Recommended Speakers with Krell 450Mcx Mono Amps?


My system consists of a pair of Krell 450 Mcx mono amps, Krell HTS 7.1 pre-pro, Totem Wind loudspeakers, MIT Oracle 3 cableing, Revel B15a sub and Esoteric DV50s CD player. The room is a large 20'x20' family room with 2 story ceiling and not a lot of walls for reinforcement and modest acoustic treatment. My music preference is jazz, accoustic, classical and vocals.

I've tried several different speakers in this room and can't seem to reach audio nirvana (B&W matrix, Totem Forest, Piega P10 > best of them). It seems my bedroom system presurizes the room nicely and has great imaging (BR System: Totem Forest, Marsh A400s, Audio Refinement pre, Krell Showcase DVD), but the main system is lacking something.

The main listening room does double duty with home theater, but my 2-channel is very important to me. Preference will be toward a more compact footprint and the ablity to place the speaker near the front wall (12"). I'm flexible with the price, but would like to stay under $12K (or so) on the used market.

I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thank you.
george3
Try B&W N801D or 800D, used around 12K-15K. My friend use a pair of ML 333 amps to drive his N801 and the sound is very close to real, capable to play very loud without strain and very details without smear. Happy listening.
The B&W 803Diamond is also a very good Speaker @ $8K-new with excellent bass, an amazing top-end and a small foot-print 12"x18". As with most front-driver/front-ported Speakers it can be set-up close (a foot or so) from the front wall with any sonic problems.
I have heard that Krell amps have good synergies with Revel's Ultima line of loudspeakers.
You are saying that 2ch is important to you, so as with most speakers, and this applies to B&Ws as well in my experience, the further they are from the back wall the deeper the soundstage and more accurate the imaging will be. Sure you can place B&Ws close to the wall, but I doubt that the stage you get will be impressive. 803D is an excellent speaker though. Should be great with those amps both on music and HT.
You need to hear speakers with your Krells that are timbrally accurate.

Thiel
Vandersteen

Dan, Richard and Jim would agree with me on this.
The best thing you need to do at this point is hook them up with a pair of Thiel CS6. This are really matching pieces that will enlighten your love for music. You have so much power from your Krell 450 mcx. Most dealers for Thiels and krells always pair them together. Try them and let me know!
I have CS6s powered with a 400cx and so completely agree with Etruiz on this. Amazing synergy between Krell and Thiel. Talked to Jim Thiel about this match up and he agees. Also I am using Harmonic Technology pro 11 speaker cables.