2. speakers
  3. 1296681102

Help with narrowing down speaker choice

I've been struggling with final choice for a speaker. First, I have a small to medium sized room (16 X 13 X 9). I want an intimate speaker and I own tube amplification. I listen to and like Jazz, Folk, and Rock in that order.

The speakers not need to be true full-range but they need to be close. I currently own the Thiel CS 3.6 speakers and they're very close to full range. I really like my Thiels, but I'm looking for the next level. I wish to better the Thiels in resolution and natural sound, or that real instrument sound. I especially would like to see an improvement in pinpoint imaging. The Thiels are good at this but not great. BTW - My tube amplification excels at bass, and the Thiels dish it out. I have no room for subwoofers, nor do I want sacfrifice a lot of bass being already spoiled.

Speaker placement enters into the equation, as the speakers must be away from the side walls, so no corners. I can move the speakers up to three feet from the rear wall.

The main speaker on my current list is the Horning Aristoteles, but I've only heard the Eufrodites. The Aristoteles are also in my price point of under $10,000. I will also be using a triode amp, so an efficiency of above 90 dB is needed, especially if I later wind up with a low watt amp. So, figure from 7 to 28 watts/ch triode.

Here are three speakers that are my current contenders, but I don't know if I'll get to hear them all. As you can probably tell, they all share a similar footprint:

Horning Aristoteles
Coinicident Super Victory II
Reference 3A Grand Veena
kennythekey
kennythekey OP
593 posts
 
Thanks guys.

David - I checked out the Daedalus at RMAF 2010 because they were a contender and are still a possibility. I need to hear them again under different circumstances. They sounded different on Saturday than they did on Sunday. I liked them on Sunday, but they were lacking in bass, IMO. This was an ailment shared by most of those smaller hallway rooms, IMO. Anyway, they're in the back of my mind like some others.

Elevick - I have a unique custom amp that plays my Thiels to my fairly loud and normal listening level, with the volume control set at Noon. I have plenty of headroom to crank it up further. This amp transformed my Thiels to new levels from what I had before. I can only imagine, what this amp would sound like on better speakers with better synergy.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,376 posts
 
The Tonians are one I would want to consider in your case.

Larger performance tweaked Klispch La Scala, Horn, or Cornwalls are another.

A lot of people like Zu. Also one I would consider.

The best speakers I have hard that fit your bill were a pair of custom GOTO horns, but cost of these is probably out of your range and these are not easy to come by.

Shindo Latour is another I would want to audition if I could afford them.

maggies or Quad ESLs are also options perhaps assuming your tube amp has some power to drive these less efficient but generally tube friendly designs.
kennythekey OP
593 posts
 
Thanks, Mapman.

That's the second Tonian recommendation, so on the list they go.
kennythekey OP
593 posts
 
Well, as quick as they went on, I need to take the Tonians off my list. The dealer quoted me $12,500 which is way over my $10K ceiling.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
In your price range, and with your musical taste, you should try to audition Merlin VSM MXs. A good fit for your room too.
More to discover