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Achieving audio system synergy

I am putting together a system after much procrastination. My budget is $5K – 8K (new or used).
My music is a lot of vocal. Opera, Norah Jones, Sinatra. Orchestra, pop and blues.
Sound – needs to be musical but want to hear the details. Don’t want purely clinical. Sound stage is important. Want some warmth but not have all the edges rounded off. The key is to have a system that plays well together and the sum hopefully is better than each individual component can do.
I have bought a Plinius 8200 MkII from a fellow A’goner recently. Have not received it yet. Though I think I will like it I am not married to it.
Room – 12x17x9 with one 17 ft side open into the breakfast and kitchen area.
- wood floor, kind of a hard room.
Components being considered:
Speakers
- Spendor S8e - Read a lot of good things about this. Have auditioned S5e in a local dealer. The room was pretty bad and I could not hear any magic that I was hoping for. Cannot get a local audition of S8e so far. Any help here? (I am in the South San Francisco Bay area). I am tempted to buy the S8e un-auditioned based on review alone (dangerous move).
- Dali Helicon 400 – auditioned it with Simaudio I-3 and Eclipse CDP. Loved the soundstage, the details and overall sound. Concerned about the possible fatigue factor with the high end in long listening
- Harbeth, JMR, Zu and Usher all have good reviews here but hard to get an audition. I am intrigued by JMR and Usher. May try to audition them.
Amp
- Not familiar with tube. So the Plinius hopefully will do.
Source – not a vinyl guy, CDP only
- Ayre CX7e based on review this could be the one. Have not auditioned.
- Simaudio Eclipse – love the details and speed. But not sure it justifies the price
- Tube CDP – open to it. Auditioned Jolida JD 100, not impressed

So I am wondering if a Spendor S8e - Plinius 8200 – Ayre CX7e is a winning combination that can last a long time or there is a better combination.

Thanks for your input in advance

Bill
bill12745
tubemiser's avatar
tubemiser
98 posts
 
Bill - You have mentioned alot of good gear that you are considering in purchasing without auditioning. I believe that it would be best to have a listen to the gear you are buying first and would be even better to audition the gear in your home before purchasing.
There are enough audio stores in the bay area to keep you busy for awhile. Jim @ Silent Lucidity would even come out to your home with gear if you are having trouble with your set up. (no affiliation with SL) Anyway, hope you do take the time out to audition gear, it is time consuming but in the long run it will save you time and money.
bignerd100
515 posts
 
Always best to audition but the Spendors are really great speakers. They are cappable of sounding exactly the way you described your ideal system. High resale value as well.

Good luck!
aktchi
274 posts
 
I am not a tube person but have heard good things about Onix integared. Look at http://av123.com . The company was founded by Mark Schifter (don't know if he is still there) whose previous company Audio Alchemy's products had developed a reputation for great quality at affordable prices.
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
The following part of your post -- "needs to be musical but want to hear the details. Don’t want purely clinical. Sound stage is important. Want some warmth but not have all the edges rounded off." -- leads me to suggest that you add the Vandersteen 3A or 3A Signatures to your short list for audition. They certainly meet your criteria, and they are not particularly fussy about the kind of amplification (as long as it's good quality).

If possible, you'd be well advised to audition the speakers in your home -- as noted above, your listening room is a very important factor in the kind of sound production you'll get.
sbrtoy
122 posts
 
I have Helicon 800's and they do demand high quality upstream components as they are extremely revealing, but after you listen to them for a while other speakers sound like they have wool over them or are missing some of the music. The Helicon series really brings out the detail and beauty in a lot of recordings and surprisingly is not too bad on poorly recorded rock etc. because unlike some speakers that are very "detailed" there isn't a huge tilt up on the highs, and they have plenty of midbass and decent low bass and avoid sounding thin. They have amazing soundstage depth,image placement, and separation. I would think the Plinius would mate up fairly well as it is a little on the warm side from my understanding though I have not heard one. I had the Ayre previous and it is a great player, if you are looking for something a little more mellow that still gets all the detail right, look for a used electrocompaniet EMC-1UP which should go for around what the Ayre does.
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