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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
kahlenz's avatar
kahlenz
273 posts
 
I have the Harbeth P3esr speakers.  I bought them a few years ago as part of my "downsizing" project – a more compact hifi that didn't take up half the room for listening at sensible volume levels.  I no longer feel a need to impress anybody but myself or blast at 110 decibels.  These speakers are perfect for me!
I get mixed reactions from others who listen to my system.  They either love them and can't wait to buy their own, or they decry the lack of bass and a sizzling top end.  I can generally classify these two groups:  those that like the P3s listen to a lot of music, prefer to listen to entire albums, and would rather spend their evening listening to a few albums than watch TV.  Those that are ho-hum about them prefer short listening sessions, will rarely listen to an entire album, and prefer to listen at higher volumes with chest-thumping bass.  The second group also tend to have home theater systems and generally prefer watching films over listening to music.
An unexpected bonus is that my wife will now sit down and enjoy listening to music with me.  She loves the Harbeths.  They have a tendency to draw in the listener;  their non-stridant sound is pleasant and engaging.  I suspect that she also appreciates their small size; my old system was large and imposing and the room it took up was a constant annoyance.
Try before you buy.  You will know right off the bat if the P3s are right for you.
russbutton's avatar
russbutton
429 posts
 
With $2000, what I'd do is score a pair of late 1970's vintage KEF Calinda loudspeakers and then pair it with a VTA ST-120 power amp.  A buddy of mine has a Calinda pair he drives with a Marantz 8B power amp.  Absolute magic!  Will make you forget about everything else.

Your best bet for finding a pair of Calinda loudspeakers is at the hifishark website.  They go for about $400 or so.  Most of them are in the UK and Europe.  Not often for sale in the USA, but still very affordable.

https://www.hifishark.com/model/kef-calinda

VTA sells directly through their website at http://tubes4hifi.com/

They sell their amps as kits and fully assembled.  There's an enormous satisfaction you get from building a kit, but the premium they charge for building it for you is reasonable.  Their 60 wpc ST-120 is comparable to a Mac 275 and some say better.  In kit form, with tubes, is about $1200.  Preassembled is about $1700.

I'd build the kit and buy the Calindas and then enjoy the magic.  Really.
joincoolkidclub OP
19 posts
 
I am streaming some material from Spotify Premium as well as playing local lossless files- I can’t tell the difference and never have been able to.

I don’t know that I’m going to continue to search for additional suggestions at this point as I already have a long list of contenders. Still experimenting with the 3/5 while I wait for the Kestrels to arrive. May end up experimenting with the Harbeths, though I’m not sure the jump from the the Spendors would be significant (let alone at 4x the price). May try a pair of Vandys if they pop up locally <500. Plenty of options certainly but I find that most people end up suggesting what they own regardless of others’ parameters- certainly not malicious, but it seems to me as though there’s a very strong drive to justification or validation as with many hobbies/human affairs. Suppose that's what essentially what I was doing (in my own way) from the jump, though my thoughts and concerns have changed since the OP. Think I'll take a step back and just enjoy the music for awhile. Regardless, I appreciate all the feedback.
pdwoods's avatar
pdwoods
3 posts
 
Hello,
I had a budget of $5,000.00 for speakers and bought a pair of Revel and then a pair of
I was, after 100 hour break-in period, comparing them to Polk A9s.....both sounded inferior
to  the Polks believe it or not....both of the $5,000. speakers lacked an acceptable presence 
in the mid-range and just acceptable in the low frequencies.
The message here is don't be seduced by high prices....I would still buy a speaker pair for $5,000.00 if demonstrably superior to the Polks.  I was just tired of moving 80 lb+ speakers
around.
I was fooled as well by listening to speakers at the dealer....all speakers will sound different in the home.
A friend suggested a pair of higher end FOCALs $6,500.00...I may give those an audition 
someday.
Good Luck,
David Woodruff


 
batman1971
96 posts
 
I’m curious what you think of the kestrel.       I really like that speaker for that price it’s really good.   I think I paid about 1200 or so when those were new and used them at least 10 years daily 
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