Speaker upgrade around 100k retail


Hi guys,

I'm selling my Focal Maestro Utopia III speakers, which I love very much. Nothing wrong with them, I only have the bug again. So here are the ones I'm considering as next step

- Focal Stella Utopia EM (not the new EVO)
- Rockport Altair 2
- Magico M Project
- Tidal Agoria

My system:

CH Precision C1 + D1 / dCS Rossini
Krell EVO Two
Krell FPB 450 mcx / Lamm M1.2 / Burmester 911 monos
Tara Labs cabling

I would buy them as ex-demo or second hand, price differences are within 10-20k range.

So please share your thoughts, experiences, suggestions. Which one yould you choose?
ssblnt99
Buy the Tekton Moabs, get better sound, and donate the leftover $95,500 to charity.
These are all excellent efforts and the companies that build them are fanatical about quality. I have a friend who owns the Stella Utopia EM, and they are indeed superb. I think the ability to tune the speaker via crossover adjustments is a nice benefit. That also would be the case in the recommendation below. 

I cannot speak definitely as I have not owned or reviewed any of the selections, but often at shows Magico has seemed a tougher result, a bit more sterile than I prefer. You may also wish to consider the largest of the Sonus Faber, which I enjoyed hearing. I hasten to say that I believe I could build wonderful systems with Magico speakers. 

The Legacy Audio Valor Speaker System has a rather unique sonic signature, as I discuss in my review for Dagogo.com, and if you wish to chat about it, feel free to send message. I believe it would compare well to these others. As well, Legacy Audio is often willing to do custom orders that allow special configurations, i.e. internal, external amplification. This individual worked with Legacy to customize their Valor setup. 

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5078


Regarding "the bug," If you are continuously itchy to hear something new, perhaps you are like me and enjoy variety as a driver for system building. I suggest, then, that you consider the possibility of keeping your current speakers and adding one of a different genre. Perhaps something like the Kingsound King III electrostatic that I reviewed would bring a world of enjoyment as a trip to a different destination - panel world. The equivalent of my speakers is the Kingsound KS-18. You could even go full bore with the KS-31. Magnepan's 30.1 would be an alternative. If you wanted to dip your toes into the quasi-line source pool you could consider the Legacy Whisper (I wrote several articles about iterations of that speaker). 

You could go several directions; Open Baffle, Omni, Panel, Line Source, Horn Hybrid - they all have enchanting characteristics when set up well, and none of them can do precisely what the others do. They all do things that no traditional dynamic speaker can do. 

I find nothing quite so gratifying in all of audio as having variety versus chasing The One speaker that theoretically does it all. Doesn't exist.  :) 



I kind of guess it depends if you want to hear the music or just listen to expensive boxes or horns (!!!) that distort the playback.

Take a pair of the most expensive Magneplaners home for a week and then decide.  You may not like them, but you owe it to yourself to hear what your HARDWARE actually does to the recordings since Maggies give you only what you give them.

Just possibly you will discover inadequacies in the hardware/source area that you did not know you had.

Cheers, and happy listening!
Please consider Von Schweikert VR 55 Aktive Ultras in that price range, even the regular 55 Aktives (which I won) will not disappoint.
Have you done a thorough room treatment?  If not, spend on that, then get Magnepan 30.7s or Sonus Faber Il Cremonese for well below your price ceiling. Or get some new Focals, which are also great. MBL can be stupendous.