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First Trip outside of Best Buy, a real newbie.

I am a commoner; I have never been to a real stereo store until this weekend. The big box of Best Buy was all I ever knew.

I went out with my wife, Music Librarian with a Phd in Music who has been happy with her 1980’s Denon but the CD recently player broke on our system. I talked to a friend who loves audio and wanted something I have never heard of called. . . Magnaplaners?

Me I love beauty and things that last, I brought my Claudio Arrau Beethoven Emperor movement 3 DDD disk to test some stuff with and Clara Nunes a great Brazilian singer.

First we hit a place that had some “Maggies” to see and hear for the first time. We walked in, I told them I have a big bonus check and I want to hear the Magnaplaners against the best other speakers you got. The lined up these huge 6 foot panels against some giant B&W box type speaker and plugged these Mark Levinson power blocks. I stuffed in the Beethoven into a Classes CD player that would probably kill my whole bonus.

The Maggies took up this awesome Piano piece and the speakers just disappeared. It was an airy and transparent sound that was not really powerful but beautiful. We compared the B&W and it sounded boxy in immediate comparison. We played a bunch of stuff, but at the first place I was impressed by the Magnaplaners.

Then we went to another shop that had Kef and Spendor. My wife immediately liked the Spendor S9. It was pretty nice, It had a punchy quality but did not have the clarity of the maggies, but good all around power. Then we heard some Kef 207 / 2. The owner cranked up the volume so I am not sure it was fair, but Beethoven was totally epic with some soaring highs. I told the Kef guy that I also listened to the Maggies. He said the Maggies were too specialized and would not work as an all around solution.

I am going to spend another 2-4 weeks working this out and then spend my bonus on a new system. I think I want a good 2 channel system that I can use with my TV. From the thread it sounds like 5 of 7 channel is not worth it.

So what to get? Where to go from here? What will fit in my space well?

My home is open, modern with lots of glass, but small. Where I will put the new system will be in a long thin room. About 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. It is open to other areas of the house and is both a living room and dining room.

I want something beautiful that will last a long time. I loved the Maggies for being invisible, but I also loved the Spendor and Kefs for being powerful.

My house is small and I plan to use the new system as a stereo and 2 channel home theatre.

Thanks for whatever advice you want to give me,
Scott
128x128scottlanterman
scottlanterman's avatar
scottlanterman OP
24 posts
 
That is good advice on the Peachtree. I am looking to keep it simple and focus on quality. We have a nice iTunes collection that I enjoy now but I am missing a lot.

Best speakers for my small space with this system?
I think there is a new Decco coming out that connects to video. This could keep the whole thing really simple.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,180 posts
 
"Best speakers for my small space with this system?"

I'm eyeballing the Peachtree for use with my Triangle Titus 202s when the need arises as I described above.

"best" is always a subjective determination since no two speaks sound the same, but the Triangle Titus 202s with sub combo is hard to beat.
jj2468
280 posts
 
As a Ph.D in music, I imagine your wife plays an instrument and/or has heard a great deal of live music. I highly recommend bringing her along for auditions. She will have a good ear.

If a dealer insists on turning up the volume walk away. Its an old trick to overcome a system's shortcomings. If it does not sound good at reasonably low volume (you can talk to your wife without raising your voice) then walk away.

Listen to several tube amps/preamps and several solid state amps. Tube amps tend to emphasize even order harmonics of which your wife is familiar. I'd be quite surprised if, after test driving, your wife did not clearly prefer tube electronics. Don't be afraid of tubes. If after some heavy test driving you don't like tubes, then you will know for sure. Keep in mind that many retailers will try to sway you from tubes because they take more effort on part of the retailer.

The maggies are one of the best values in audio. Trust your wife's ears :-)

If you can deal with a soldering iron, you will find tremendous value and engineering in these two sites: k and k audio (Kevin Carter), and Audio Note Kits (Brian).

Consider a turntable (used Lenco with RB250 tonearm).

The advice to take your time and listen to many set ups is excellent. Unfortunately, sonics do not necessarily correlate well with price or retailers advice. Trust your wife on this one. When you find a set up that is good for you, it will sound significantly better than your comparisons.
ibog1
54 posts
 
Scott,

Might I recommend a tubed integrated with a digital input on the back so you can put an Ipod or external dac to the amp. I would go with the Spendor S9's. Those speakers are very muscical and will fill the bill of long term quality, you should never tire of them and they are built to last. If Spendors are your flavor, and they are for many, I myself have had a pair, then I would give a long look at a pair of Harbeths. These are only stand mounts so you will need a pair of stands for them.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
FWIW, I don't agree at all with Jj468. Music is more often than not, properly played above speaking volume, even when in scale to smaller rooms. Being able to play well at low volumes might be a postive attribute, but, it is most certainly not the ultimate criterion for quality music reproduction.
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