Speaker upgrade for classical music

Hiphiphan wrote: "I have the Raidho D3.1 (I purchased them used; I’m not wealthy). Is the SuperStand, which contains the back-firing driver, compatible with a floor-standing speaker such as this?"

Duke replies: Very nice speakers!!

I have not tried adding extra rear-firing energy to a wide-pattern speaker like your Raidho’s. So at this point I’d have to say, I don’t know yet. I can think of arguments both ways, but such arguments pale into insignificance compared with the certainty of actually trying it. I hope to find out some day.

(The Sonus Faber Aida, their current top-of-the-line model, uses what looks like a rear-firing mini-monitor. The Sonus Faber loudspeaker [a previous top model introduced in 2009] also used a rear-firing mini-monitor. So it MIGHT work well with your Raidho, but I’m not sure... to a certain extent it depends on the "voicing" of the Raidho.)

Hiphiphan: "And how does The Swarm Subwoofer system fit in (or is it not compatible with the SuperStand)?"

Each SuperStand incorporates a passive subwoofer, in the top half of the "notch", so a pair of them are essentially one-half of a Swarm.

Duke

Thanks again Duke. When I get the itch to change the system, I'll keep this discussion in mind.

Question about monitors like the Graham Audio LS5/8 vs Ls9/f floor standing speakers. What are the pros and cons of the monitor?  Do I need to add a separate subwoofer?  For classical music maybe not?  But for jazz maybe yes?  

For string chamber music, Hartbeth Compact 7ES3 would be pretty good. Recently I bought Jungson power/pre amp, and they sound pretty good for the price. You can try their integrated amp Jungson JA-88D.

Long thread. I'm going to depart from everything said here and say that the one thing that you said you don't have is actually the thing you should have. If you are classical musician and really want the sound of a symphony you need to turn to vinyl. No digital or CD signal will ever give you that experience that you seek no matter how much you spend on equipment. Vinyl pressings from the '50s '60s and early '70s were far better than anything made today except for rare exceptions. The fabulous thing is that nobody wants vinyl classical and it can be had at ridiculous prices all the time.

You need to look into this seriously and, when you do, look at classical recordings on London vinyl which is actually English Decca made for the US market, EMI, Angel (only those pressed in England, Phillips pressed in Holland, and RCA Living Stereo Red Seal with Nipper (the RCA dog) in the shade. You will spend a fortune trying to accomplish this with digital media. There will be people who will disagree vehemently with this statement. If you love and know symphonic sound vinyl and tape are only way to get it. 

There are exceptional CDs and digital streams available of truly great performances so there is no question that there is great music in digital format but if you're really looking for the true experience you will save yourself a lot of time and money by getting a good turntable, an exceptional cartridge and a world-class stylus. Also you will need a good phono stage. 

Follow some of the value-oriented advice that you've gotten here on speakers so that you don't have to spend all your money on them and now have enough to pursue vinyl and start building an incredible collection for next to nothing.