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GoldenEar vs Dynaudio vs Nola vs ProAc vs Everything else.

I have had a near impossible time finding speakers that I am in love with. Where I live and my work schedule prevents me from being able to audition a lot of different speakers.

I am a bit on information overload from reading reviews, and having a hard time how to narrow down speakers.

My listening room, is our main living room which is 16 x 23 with vaulted ceilings going from 9 to 12 in the center of the room. Listen to vinyl and streaming, and a mix of indie rock, classic rock, jazz, and a pinch of everything else. Do a lot of casual listening while in the room and not necessarily one specific listening location.

The speaker placement is going to be tight too, not a lot of space off the side and back walls thanks to a closest coming slightly in to the area the speakers can go.

I am leaning towards tube amplification, like a PrimaLuna Premium HP, but not locked in on anything until I get the speakers sorted out.

I am not attached to any of the above brands, but all brands that I have enjoyed a lot of what I have read about them.

My price range is around 10k, and happy to by used/demo/pre-owned or new. I am also happy to spend less if not going to see a significant gain in a speaker towards the high end of my price range.
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gdnrbob
4,460 posts
 
ProAc's or Vandy's, it is your choice.
If you are in the NE, then contact Audioconnection. He has both brands that you can audition without pressure.
Bob
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
@gdnrbob   A big +1!
cb5300
42 posts
 
I have to agree with audiotroy, the Legacy Focus SE’s will give you the "biggest bang for the buck". There maybe better speakers than the Focus SE, but you’ll be paying 4 times the cost and not getting that much of an improvement. Three years back I was looking to upgrade speakers, and I had to travel hundreds of miles just to really listen to the good stuff. I live in SW Virginia, and people’s idea of a "high end" stereo speaker is what you find at the local Best Buy. I actually drove as far as NY before I settled on my speakers. After listening to everything I could, me and the "boss" decided on the Focus SE’s. Wasn’t a hard choice either, the Focus just seem to make the music come alive. I heard things I had never heard before. There are two things a speaker has to do...one for me, and the other for my darling sweetie. So first, they have to look good (love the Rosewood finish), 0and they have to sound even BETTER. The Legacy do both in spades...Since then I have picked up two pairs of the Studio HD’s and looking to get a pair of the Calibre.
gdnrbob
4,460 posts
 
Thanks hifiman! Nice to know I am appreciated.
@cb5300,
who did you buy the Legacy Focus from?
hifiron
102 posts
 
My biased opinion is:

1. Go tube and take a long look at Decware. I switched to Decware and haven’t looked back. I started with the MiniTorii and upgraded to the Torii Jr. Only reason for the upgrade was to have a bit extra headroom. $2500. However depending on your speakers, you could grab:

  • MiniTorii $1800 (4 Watts per Channel)
  • Zen Triode Integrated SE34I.5 (6 Watts per Channel)
  • Zen Triode $1300 (2 Watts per Channel)
  • Torii Jr $2500 (20 Watts per Channel)

2. Speakers: I again have switched to Decware hybrid radials here, they just blew my mind when I heard them the first time. (Decware HR-1). However there are a lot of great options here. I agree with the Vandersteen route, and you can grab Vandy 1’s for CHEAP [read: less than $500]. I have heard amazing things about Devore Gibbon 88’s, not listened in person, but they may fit the bill as well. Omega speakers are a great match for Decware as well, Louis has a new model that is sold through the Decware site.

  • Decware HR-1 $5000
  • Omega Super3 XRS $2300
  • Devore Gibbon 88 $?
  • Vandersteen 1Ci $1350
  • Spatial Audio Hologram M4 TurboS / M4 Triode Master ($1995 / $2995)

3. Then you can use the money saved and get the Decware ZP3, the most transparent and amazing sounding phono stage I have heard to date. $1300

My current spending distribution is 40% on speakers, 15% amp, 30% source, 15% room. YMMV
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