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Is There a Speaker for Me/Impossible Requirements? (budget: $2000)

Well, I just lost a very long and detailed post. Here’s my second shot:
After years in headphone purgatory I’m finally dipping a toe into ’real’ hifi. Turns out, its not as straightforward as I expected.
My equipment: 320-lossless files into a Moon i-5 in a 9 1/2 x 11 1/2’ room with 7’4" ceilings and a large rug. No issues or concerns regarding acoustics nor any interest in treating. Listen at 60-90 db for 3-8 hours a day- music is all over the map but a strong preference for neo-classical/ambient (Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Jonsi and Alex, etc), baroque/solo piano, fingerstyle guitar, and ’indie’ (whatever that means nowadays).

After reading a whole lot I purchased the following speakers based on my headphone preferences (HD650):
Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniv: VERY forward, VERY mid-centric, and not at all for me. They seem to have the veil people associate with the Senns, though I’ve never experienced it myself.
Spendor S3/5: These are much more interesting. Imaging is amazing- they do seem to disappear completely on certain tracks. However, the sound is rather unexciting. Perhaps this is closer to neutral but I find the speakers end up falling into the background and don’t really pull me in to the music. Tonally, the 3/5 seems very coherent though the lack of visceral bass is quite evident.
Spendor SP-1: The best of the bunch to my ears. The imaging is maybe a little behind the 3/5 but the sound seems much more balanced with more bass presence. On some songs they sound a bit U-shaped (maybe a little ’thin’ vs the ’non-present’ 3/5) and not quite as unified (lack of mids?) as the other Spendor.

My hope is to find a speaker I can keep for a long time that fits my listening space and music preferences. Given my experience where would you head from here:
A) Keep the SP-1s and spend more time placing them within my space/experimenting with stands and/or upstream gear?
B) Get a sub for the S3/5 and compare against the SP-1 again?
C) Try for another speaker altogether? If so, my max budget would be $2000 with a preference for value. I do have a pair of Meadowlark Kestrels on their way to me, but I haven’t heard them yet. Harbeth, Totem, ProAc, Vandersteen, Ohm, and Revel all sound interesting to me.
Grateful for any thoughts,
NM
joincoolkidclub
joincoolkidclub OP
19 posts
 
Appreciate all the responses:
@loomisjohnson Very excited to hear the Kestrels when they arrive next week. The 3/5 appears to have huge acclaim but, like so many things, its all subjective...
@roberjerman & mrdecibel The reason I indicated I wasn't interested in treating my room is that we may convert the basement into a listening room. Its 12 x 20' and has plastered walls so I'd rather spend time fixing up that space, assuming time and money allow.
@yogiboy Still interested in the Harbeth as they come up again and again in my research. Are you able to speak to the concerns I had about the Spendor vs Habeth?
@jon_5912 Will certainly start reading about the Thiels. Like the Vandersteen, these seem to come up again and again in my reading based on my preferences and environment.
@soix Will do!
@jackd Its hard to find much info on the JMR, but what I had found was all positive. My one concern about the Vandersteen is that some think they don't really open up until you reach louder listening levels- since I'll be spending a lot of time between 60 and 80 db, I want to be sure the speakers won't be compromised at those volumes.

sfar's avatar
sfar
1,768 posts
 
I think an issue you'll be dealing with regardless of which speaker you audition is that the headphone and speaker listening experiences are inherently quite different. Neither is better, they're just different. You often read discussions here about the burn-in time required for equipment. I suspect your ears are going to require some burn-in time with any speaker.
joincoolkidclub OP
19 posts
 
@sfar That's a great thought. I'll certainly be spending significantly more time with the Spendors and Kestrels getting to know them better before making any more purchases. My third option was more future oriented- if I'm not getting exactly what I want out of these speakers, is there something else that might suit me better. The ProAc (Studio?), Harbeth P3ESR, Thiel CS-2.x, and Vandersteen options continue to come up in my reading and so may be options down the road after I become more familiar with what I have now. Thanks again for your response.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,792 posts
 
@joincoolkidclub
I have owned many LS3/5A type speakers. Including all of the Spendor versions, 3/5, 3/5r and 3/5r2. The Harbeth P3ESR has a bigger brighter sound than the Spendor’s. I have tried different speakers including the bigger Harbeth Compact 7 and I went back to the smaller P3s.
It’s all a matter of what your taste in music and size of your listening room is!!

akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,327 posts
 
TOTEM..... if you are still married to the SIMAUDIO MOON i5 intergrated amp.... an ideal and proven synergy.

TOTEM and SIMAUDIO are both resident in Montreal and are mutually voiced to test each other’s product offerings.

SIMAUDIO and TOTEM even had a joint venture that produced the TOTEM AMBER integrated amp based on the SIMAUDIO integrated amplifier platform.
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