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If you listen to anything other than Classic Jazz, don't read this.

:)  I'm a Jazz only intermediate audiophile looking to improve my system. i ONLY listen to jazz, and i think that matters. If you are of the opinion that great speakers make all music sound good then move on to the next post, because the premise here is that speakers for Acoustic Jazz ( Big Band to Post Bop) have different requirements. My jazz audiophile buddies and i hav A/B'd lots of different speaker/amp/turntable/cartridge combinations as a fun hobby for the last 3 years. i've gone through at least 3 whole systems to get where i am now:
All Rega System - Rega Exex-R, Rega P3, with upgrades, Rega MC Phono Pre,  Rega Apheta 2 Cartridge, Rega RX5 Speakers. 

It sounds really great, but want to get to amazing if possible, and have recently done some speaker comparisons with some Paradigms and Harbeths that show the RX5's could have a tighter, deeper bass and bit more high frequency... 

The challenge is threefold -
1 )information out there is hard to come by, often confusing and  i haven't found much information specifically on what speakers jazz heads prefer.
2) I want to be able to put them up against my current system in my room, which seems a difficult task
3) They have to look good. Aesthetics matter to me. Tektons and Magnapans are cool But Ugly AF, and not going to work for me.

i want someone to tell me this is the best my system is going to get and just enjoy it (which i do 82.5% of the time), or recommend a few things to try, hopefully with recommendation for speakers to try, but i'm open to other suggestions.

I look forward to your comments :)

sincerely,
Eric the Jazz Snob
128x128ericmbass
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audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
360 posts
 

I would recommend a pair of Vandersteen 1ci with a Belles Aria integrated amp. The Vandy 1ci are good all-arounders but I feel like they really shine on music that is "less dense." By that I mean the fewer the instruments, the better they sound IMO.

Listening to Miles Davis, Kind of Blue; Oscar Peterson - Night Train, Ray Brown - Soular Energy; or Dave Brubeck - Time Out. These recordings sound simply amazing on my humble system.

The Vandy's produce plenty of low end, throw a decent soundstage; and have a nice full mid range. I am thoroughly impressed by their ability to convey the correct size and scale of instuments.

When I listen to Take 5, Joe Morello's Ludwig drums sound like they're in the damn room with me. My Kef R11's, at almost 4x the cost vs. Vandersteen, still cant do that.

audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
360 posts
 
BTW, I tried Spatial Audio's M5 Sapphires and wasn't impressed. They work well for many. But that just goes to show that everyone's hearing and preferences are different. You really need to go out and do the work (audition/demo/research) if you want the results.
jon_5912
605 posts
 
I'd look for a pair of Thiel 2 series:2.3, 2.4, 2.7.  They're great for acoustic music but not ideal for excessive deep bass that is common in some forms of amplified music and movies.  A lot of people describe them as Maggies with bass.
wolf_garcia
6,696 posts
 
As a musician and jazz freak (and audio freak) who works with jazz musicians as a live sound mixer/producer, I can state without a doubt that there are is no "jazz centric" gear...period. The dynamic range of jazz taken as a genre is astonishing...good gear will get you through Vijay Iyer, Jaco, and Coltrane equally well, and reproduce anything else you toss at it with aplomb.
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