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A little help please

My room is 13' x 21' x 8.5' ceiling. Speakers are located along the short wall about 12-18" off the wall. They can't come out as they'll block an entrance way.  They are about 4' from the side walls. 

Currently I have a Prima Luna Classic Integrated with their standard tubes. Source is Rega Apollo R, MMF-5/Clear Audio Nano V2, or Proton DAC. Speakers are Totem Arro (no mass laoding).

I realize that my placement isn't ideal and my wife's need for decorating balance with furnishings,etc require some trade-offs but I just don't think these speakers are up for the job in some cases. Some songs, like acoustic blues, female vocals, even piano sound great but I'm sometimes finding other recordings seem to sound muddy and there's no real pop and umf on some drums; like I'm hearing music but not feeling it some times.

The totems are not mass loaded. I have heard that mass loading them will tighten up the bass. I could also try some different tubes, but overall I'm not sure either or both will make that big a difference. Which leads me to a discussion of a sub or some new speakers.

I lean towards new speakers.

Possibilities (depending on what I can get my wife to agree to in price and size) are:

PSB Imagine T2, Quad 25L, Revel F206 - As noted above there are decorating issues. A sofa is located about 2.5 feet in front of the right side. As it is now imaging is good, my concern with these is they all have some low driver positions that will be an issue unless I can relocate. Relocating to the long wall is an issue because I'd have to straddle a working fireplace as well as other considerations. 

A larger Totem Forest - leaves me wondering if I'll have similar issues with bass.

Audio Physic Tempo 25 (NOT the plus version) - demo from my local store.

Vandersteen 3A - Signature - also demo from my local store. These are likely too big for my wife's taste; and quite possibly my amp.

  One thing I didn't note so far was the possibility of a sub-woofer.  I'm not thrilled with the idea but I haven't given it an ear so I can't say.

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for reading and taking the time to respond, Jetson.
jetson
jetson OP
140 posts
 
 I measured the speaker placement and it is 30" front face to rear wall.  So far from reading reviews, as well as the manuals for various speakers, the Vandersteen Quatro is ok there, but but I'm a few inches too close per Reference 3A literature.

The literature from some companies is quite thin. 

I have some Quatro questions I'll put into another thread.
jetson OP
140 posts
 
So the Quatro may be a bit of a bust due to my having an integrated and their needing an HP filter between the pre and power amp. However there is a solution that I'll talk with Richard about on Saturday.

I can only audition Acoustic Zen in NYC. The price I put up earlier is wrong, they're now $4,500 list. I can get a better deal direct, I don't know if it will be enough to get a better amp though. Either way, Robert said that the PL classic amp will drive them fine on the 4 Ohm tap. Still I'm under no disillusion that a better, stronger amp will help any speaker perform better.
wolf_garcia
6,695 posts
 
Be careful of advice from anyone who can't spell Massachusetts.
jetson OP
140 posts
 
Ha ha ha.
Surprisingly JMR hasn’t responded to my email. I could drive to Boston and visit my brother in law.

Here is my current thought - I would LOVE some input as it’s a complete rethinking.

Given the fact that my amp is low power, but I like the way it sounds, I was looking at some speakers in the $5k-$6k area. All the while I’m looking at speakers and finding more limited choices and wondering if my amp will drive the speakers, or drive them at volume.  In short I kept feeling amp envy, but I figured to press on, and I'm still not giving up on my amp. I kept hearing good things about the Vandersteen 2 model as a mate for the amp.

Then I started thinking that the Signature 2Ce is available for as low as $1,895 used or, the 2Ce II for $2,560 new.
A new Ayre P-5e pre-amp is $3,500 and I can get a used Ayre V-3 amp for $1,300.

Given my budget this looks like it could be a real winner based on what I’m finding for Ayre/Vandersteen pairing and figuring on a modest trade for the PL and Arro. 
freediver
1,189 posts
 
Mark these words.You WILL regret moving from tubes to SS!It’s a damn shame you can’t sit down & listen to my simple little rig.The Yaqin MS-30 compares VERY well to your amp(I run strictly in Triode Mode 25wpc.)driving the Sonus Faber Toy Towers(you can get around $1250.00)in my treated room.These speakers are one of audio’s hidden gems.They really are the real deal but since they never got any press they hide in the shadows.Yes I still want to try a low powered Single Ended Class A with them so the amp is up for sale but that’s the nature of this hobby.Could I live happily ever after with the Yaqin Tube Integrated.If it doesn’t sell I’m going to change out the Chinese EL34’s for a set of Gold Lion KT77 Re Issues(Cryo treated & Platinum Matched) & I’ll let you know.
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