New Speakers under consideration - but I’m afraid

As I’ve explained above, in-home audition is not possible, hence the enquiry here.

You could tell me that you owned 801s (S2 Mk III) and moved to brand X and found them a significant overall improvement. But only if it’s true.

Btw- I’ve lived in Bahamas for over 20 yrs in climate controlled environment (but still had re-cone 3 or 4 drivers- not bad I’d say). 

Here’s reality in my view. No one knows your room, your gear and most importantly, your ears and personal sonic biases. So regardless of all the well intentioned input and advice, your choice (absent an in home audition before purchase) is still an absolute shot in the dark.

So it begs the question. If you like what you have, why are considering a change and what are your expectations if you decide to proceed with the change? A different speaker will sound different but not necessarily better. "Older" does not imply substandard or inadequate. Unless you have an absolutely compelling reason to "take the leap", don’t do it. Enjoy what you have (as you apparently have for numerous years) and enjoy the music. Common sense is often underated these days. Good luck.

@ritter06 Given that you are scientific, I would suggest considering the KEF Reference range.  I have been absolutely blown away by the Reference 1 when compared with Focal and B&W costing several times as much.

The basic scientific reason is that the tweeter and midrange are concentric and emulate a point source. 

This means that both the direct sound and reflected sounds are coherent, especially in the cross-over region, whereas separated drivers interfere.  Sure, careful time-alignment and clamping your head in a sweet-spot help, but there will be cancellations and reinforcements in the floor, wall and ceiling reflections.

There are lots of other subtleties which KEF detail in their 40-page White Paper.  I have never seen anything that technical from B&W.

Thanks. I do have a pair of KEF LS50 and matching sub in another room in sub optimal setting just for TV. I’m impressed by the SQ for the size, build and price. They sound good on their own but playing the same piece through the 801s, you realize what you are missing. A lot. I did seriously  wonder about the R11s but heard the R7s at a shop (my music) and was less than impressed.

But I am believer in co-incident speaker designs and used to have a pair of 15” Tannoy Reds that had ridiculous output and slam- perfect speaker when in your 20’s

couple things come to mind. A Great  pair of reference speakers like R107/2 or matrix 801's in 1990 could be had for $5-6000 and in 2024 it'll cost double that for something 10 years old that's audibly superior and you/we still have to shake that sound that became so familiar after so many years, I ended coming back to the brand of the model I originally had for 25 years because I got used to the balance so they just sound right to me,