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Small room, "budget priced" speaker advice, please

Hi,

I recently sold my dearly beloved, old Vandersteen 2C's here on Audiogon (and I hope SgtPeppers is loving them at this moment!) :-) I did this because in our remodeled house, my new listening room (which will double as a guest room) is just too small for the 2C's. The Spousal Acceptance Factor was just too low. ;-)

I have a PS Audio Elite-Plus integrated amp for power (around 70 W/Ch) and a soon-to-be-shipped-off-for-a-refurb Sota Sapphire for an analog front end (I have "miles" of vinyl)! I will also get a CD player at some point.

For now, I need to find a pair of best-of-breed, truly "budget" speakers. By "budget," I'm talking upper limit of $850/pair. (Gone are my free-spending, single days... I'm a dad now...) :-)

Listening habits: lots of 60's and 70's folk and rock, some jazz, Donald Fagen/Steely Dan, a little classical. Listening volume: not too loud. Sonic preferences: I value transparency and imaging/soundstage. Bass should be accurate above all, as opposed to chest-pounding powerful.

I've looked at Paradigms, which I know are highly regarded at lower price points. Trouble is, our one, local dealer is primarily a TV/home theater outfit, so you're trying to hear them in a showroom crammed with other stuff... you know the drill. I've also hit a high end shop. Listened to a pair of PSB small towers and disliked them; they sounded muddy and veiled to me. Listened to a pair of the smallest Rega's and liked them quite a bit, but would want to go back to listen again. I even wrote to PS Audio for advice; they recommended the "baby" Epos monitors, but they're out of my price range.

Thanks if you've read this far. Knowing how subjective all this is, I'd still welcome any advice you have to offer about what I should try to audition.
rebbi
buscis2's avatar
buscis2
468 posts
 
By the way Rebbi. If you really wanna' sound like the French audio gear specialist that you'll soon be when auditioning :>)

"Triangle" is pronounced: Tree-On-Jel. That's right from the owners mouth.

Just the French pronunciation alone makes it sound like a $10,000 speaker....... Tree-On-Jel Electroacoustique. :>)

You'll sound very impressive.

Either that or you'll be accused of practicing "Bad French".

Best of luck, Ed.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Hi, Ed, LOL! Well, I'll have to give your pronunciation tips a try, although I doubt that it will gain me much "cred" here in Texas... :-) I have found local dealers for Usher (got an appointment there tomorrow evening) and Totem. Don't know of anyone here who carries "tree-on-jell" locally, however. I did get a chance to hear a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42's today at the same dealer that carries Rega. They blew the Rega R1 away... for an extra $250/pair. Wondering what you guys think of them...
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,940 posts
 
Never heard a pair of Dynaudio's set up properly that I didn't like. Audience line is very good price/performance.

Triangles are a touch faster and more transparent at low volumes, otherwise Dynaudio rules. Very lively and very solid and extended low end for small monitors.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,549 posts
 
Dyanaudio Audience are great with the proper amp and placement as Mapman suggests. If you want more bass, you could look at the Audience 52, maybe used if you can find them.

Question Rebbi: did you see the Dynaudios at Audio Systems? They used to carry Triangle speakers, not sure if they still do?
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Yes, the Dynaudio's were at Audio Systems. It seems that they no longer carry Triangle, though. I didn't see any in the shop, and it's no longer listed on their web site as a product they carry.
I was wondering if the Dynaudio's, at 4 ohms, would demand a better, more powerful amp than I have. I've got that PS Audio Elite Plus with 70 watts per channel. Do you guys think that would cut it?
Anyway, I'm off to hear the baby Usher's tonight... that should be fun. All this time spent in audio shops is taking me back to my youth! :-D
By the way, FWIW, Audio Systems doesn't keep the Rega R3's in stock, but will special order them. Seems that they think they've got better choices at the $1000 price point.
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