Former Spica owners ... what did you trade up to ?

Thanks everyone. It seems to me that it is a wise idea to hang on to the Spicas when purchasing "trade-up" speakers, since many have found that the "trade up" is more of a "trade sideways".

What a pity that Jon Bau is not still designing speakers.

I thought I'd update this ancient thread.

I ended up trading my Spica Angelus for Green Mountain Audio Europas about 2 years ago, and I am very happy with the move. The Europas better the imaging of the Spicas (though not by much) and improve the bass and the clarity. The Europas are rather like Spica Angelus imaging with ability to rock.

I still use a REL Strata 3 and it seems to integrate better with the europas, perhaps because it's crossed at 48Hz (versus 27Hz with the Spicas).

I went from a pair of TC-50's plus a single Spica Subwoofer to the Apogee Centaurus Minor. From there the Apogee Caliper(still with a single Spica sub), Magnepan 1.6QR with a single Vandersteen 2Wq, and finally to the Magnepan 3.6R with a stereo pair of Vandersteen 2Wq subwoofers. The TC-50's now reside in the upstairs office. The problem I had with the TC-50's was the necessity of keeping my head in the same vertical plane. The tonal balance and imaging would get messed up if you stood up or slouched too much in your chair. If I maintained the correct sitting position the Spicas were magic. I just didn't like being tied to such a small sweetspot, especially in a vertical plane.

From TC-50s to Audio Note J's to VMPS 626Rs. Now I've got refurbed Quad ESL-57s en route from PK.

Patrick

TC-60s to Martin Logan Aerius i's. I bought the TC-60s in February to replace my Mission 772s, and after much placement tweaking, loved 'em. But, having owned Stax Lambda Pros for 19 years, I'd always lusted after 'stats. Quads had been priced way out of my budget, even very used ones, and the Aeriuses got great reviews, so I picked up a used pair locally for $1,000 in April.

At first, I was dismayed to find the vocal imaging much less focused and solid than on the Spicas. But, after several days of moving, tilting, spiking and toeing the Aeriuses, I found the magic spot, and their previously ethereal center image was suddenly as focused and meaty as the Spicas'. Not only that, but image height was much better, and large instruments like piano and double bass seemed more life-sized. The top end was slightly more extended and much more open, and, as expected, bass was fuller.

The Spicas create the illusion of tremendous stage depth, but in comparison with the Aeriuses, they seem to do this by exaggerating the distance to the rear instruments, making them a bit inaccessible. It's a nice effect, but when I switched to the Aeriuses, I realized there was an awful lot going on in the background that I had been missing with the Spicas.

I still think the TC-60s are simply fabulous imagers. On "But Beautiful", Boz Scaggs levitates 8' out solid as a brick, and there's no hint that those two little boxes have anything to do with it. Very magical. Overall, though, the Aeriuses do a better job, on a wider range of material, of presenting a life-size and highly detailed sound. Little Feat's "Waiting for Columbus" puts 30,000 fans outside my living room window. It's really hard to ask for more.

Now, if I could just get rid of that nasty mid-bass room resonance that muddies up the bottom end of both the Aeriuses and Spicas, even 4' out from the front wall...