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Help me replace ancient speakers - or not

Looking forward to your collective wisdom...

Short version:
Should I replace my 40 year old Allison One speakers with something made within, oh, the last couple of decades??  And can I get something reasonably full-range, that can fit into my small NYC living room, for, say, $2500 or less?  Used is fine. 

Long version:
I've had these Allison Ones for about 10 years, and they replaced Allison Sixes that I purchased new in 1982 or so.  So I've had very similar speaker "sound" for a verrrry long time. 

I've been interested in hi-fi since the 80s but rarely purchase anything new - clearly!  I'm a musician and equipment/hobby money has usually gone to instruments and music instead.  I try to get improvements on a small budget. 

Rest of the system is a NAD C352 integrated (Craigslist find!) with Tara Labs jumpers, a Marantz CD6005 cd player, and an Auralic Aries MIni streamer, the last two running through an Audio GD r2r DAC.  This is all cheapish stuff, but it sounds good in our small apartment, or it does most of the time.  

I'm listening to a Geri Allen trio date with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, and her piano sounds full and tonally correct, and the bass and drums are balanced and impactful.  There isn't a huge amount of imaging  - Allisons don't really do that - but it all seems pretty correct.  BUT - maybe I'm just used to it?  

Other factors: we like to listen to everything from jazz to opera to poorly-recorded music from all over the world, at realistic volumes.  Scale is important, imaging not so much in my book.  My ears have taken a beating from years of loud gigs so I favor a warm-ish sound, but am open to trying something totally different.  I'm always drawn to the Audio Note rooms at shows, and a pair of AN-E's would be my dream.  Thinking of Klipsch Heresy's too, for some reason.  Gosh, I guess these are pretty ancient designs too.  

Any thoughts welcome and sorry for the novel. 
sforrey
yakbob
478 posts
 
@sforrey , since my current speakers have a total of (4) 10" woofers in a band pass loaded configuration, I was concerend about the ability for an open baffle speaker to match the lower frequency output of my KEFs. Honestly, I always felt OB speakers were weird  fringe concept reserved for those who hang tapestries all over their house. (No offense to tapestry owners 😀).

The M3s somehow have managed to go lower than my KEFs with much more authority ( in my room, YMMV).
Their overall sound is much more "here" than "there". It's dynamic and for lack of a better term, more real. I doubt I could bring myself to sell the KEFs because their sound is so relaxing (as I imagine your Allison's are). Since your situation seemed similar to mine (vintage speaker to something more modern), I wanted to share. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

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sforrey OP
22 posts
 
Thanks again all.

@yakbob - very interesting indeed.  The Allisons also have a total of four large woofers (and four mids and tweets), and they do have a very relaxing, "east coast" sound.  Hearing that your KEFs share some of these aspects, and yet the Spatials work even better for you, is encouraging.

I actually really love the way the Allisons perform in my space - for example, I NEVER experience issues with bloated or boomy bass, which from my reading here seems to be a common problem - but the idea of something more dynamic & live (and totally different) is appealing. 

Thanks also for your thoughts Elizabeth, your opinion counts for a lot.  It is strangely rare that speaker designers consider room interactions at this late date.  If I may ask, what integrated would you recommend (used or new) that would work well, for say $2500 or less?  
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thehorn
111 posts
 
Small space, close to the wall, warm sound, broad frequency response, small foot print = ProAc D2. Check Hi-Fi Shark for ads, there’s several up for grabs for under 2 grand.

As for thoughts that the NAD is a limiting factor in your system? - - - the 352 is a lovely little bit of Hi-Fi, but lets face it .... it is an entry level bit of gear. Comparatively speaking, the NAD is bright sounding to what’s out there & being a musician you must find that with prolonged listening the music becomes grainy, even intrusive.

If your an old school guy/musician, you’ll most likely warm up to the sound of tubes (pardon the pun). The Rouge Cronus Magnum is a must to audition. A must. They’re out there used, they are not cheap, nor are they expensive (It has a phono stage). It’s an integrated amp, so it’ll save ya space, plus you’ll be able to tube roll with it to tailor your sound.

All I can say is that with the ProAc/Rouge combination you can’t go wrong. You’ll get a life time of listening contentment and for not a whole lot of money.
PS: I don’t work for or sell either of the above.
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