2. speakers
  3. 156668-125631

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
br3098
994 posts
 
@atmasphere I have not heard the Classic audio speakers in years and I couldn't describe their sound accurately now. I do remember them being very good horn speakers.

I have had some Sound Labs in for an extended period when I had my dealership. Good but I'm not really a planar/ELS speaker guy. Or rather, my room placement options are not friendly to these types of speakers.

For most of my listening I'm extremely happy with my rebuilt Shahinian Obelisks. The conventional wisdom is that they are difficult to drive. Not true - they are simply difficult to drive well in order to provide their best sound.

baranyi's avatar
baranyi
719 posts
 
br the shahinians do need the right amp to come alive! I enjoyed a variety of Dick’s speakers and they typically needed a good stiff solid state amp to work properly. A friend brought over an old Octave Research Class A amp and the obelisks really sang.  They were the top end speaker at the audio salon I used to frequent as a kid called Digital Sound around 1980. Hope Dick’s son keeps the brand alive. 
gte357s
281 posts
 
I also listen to Jazz only.  I also like the Magnepan but think they are too big and ugly.  My speakers are put in the living room.  I just received the Spatial Audio X5 and man, I love it.  I think open baffle speaker will give you the soundstage and openness for Jazz without the big panel.  Here is the thread in audiocirclenwith my impression compared to Zu Omen Def.  

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=169829.new#new
gte357s
281 posts
 
Other speakers I am interested based on good reviews but don’t have a chance to hear them are:
Avantgarde uno nano
Klipsch Heresy IV
Pure Audio Project modular speakers



br3098
994 posts
 
@baranyi Yes, that is true. It's especially challenging in that the boss asked me to reduce the amount of audio gear visible in the living room. She might as well have asked me to remove a leg. I can do it, but why???

Anyway, I found a great deal on a used BAT VK-300x hybrid integrated amp. 6922-driven preamp and SS amp. Sounds good, so far. The other option is to use a tube preamp to drive SS monoblocks via balanced output. I just need to hide the mono blocks behind the Obs and use some strategically placed houseplants.

Sorry, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

More to discover