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As Advised, Starting With Speakers First.

After licking my wounds and on the mend financially, I’m getting poised to rebuild. My wife and I are going to be doing a little touring around WA & OR last week of December and wondered what any of you Pacific Northwester’s thoughts were (yes you too Chuck being a local, but not thinking Tektons just yet) are on some of the local dealers around the area? There’s Tune Hi Fi, Hawthorne Stereo, Definitive Audio, Kitsap Audio and Gig Harbor Audio that all offer some interesting products. Also Reference Media in Bellingham. Any others, pros & cons, general advice, are all welcomed!

These establishments will not even graze all the speaker options out there, so if you have any other speaker recommendations, please let ’em fly. I know, there’s are a ton of threads on speakers, and I am trying to go and hear what I can with my own ears, but I would like to hear of peoples experiences where they order factory direct, which is fairly common these days, sight unseen/unheard and if they are getting/hearing what they want when purchasing blind. Or are you all spending a lot on return shipping?

The listening room at the new digs (ya, even sold the house too) measures 24’ x 15’ with a slightly vaulted ceiling and an L shaped opening to a small kitchen about halfway down. The two end walls that are 15’ wide both have doorways in them so speakers would be in the way. Probably best to have them on one of the long walls. One wall is solid for the first 2 feet then widows 5’ up from there the total length of the wall. The other side is solid, but my back would be to the view whilst listening. All hard surfaces.

Listen to just about every genre of music except Country & opera. Floor standers would be nice bypassing subs, but I’m open (maybe not the wife though, it’s a small house!) Had Martin Logan Spires in the past. Fun to listen to in the sweet spot but got fatiguing during long listening sessions and very unforgiving to poorer recordings. You get what you play.

Budget, well, I sold my previous entire $20K system for about half that so maybe in around $10-12K to replace amp, Dac, source and speakers inclusive.

Thanks
high-amp
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
op

spatials need 2-3 ft min from front wall, similar to side walls - i also think they also benefit greatly from symmetry in placement relative to room boundaries given their unique bass radiation pattern - i got m3 sapphires after speaking to clayton, enjoy them a lot in my dedicated listening room, but you shd know that they are very ’alive’ sounding speakers, treble is extended/strong even driven with tubes ... i suspect a sound signature like tektons, proacs, kefs i have heard (with all the open baffle benefits of course), they are not at all a ’more reserved, romantic’ speaker

this being said, i have heard older spatial models are more rolled off in the treble, m4’s and m3 turbos - you should be sure to check out pictures of them make sure wife will accept - they can dominate a room, especially a living room

given your ’hard’ room, you might consider spendors or even upper wharfedales, they have a warmer signature with terrific vocal/midband reproduction and solid bass - if stand mounts, harbeths and buchardts are exceptional - another idea is golden ear tritons...

good luck have fun
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Moabs most certainly are not ’more reserved, romantic’ but neither are they aggressive or analytical. Just crazy good.
soix
9,652 posts
 
Are you open to buying used?  Tubes?  Will you be streaming music or do you need a transport?  How loud do you typically play music?  What other aspects of sound reproduction are most important to you besides non-fatiguing and forgiving of lesser recordings?
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,991 posts
 
Is this post from now? 2020? I’m kind of amazed with the comfort folks are expressing here about visiting shops or people’s homes. Given the rates of Covid here in Colorado, I would not spend any time in a store or stranger's closed room during cold weather. Aerosols hang in the air for a long time, so even if you’re in the room alone... In my estimation of risk, a quick dash to the supermarket for food or a pharmacy for meds, but for audio equipment? Not on the same level for me.
big_greg
6,656 posts
 
@hilde45 You make a good point.  I know Echo Audio is closed for in-store shopping for the time being, but they have all their inventory listed on their website and offer curbside pickup.  I am staying home and out of shops as much as possible.
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