2. speakers
  3. 1310300063

modest towers with high WAF for living room?

Looking for opinions on this one. I've been running with Paradigm Studio-20s (V5) for over a year and want to upgrade. This is for our living room, 100% 2ch music. The Studios have been a nice intro into quality speakers. Now, I'm looking for something with a bit more bass presence plus, I want to get away from speaker stands.
My living room is large, 14X24', but we tend to listen at low-mid levels ... jazz, blues, classical, folk, some rock. I don't blast or need "wall thumpers".

I really want these to be nice, attractive, to get buy-in from the wife! ; )

Budget? Well < $2K preferrably, $2500 max.

My priorities: high WAF, sonic upgrade from the Studio20s, modest size ... don't want them to dominate the room.

Some candidate
albireo13
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
For WAF I suggest a speaker with a sloped baffle such as Thiel. I have owned three speakers my wife approved of; Thiel 1.5. Thiel 1.6 and Meadowlark Kestrel IIs.
She actually once commented on how nice the Thiel 1.6s looked in the living room. I couldn't believe my ears as she never mentions the stereo except to say it doesn't match her decor. The sloped baffles make them less intrusive, according to my wife.
As for sound quality, I prefer speakers with time aligned drivers and simple, 1st-order crossovers.
dgaylin
255 posts
 
Used Totem Forests will be well within your budget. Check the reviews. Super high WAF. Great for your kind of listening. Bewarned -- they require powerful amps.
albireo13 OP
78 posts
 
My amp is Emotiva UPA-2, 125w/ch @8ohms. Since I listen at modest levels I don't think I need more.

Far from the wall? I would say 2 ft or less.
I would definitely consider preowned, as long as they are cosmetically clean ... again the WAF. : )

Those Aerial 6s look nice. I like nice lean lines, with nice veneer work.
The Totems look nice as well (Forest or Hawk?). Unfortunately it's hard for me to audition any of these so I might have to just wing it.
dgaylin
255 posts
 
Forests do well close to the wall, and 125w/ch at modest levels is probably okay.
mceljo
1,357 posts
 
For that price I'd consider Focal 816v speakers, but here's my main advice.

Narrow your search to two or three speakers that you like the sound of and then give her the final choice. In my case, I let my wife choose the finish and she hasn't complained a single time since I brought them home. The key is to give your wife some ownership in the choice that is made.
More to discover