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Speaker upgrade

I would like to hear thoughts on upgrading my speakers. I am very happy with my current system, but am thinking of upgrading the speakers. Not made up my mind yet, but very close. I have changed my gears recently and deciding whether to keep my current speakers or try different.
I currently have Aerial acoustics 7T, with 2 REL S5/SHOs. Aerial acoustics 7T are one hell of a speaker, and I never thought I will change them: they are very neutral and transparent, which plays exactly what you feed them. I still think they are excellent and In fact, on many forums, I have constantly bragged about them and still do, for good reasons. But I guess, time has come to change. Looking for speakers with better resolution, big soundstage, organic and sweet mids. If I can get more of everything my 7T does, it will be a jackpot. Budget is < 35K (used OK).
I have thought of Magico S5 MK2, Vimberg Tonda, Marten Mingus, Rockport Avior II. Others include Von Shweikert VR55 and Vivid Audio Giya G1. Hard to audition all, but have heard S5 Mk2 and Rockport Avior II which are close top.
My other systems include, AF strumento no. 4 mk2 amps, VAC renaissance mk V pre-amp fed by Luxman D-10x (DAC/SACD player) and Antipodes CX/S30 (server/streamer). I use roon mostly and listen vocals, Jazz, classical, Indie Rock, contemporary instrumental and the likes. Room size is 17 x 14 and height is 10 feet. I have already done all room acoustics. Cables are Silversmith Fideliums (never going to change that) and Shunyata anaconda/python, TQ black diamond and AQ Hurricane.
romney80
soix
9,326 posts
 
it tends to come down to the type of music one predominantly listens to —whether it’s pop, classical, jazz, rock, etc that person generally is more likely to favor a certain speaker type/crossover design over another.
No, it doesn’t just tend to come down to that at all. The fact is that many well-designed speakers can play any genre of music really well. Then there’s the other side where people, like me, listen to almost every genre of music. With the plethora of excellent speakers out there, just knowing what type of music one listens to does very little to whittle down what speaker to buy. If you think you can make an excellent recommendation based on what music people listen to then you’re grossly underestimating many, many other extremely important variables and you’re just kidding yourself.

everyone has a flavor of speaker they worship and defend and profess to tell you why theirs is the best and yours simply is not — it’s the human condition on display.
And that is precisely why you can’t recommend a speaker for someone based on what music they listen to. And this is why I recommended the Pearls to the OP — not because it’s MY preferred flavor but because it has the sound characteristics he said HE values and is looking for, which gives you a lot more to go on than just music genre in my book. Again, lots of speakers can play multiple genres of music very well so it’s not sufficient to make a meaningful recommendation. Sorry if this concept is just too complicated for you, but I certainly understand why it could be comforting for someone to think they can pick speakers simply by music genre when they’re not capable of dealing with more of the important decision metrics. Maybe simple just works at your level. Congrats.


ssmaudio
71 posts
 
Sorry to bring up a tangential point. I have a foolish question. I’m a violinist and have a decent music system (I think) and a listening room with acoustic treatments etc. But if I wanted To upgrade my speakers, how would I go about to even come up with a short list?  I mean how do you guys do it?  Try out dozens of them?  I live in Santa Fe NM, so it’s not a metropolis with tons of audiophile shops. 
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,314 posts
 
@ssmaudio   Decide on a budget.  Describe the rest of your system.  Describe the dimensions and salient features of your listening room.  Describe the kind of sound/presentation you're aiming for.  Post all this information in a new thread and let the recommendations roll in.
romney80 OP
150 posts
 
@ssmaudio. Many factors. Besides budget and your listening taste, there are certain things that let’s you narrow down. The soundstage you want, the gears (amps, streamers, dac) you have, how much bass you want, the size of speakers, the looks (it does matter if you want your spouse approval), ease of driving the speakers. Once you have those, you will have to have understanding of sonic signature of each brand. I will pay attention to reviews (not always). I am not sure if anybody have had just one speaker first time and done with it. Sometimes you think you got best and may not be best match to your system, and may want to change, but it’s ok. One thing is for sure, there is nothing like perfect speaker, no matter how much you spend. It is just preference and you will have to compromise in some areas. If I don’t have near by dealer to audition, I pay attention to reviews and also listen on YouTube just to get some idea. As you know, not all reviews are transparent, I get some thoughts from fellow audiophiles in forums for real world experience and ideas. Even this can get tedious, as you ask for hep to narrow down, but you may get lot of suggestions, which is good most of times. Hope this helps.
mbump
66 posts
 
I am in a similar situation as you, sim. budget, room size, etc.  I run a VAC Statement 450SiQ w/ a Signature SE power plant.  Current speakers are Daedalus Athena (of 8+ yrs).  Though I am considering staying in-house w/ new Daedalus Apollos, I have auditioned/reviewed Borresen 01s, and would be very interested in 03s.  At the top of my list are the Von Schweikert Endeavor SE, however have not heard/auditioned, just from research and chats with Leif.  I am aware of the close great synergy w/ VAC power plants, so definitely leaning this direction.  
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