Full Range speakers for a living space


First (and long) post- sorry.

I know there is a similar thread going at the moment about NICE looking speakers, but I don't want to hijack that thread with my question.

I don't have a listening room, and nor do I want one, I love listening to music, with my wife (and friends - when the world returns to 'normal') in our living room [17.5' x 11.5' at the narrowest - but it the room opens out a few more feet. Ceilings are 13').

Sources are Aurender and Michell Gyrodec (with Dynavector Karat). Audia Flight phono, VTL 5.5 II pre and Gamut D200i power. All cables are Synergistic R Atmosphere L2
Current speakers are JM Reynaud Abscisse.

When I lived in the UK I had amps by Audiolab, Naim and Exposure, and I had various models of ProAc speakers.

My current system is better in most ways in comparison to those previous systems, the treble is sweater, the midrange is more open and detailed and the bass,midrange and treble are well integrated. However I don't feel the soundstage is enveloping as I would like. Nor can I pinpoint exactly where the musicians are. The lower range does not extend as far as I would like. And I just feel that a certain dynamism (I guess some would call it PRAT) feels lacking.

I am pretty certain I can improve on the first 3 of these with a change in speakers. I think my tube preamp may be affecting the PRAT, but I really do love the midrange I get, so I am aiming to stick with my VTL for now.

My music taste is principally rock: 60s classic psychedelia, 70's classic rock, 80's rock and synth-wave (think Depeche Mode) and almost the entire Metal spectrum from the originals (Black Sabbath) through the mainstream classics (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead) all the way to modern Thrash, Doom and Black Metal. I also listen to classic EDM (Underworld, Chemical Brothers), Roots, Rocker and Dub Reggae and old school hip hop. Music that never gets played is female vocal, Jazz, classical, MOR Pop (except Neil Diamond after too much wine), AOR and especially Prog-Rock (Yes, ELP)

Given the dropped guitar and bass tunings in a lot of metal and how deep synth-bass can go I am thinking I need speakers that can go down to 24,25,26 Hz. Anything lower might overload my room.

Now comes the really hard part: I have specifics about the looks and placement of the speakers, because the room is still my living room so I really do not want a pair of Wilson Sophias sat in the middle of it :
1) I really do not want the FRONT of the speaker to me more than 3' from the front wall
2) I really do not want BLACK speakers
3) I would really prefer to have speakers that are stylish (which I know is subjective), but basically I am trying to avoid a simple tall rectangle
4) Budget is $15,000 new or used, in fact I have a preference for used since even the greatest speakers depreciate significantly the moment the original owner opens their crates - and I accept that this makes auditioning with my kit impossible - which is partly why I am reaching out for help.

So I have been thinking that sealed, TL, isobaric or bottom-ported speakers might help me get bass extension with room friendly placement. Thoughts so far are:
- Sonus Faber Armati (might be too deep physically)
- T+A Criterion
- Neat acoustics Ultimatum XL6 or XL10 (although these are tall rectangles)
- Egglestonworks Nine
- Lawrence Audio Double Bass (available in wood finish so I am told)
- Piega Coax 711 (interesting in silver aluminum)
- Paradigm persona 7F
- YG acoustics Kipod signature (passive and in silver - very hard to find one)

Obviously a Magico S3 M-Coat would be a fantastic option, but they are not within budget

If anyone has experiences with these speakers with a similar set-up to me or with similar music I would love to hear feedback and I am especially looking for ideas and feedback on speakers that might suit me. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Ian.



Ag insider logo xs@2xianellis
@ianellis I love the PMC Fact series.  The BB5 XBD is one of my favorite sounding speakers of all time.  But you don't get a lot of bang for your buck.  You have to spend considerably more $$ beyond the Fact series to get reference performance out of the PMC line. They're great, they're just not "giant killers" which is what most of us are searching for.  Unless we already own the giant in question :)

I have always believed that you're going to buy top tier reference speakers, they should outclass speakers costing far more.  I've represented several speaker manufacturers over the years but Legacy always seems to be the brand that causes peoples jaws to hit the floor or get that "goosebump" factor.  I decided to rep them after leaving RMAF absolutely floored by their performance and usually regard them as best in show year after year.  

But the real secret to getting any of the speakers in the Legacy lineup to have the magical sound signature you hear at the big audio shows is to pair them with the Legacy Wavelet.  Yes it's a $5k preamp/dac that does room correction.  But once you hear Legacy/Bohmer's implementation of frequency and time domain room correction in the wavelet, you'll never go back to listening without it. I prefer it over Dirac or Room Perfect.  Adding a Wavelet to a system is the auditory equivalent of upgrading your speakers and preamp. It's that drastic.  Just for kicks, try toggling the wavelet correction on and off during a listening session and you won't believe you were ever able to tolerate the sound before correction.

PM me if you're interested in any of the Legacy products, I'm extremely competitive with pricing for Agon forum members.  Best of luck on your search!


"I have always believed that you're going to buy top tier reference speakers, they should outclass speakers costing far more.  I've represented several speaker manufacturers over the years but Legacy always seems to be the brand that causes peoples jaws to hit the floor or get that "goosebump" factor.  I decided to rep them after leaving RMAF absolutely floored by their performance and usually regard them as best in show year after year.  

But the real secret to getting any of the speakers in the Legacy lineup to have the magical sound signature you hear at the big audio shows is to pair them with the Legacy Wavelet.  Yes it's a $5k preamp/dac that does room correction.  But once you hear Legacy/Bohmer's implementation of frequency and time domain room correction in the wavelet, you'll never go back to listening without it. I prefer it over Dirac or Room Perfect.  Adding a Wavelet to a system is the auditory equivalent of upgrading your speakers and preamp. It's that drastic. "

*** Huge thumbs-up on this comment....Legacy truly builds amazing speakers at a fair price...Wavelet puts it over the top for certain!!!

Went to Munich High End and Hifideluxe 2019, spent 4 days around every other high end speaker in the world,...missed my Legacy speakers every day, nothing I thought was more musical!
Gershman Acoustics Grand Avant Garde fits your criteria. Sealed design for easy placement. World class imaging and bass response. Fatigue free. Hand built in Canada in any color you prefer.

It's a speaker that leads to long term happiness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RGNhSce8Uo
https://audiobacon.net/2019/05/07/axpona-2019-the-awards/5/
https://audiobacon.net/2018/05/07/axpona-2018-the-awards/4/

Cheers,
Colin

Gershman Acoustics dealer
615-838-7178
https://gestalt.audio
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