Speaker and Cable Suggestions Please


Greetings, some time ago (maybe over a year ago) I asked for some advice as to what tube integrated amp to buy. It was to be my first tube amp and I needed a lot of help. After a long search and much study, I decided on an ARC VSi75. Now I need your help again. I currently have a pair of Focal Aria 926. My listening room is small, 15'7" x 11'7" (4.75m x 3.5m).

I'm looking for a speaker for a near-field situation that extends into the upper mids and high frequencies. Since my amp puts out 75 watts of output, I need something with decent sensitivity, say at least 91db. I also need new speaker cables. I'm using circa 1980s Monster Cable now.

One more consideration, I have lost some hearing due to a neurological autoimmune condition. Yet, when I auditioned Paradigm Persona Bs recently through an ARC, I could here all the sound that I remember hearing when I was a teenager. The point being, I know that upper range I'm chasing is possible I just don't know if it's achievable on my budget. I have about $4,000 to spend on speakers and cables. I was thinking about DH Lab Q-10 for cables and the rest for speakers. What do you guys think? I don't mind buying used. Thank you.

diminishedchord

Thank you all for your responses. I hope to read more. I may go with good cables first. I was thinking about Hologram II. The Audience AU24sx are out of my budget range, even in the used market. I want to keep speaker cables under $1,000. I was also looking at Avanti Vivace. I find the company's use of separate cables for the positive and negative an interesting concept.

I'm beginning to think I should just get better cables and bid my time, use my Focal Arias, and wait until I can better afford a more appropriate speaker for my room. It's just that my trade-in value for my Arias is never going to better than right now.

I'd agree with the others -- for near field listening in a small room with a 75 watt/ch amp, the last thing you need to be concerned about is speaker sensitivity. (One exception -- if you are looking for a rock-concert 100+ dB average sound level, in which case you can ignore my comments.)

I have a pair of Spendor 4/5 speakers (under $3K new) in a small room and really enjoy their natural sound and consider them very musical for their small footprint.  However, I can't tell from your original comments concerning mids & highs as to whether you are looking for emphasis in that range or just very natural. BBC type designs are legendary for their presentation in the vocal range, but that's not what everyone is looking for.

In that size room and if you don’t listen very loud, B&W 805 D2 would be a good fit for what you’re trying to accomplish. They love power though so your ARC integrated is going to work for its money but I think it should be fine.
As far as speaker cables, I can second the suggested on Audience AU24sx above. Used all this may be slightly over $4,000 used but not by much. If you want to do cheaper cables, you can find a used pair of Acoustic Zen Hologram II. 
 

Congradulations on your new amp. Great choice.

High quality audio systems can make up for reduced hearing. I think mostly by revealing the whole spectrum of sound in the music. If you miss a bit of the real high frequency, it just isn’t that obvious. Most sound are pretty large spreads across the spectrum and things like snare drums have a very high dynamic impact so, the stand out.

There are lots of great speakers out there, I would look at Sonus Faber and DynAudio for sure. A very classic combo is Sonus Faber, Audio Research and Transparent wires.

 

I would not worry about fancy speaker cables right now. I would get the best possible speakers you can afford… maybe used… a few years old. This can get you into a category well above the one you would be looking in new.

 

Then get your speakers… break them in, get to know them really well.. Five hundred hours or more. Which can easily be a year. Then when you are financially recovered start looking for speaker cables. Do the same kind of work you did picking out your speakers. This way you will be able to audition cables and know when you tried the right one.

 

This method will hel- assure you you are getting the most out of your purchases.

I think you need a starting point about what you expect a cable to do/be with your stuff, in your room. Waste a few buck, and buy some Blue Jeans and Mogami cables of the same gauge and length. They are quite different and sound quite different. I'm not recommending either one of these necessarily, but since you're willing to spend big bucks, this should give you some idea of what type of cable (sonically) you should be looking at. Some folks like a cable I'd probably call bright but others would think it's the cat's meow. FWIW.

For your size room don’t limit yourself to a speaker with 91db sensitivity. A Ls3/5a type speaker would be a good choice with that ARC amp and near field listening. Harbeth, Spendor, Falcon, ProAc, etc. make outstanding speakers in your price range!

This Harbeth has always been my favorite of that type speaker!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqFIaiPT_kY