. If it doesn't smoke the 5000 you have, just return it. But, give both at least 100 hours of burn-in time or you'll not hear the best of what they can produce. No less than Peter from PBN Audio has endorsed the AS2000, so buy with confidence if you also hear the difference. Or just go with Willemj, who is clearly a measurement expert.
@stereo5 The thread started off great and I received a lot of sincere and informative replies, all of which I appreciate.
Lately, there were some attempts to hijack the discussion, but that's just a fact of life of online discussions. Those things can be ignored.
What follows is a general reply to several questions I saw.
I feel like I have received sufficient information now. I have a nice list of candidate floorstanding speakers. I just need to process all the info for a week or two and have some email or phone discussions with the sellers I want to do business with, then I will make a decision and place my order.
I met (via email) a fantastic seller on Amazon today who runs a brick and mortar home electronics store on the West coast (USA) and has been in business for more than 100 years!
They have a 100% positive feedback rating on Amazon, are a Trusted Store at Shopping.com, a CNET certified reseller, etc. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. I can reach them by phone or email. And I can order through Amazon.
This is just one example of several sellers I like on Amazon's marketplace.
My final decision will be a confluence of the suggestions here, my reading of reviews of those products, and my discussions with the sellers I like on the Amazon marketplace. (I may also try to visit a Best Buy before making my final decisions, but so far these independent sellers on the Amazon marketplace are doing a great job of earning my business.)
I'm sure I will get criticized for not making my purchase decision based on listening to the speakers in a dealer's showroom, but that is probably not a practical / convenient option for me. (My closest Best Buy does not have a Magnolia showroom, for example.)
Furthermore, from what I have read, the room itself makes a lot of difference. It is possible that the speakers will not sound the same in the dealer showroom as in my listening room. Therefore, it is possible that I would want to return the speakers whether I listen first or not.
BTW, I am explicitly communicating with the online sellers and selecting only those who are OK with the small probability that I will want to return the speakers.
This was the conclusion of the test (if you don’t know French, the Audio Precision graphs should speak for themselves, link at the bottom):
CONCLUSIONS . La puissance annoncée est largement obtenue (370W Rms sans remontée de distorsion, pour 350W Rms annoncé) . Bande passante extra-large (ceux qui lui reprochent de manquer d’aigu, faudra m’expliquer...) . Distorsion infime à bas niveau, très faible jusque la limite de l’écrêtage . Pas de distorsion de croisement, toute petite remontée de distorsion dans la zone 0.5W - 8W Rms; pas mal vu le faible courant de repos de l’étage de sortie! . Un ampli que l’on peut utiliser en utilisation domestique comme en sono de qualité . Quant au prix... "honteusement bas" pour un appareil de ce niveau de perfs (400 euros chez Thomann...), de puissance et de protections.
Je suis content d’avoir acheté cet ampli et son grand frère P5000S pour mon système tri-amplifié, ce P3500S va donc rejoindre mon rack pour driver les médiums CMCD-JBL. Je suis convaincu, attachant une grande importance aux résultats de mesure. (Je suis électronicien de passion et de métier)
Petite anecdote je n’ai pas entendu le ventilo se déclencher pendant les phases ou je le faisais travailler à puissance max le temps de la FFT.. La résistance de puissance, elle commençait à sentir le chaud!
Que reste-t-il aux "classe A" ésotériques et infiniment plus chers? je ne rentrerai pas dans ce débat...
Oh please, regale us with your all-knowing test. This industry is rife with studies that tell us our hering is wrong, and I'm sure this one is irrefutable too. I'm squirming with anticipation.
Yes, of course you are, because you’ve compared it to a Sony receiver. My 1985 NAD receiver would be a big improvement over what you have. The key question is this -- how does it sound relative to a truly refined home audio amplifier? I challenge you this -- buy this Yamaha integrated on Amazon and compare it to what you have...
You were sold sold a bill of goods by Willemj who thinks "pro" audio gear measures the same as home audio gear so it’s the same but just a better value. PHOOEY!!! He admitted the 5000 uses a switch mode power supply, but unless implemented with higher end engineering and parts, a crap switch-mode power supply (as would certainly be used in a relatively cheap "pro" amp) will make a HUGE difference in the quality of the sound you hear. They use cheaper components in pro gear because they have very different goals than with home audio. Look at the 3500 you’re asking Willemj about because it has a better power supply. Yes it has a better power supply, but look at the capacitors, power supply, and other components the Yamaha AS2000 uses versus what’s used in the 5000 or even the 3500. There’s a reason there’s very little crossover between "pro" audio electronics and higher-end home audio equipment. Very few people here would recommend a dedicated "pro" amplifier over one manufactured for home audio use. They’re just two totally different use cases, so trying to buy an "audiophile" quality "pro" amp on the cheap is largely just a fallacy. Otherwise we’d all have "pro" amps, right??? Or are we all here just absolute idiots who like to pay more for absolutely nothing except nicer cosmetics? Ehem.
Take my challenge -- PLEASE. The Yamaha integrated I’m recommending is manufactured to a completely different standard on every level versus the 5000 you have (or even the 3500). Call Yamaha and I’m sure they’ll give you an exhaustive list of differences between the two and why they’re improvements for home use. Hey, if you can’t hear the difference, just return it! No harm done. But I seriously doubt that will be the case. Even the Polks will be good enough to show you the improvements. The KEFs will do even more so. Hey, what do you have to lose? Best of luck.
With all due respect here, troll or not, your wasting everyone's time here, including your own and I'll explain why in just a moment. I apologize in advance for the harsh way this must sound, but my comments are meant in a positive way so that you re-think what you are doing here.
1. You recently wrote, "With so many recommendations for the KEF LS50, it seems like I need to give these a try. I had my mind set on floorstanding speakers initially, but after reading all the recommendations for the LS50 here, I think I will give them a try first.
Even if I still end up buying floorstanding speakers for my music room, I can then put the LS50 in my smaller home theater room to replace my Polk RTi A3’s.
I will call a nearby BestBuy store before buying the LS50 on Amazon. "
So why not just buy them from Best Buy and support the local economy and the person whose time you just wasted? Instead, you're going to waste the salesman's time listening to them at his store and then buy them on Amazon. (and please don't insult my intelligence and tell me you said above that your just calling Best Buy and not going there to listen to them - then what's the point of calling them? Of course you're going to go there and listen to them, so let's be honest)
2. In reading through this thread, it's apparent that you've spent a great deal of time researching, reading reviews, and listening to everyone else's opinions except your own. Trust your own ears! They are no better or worse than a reviewers. A reviewer might say one thing that sounds very encouraging but when you hear it, you may not like it. Listen more, read less.
3. And this should be #1 - Your using a frigging 500 wpc, 26 lb Yamaha amp that is designed for professional use in a night club, bar or gathering hall. Why? This website is primarily for home audio, not professional audio, and I'd bet 95% of us, myself included, know nothing about professional audio but can talk to you all day and night about home audio. I'll bet my old B&K EX442 at 200 wpc into 8, 360 into 4 and 75 amps would smoke that Yamaha for breakfast, lunch and dinner any day of the week. Why? Because I once heard it up against tube monoblocks from Paoli (a highly moded Dyna mkIII) and you virtually couldn't tell the difference.
4. 23' x 21' is a nice sized room, but how loud do you listen that you need 500 wpc? You would be really surprised to hear how loud 1 watt can sound with the right speakers. Get rid of that Yamaha and look for a tube amp because once you hear the warmth and sweetness of tubes, you'll never be truly happy listening to solid state, IMHO.
You'll need something of decent power in a tube amp, unless you go with a single ended amp and high efficiency speakers. If you've never heard a low powered SET amp with hi efficiency speakers, you are in for a treat and your journey will end there. I once heard a 3 wpc 2A3 amp with horn speakers completely fill up a 40' x 40' room that you were completely satisifed with the loudness of it.
Otherwise a push pull tube amp using KT88's or 6550's, possibly EL34's will get you where you need to be but I much prefer the SET sound to PP.
Go get the KEF's and see how it mates with the Yamaha for now and then consider upgrading the Yamaha which to me is the weak link here. Let us know what you think of the KEFs. Thanks for listening.
This post is loaded with assumptions.
1. You're assuming he'll call Best Buy to arrange an audition but will subsequently buy on Amazon.
Did you read his initial post? He intends to buy from one of these two stores. Maybe he simply wants to know if his local Best Buy has them in stock. Most Best Buys don't carry their Magnolia brands.
For most states, Amazon has begun charging sales tax, so there's no longer an advantage in that regard.
2. You're assuming his Yamaha amp is a weak link. I've compared the lower end Yamaha integrateds to some far more expensive amps and it trumped them in many areas. He prefers his amp to the A-S801, which happens to be competitive with $2K^amps IME. Have you heard his specific amp at length? Many would make similar assumptions about the performance of your B&K EX44, simply because it's old and has rather simple circuitry.
3. You're assuming he'd prefer tubes over SS. I own both and have heard various implementations of each. Yes, tubes have a unique sound, but many do not find them to be all-around better. Many prefer SS. Some (like myself), even prefer moderate power SS to high-power SS. I currently have one tube and two SS powered systems, each has its strengths.
I agree that he should ultimately decide using his own ears, but many do not live near any brick and mortar dealers, let alone one that carries tube gear. It's true that many B&Ms will ship cross-country, but I'd feel more guilty potentially wasting their time (with a return) than that of BB, who employs clueless kids at $11/hour. Kids who spend most of their time aimlessly wandering the store, or harassing patrons by hovering over them, with no useful knowledge to offer.
I don't agree that we should keep hounding him about his chosen retail outlets. He's clearly staunch in his decision to stick with those parameters and we should respect his choice. Amazon and BB (Magnolia) do sell some very respectable gear despite the limited options.
Among other options, I'm considering the Magnepan 3.7i speakers in the future and I spoke to a dealer today who told me this Yamaha amp would be a very good match for those speakers (or the 1.7i's). They have both Magnepan speakers in their showroom and they have lots of experience with Magnepans. This amp is definitely good with them.
Furthermore, I am very satisfied with this amp for my current speakers. So I consider that amp to have been a good recommendation and a timely purchase. It definitely increased my listening enjoyment. :-)
lou_setriodes, You are I think too fast in your scepticism about that Yamaha amplifier. Did you actually read the review of the Yamaha P3500S that I linked to, and the very detailed measurements that the reviewer published? These days I at least rarely see such factual detail in a review. It is a first rate amplifier and fully up to high hifi standards. I therefore bought the smaller P2500S for my son, and I can only confirm that amplifier's sonic qualities.
certainly agree to not take up anyone's time, either on phone, email or in person, if you have no intention of buying from them. unfortunately too, other places have much better prices on many of these recommended speakers
With all due respect here, troll or not, your wasting everyone's time here, including your own and I'll explain why in just a moment. I apologize in advance for the harsh way this must sound, but my comments are meant in a positive way so that you re-think what you are doing here.
1. You recently wrote, "With so many recommendations for the KEF LS50, it seems like I need to give these a try. I had my mind set on floorstanding speakers initially, but after reading all the recommendations for the LS50 here, I think I will give them a try first.
Even if I still end up buying floorstanding speakers for my music room, I can then put the LS50 in my smaller home theater room to replace my Polk RTi A3’s.
I will call a nearby BestBuy store before buying the LS50 on Amazon. "
So why not just buy them from Best Buy and support the local economy and the person whose time you just wasted? Instead, you're going to waste the salesman's time listening to them at his store and then buy them on Amazon. (and please don't insult my intelligence and tell me you said above that your just calling Best Buy and not going there to listen to them - then what's the point of calling them? Of course you're going to go there and listen to them, so let's be honest)
2. In reading through this thread, it's apparent that you've spent a great deal of time researching, reading reviews, and listening to everyone else's opinions except your own. Trust your own ears! They are no better or worse than a reviewers. A reviewer might say one thing that sounds very encouraging but when you hear it, you may not like it. Listen more, read less.
3. And this should be #1 - Your using a frigging 500 wpc, 26 lb Yamaha amp that is designed for professional use in a night club, bar or gathering hall. Why? This website is primarily for home audio, not professional audio, and I'd bet 95% of us, myself included, know nothing about professional audio but can talk to you all day and night about home audio. I'll bet my old B&K EX442 at 200 wpc into 8, 360 into 4 and 75 amps would smoke that Yamaha for breakfast, lunch and dinner any day of the week. Why? Because I once heard it up against tube monoblocks from Paoli (a highly moded Dyna mkIII) and you virtually couldn't tell the difference.
4. 23' x 21' is a nice sized room, but how loud do you listen that you need 500 wpc? You would be really surprised to hear how loud 1 watt can sound with the right speakers. Get rid of that Yamaha and look for a tube amp because once you hear the warmth and sweetness of tubes, you'll never be truly happy listening to solid state, IMHO.
You'll need something of decent power in a tube amp, unless you go with a single ended amp and high efficiency speakers. If you've never heard a low powered SET amp with hi efficiency speakers, you are in for a treat and your journey will end there. I once heard a 3 wpc 2A3 amp with horn speakers completely fill up a 40' x 40' room that you were completely satisifed with the loudness of it.
Otherwise a push pull tube amp using KT88's or 6550's, possibly EL34's will get you where you need to be but I much prefer the SET sound to PP.
Go get the KEF's and see how it mates with the Yamaha for now and then consider upgrading the Yamaha which to me is the weak link here. Let us know what you think of the KEFs. Thanks for listening.
My Yamaha P5000S power amp doesn't sound anything like the Yamaha
A-S801 integrated amp in my opinion. So maybe comparing it to a Yamaha
A/V receiver wouldn't be appropriate.
I sent the 801 back and kept the P5000S.
The Yamaha P5000S even makes my Polk RTi A7's sound good to me! :-)
Look like we shared the same experience: Speaker sound better with better amplification!
@arafiq "...the OPs behavior is quite elusive in this regard..."
I have been both polite and direct in saying that I'm not here to discuss my personal reasons for shopping where I shop. Geez.
If some of you wish to continue to indulge your preoccupation with my personal reasons for shopping on Amazon I'm sure it won't be hard to turn this thread into a completely useless and time-wasting discussion for everyone involved.
I'm either going to stick to the topic or I can abandon this thread and let the conspiracy theorists turn it into a wasteland.
I'm new here. It's your community. Do as you wish.
I can understand the frustration that many people are facing in this thread. The OPs request to only and only limit suggestions to Amazon and Best Buy is very highly unusual, to say the least. So naturally, folks want to know why it is so. Some have asked politely and some directly, but the OPs behavior is quite elusive in this regard. I mean you are asking people to provide honest opinions but you won't answer a simple question. Come on, it's not as if Mueller is investigating you that you cannot share why you're limiting your choices. Whatever!
I would think Amazon would cut you off after too many free returns of large, heavy items...
Don't confuse Amazon as a platform (or a corporate entity) with the independent 3rd party sellers on the Amazon marketplace. I'm coming to realize that the Amazon marketplace is probably a lot like the marketplace on Audiogon. Since I started this thread, I have struck up email conversations with two independent Amazon sellers who have been very helpful. I have not shopped on the Audiogon marketplace yet, but I'm sure I will in the future.
One Amazon seller told me I could take more than 30 days to evaluate the speakers and they would still allow me to return them. He simply asked, "How long do you need?" This seller's return policy goes far beyond Amazon's default policy. I found that out by asking.
If I buy speakers from this seller, I will be dealing with him person-to-person, probably in the same way I would deal with a seller here on Audiogon's marketplace.
This might be the kind of seller I could establish a long-term relationship with. He seems knowledgeable and very experienced. He seems very fair and upstanding.
Certainly returning large heavy items is a hassle, regardless of the return shipping costs. I would not want to burden any independent seller on the marketplace with an unfair number of returns. And I'm sure they would stop selling to me if I abused the return process. That's why I am asking questions here, reading reviews and giving this very careful consideration. I would prefer not to have to return them.
However, I did return my Polk RTi A5's. I also returned my Yamaha integrated amp and a few other things.
I also have a feeling I may have to return the LS50's I ordered. They will be here next week. But after reading more comments here, I'm thinking I should have ordered B&W 705's for the monitor-size speakers. Anyway, I'll try the LS50's and find out how they sound. Might keep them, might not.
Of course, I have purchased a lot of stuff from Amazon I have kept. The percentage of stuff I return is very small.
It seems most people here would agree that we always have to deal honestly and never take advantage of a seller. This site is full of upstanding people, which is why I have continued to participate. This is a nice community. I assume most of us recognize that selling audio gear (or anything else really) is a hard game and that customer support is hard. Personally, I never want to be the abusive customer who takes advantage of a seller's good will. If you have ever been in retail or customer support, you know that there are customers out there who will seriously abuse a seller without a second thought.
I am sure your meditation music would sound great on them, but
they will really shine when you play acoustic music, which has more
range and depth than what I heard on the YouTube link you posted.
FYI, that "meditation music", as you called it, is NOT what I listen to. (I think that might be rather boring after a while, right?) I listen to Indian Classical music (which is acoustic, with great range, depth and dynamism) as well as many other styles.
The link I posted was only one instrument called a "drone". It is an accompaniment instrument often found on sitar or vocal compositions. It almost never plays the main rhythm. It just produces a drone sound.
In my experience, the drone sound can produce harsh tones in poor quality recordings or with low quality speakers and audio gear. I found that playing any piece of music with the "drone" (aka tanpura or tambura) at louder volumes is a good test for whether a system can produce the smooth, non-fatiguing treble I'm after.
@lou_setriodes no, you are wrong. To set the record straight, I'm not trolling or phishing or in any other way conducting research on other people. Period.
"hi im just curious why do you only want to buy off amazon and best buy"
Multiple reasons. It’s not just return policy.
I don’t want to get into the details because that will only detract from my question. The whole discussion will go off topic.
My question was not "where should I buy speakers?" I asked, "Looking for speaker recommendations that I can purchase on Amazon.com" and I would simply like to stick to that.
If things change in the future and I can shop at other places, I’ll post a new question. I appreciate everyone respecting the constraints built into my question. :-) "
I think it’s rather obvious - you work for, or are affiliated with, or are doing some market research for (such as a focus group) and that’s why you don’t want to look at Audio Advisor or the several other on line options that also offer excellent return policies (and probably have better sounding speakers as well), or broaden your horizons to other gear that is not on Amazon or Best Buy.
Please just come clean with why. We are a group of honest audiophiles, hobbyists, in the pursuit of enjoying music thru our audio systems and always looking for better sounding gear. As such, we want to educate others to find the best possible thing out there that will make them happy. Audio systems are about synergy between components. Obvious you’re trolling us for information, and some folks, myself included, have an aversion to that. You’ve been given some good information and suggestions here, best of luck to you.
@imhififan My Yamaha P5000S power amp doesn't sound anything like the Yamaha A-S801 integrated amp in my opinion. So maybe comparing it to a Yamaha A/V receiver wouldn't be appropriate.
I sent the 801 back and kept the P5000S.
The Yamaha P5000S even makes my Polk RTi A7's sound good to me! :-)
If you want to put a pair of Sonus Faber on your list, the Venere line
sounds much better than the Chameleon line, if the looks are ok for you.
Either the Venere 2.5 or 3.0 fit into your proposed budget.
Yes,
Sonus Faber Venere sounds much better than the Chameleon, but when you recommending a pair of speakers to someone, you need to consider the amplifier to pair with it. OP's amplifier is a
Yamaha P5000s
( A very good amp for the price! My friend has one, he use it to power some outdoor speakers at the pool side ), I think the
Chameleon
is a better choice in this case. If you demo a pair of
Venere 3.0
powered by a McIntosh MC275 and powered by a Yamaha AV receiver you will know why.
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