2. speakers
  3. 162319-141390

Speaker upgrade

I would like to hear thoughts on upgrading my speakers. I am very happy with my current system, but am thinking of upgrading the speakers. Not made up my mind yet, but very close. I have changed my gears recently and deciding whether to keep my current speakers or try different.
I currently have Aerial acoustics 7T, with 2 REL S5/SHOs. Aerial acoustics 7T are one hell of a speaker, and I never thought I will change them: they are very neutral and transparent, which plays exactly what you feed them. I still think they are excellent and In fact, on many forums, I have constantly bragged about them and still do, for good reasons. But I guess, time has come to change. Looking for speakers with better resolution, big soundstage, organic and sweet mids. If I can get more of everything my 7T does, it will be a jackpot. Budget is < 35K (used OK).
I have thought of Magico S5 MK2, Vimberg Tonda, Marten Mingus, Rockport Avior II. Others include Von Shweikert VR55 and Vivid Audio Giya G1. Hard to audition all, but have heard S5 Mk2 and Rockport Avior II which are close top.
My other systems include, AF strumento no. 4 mk2 amps, VAC renaissance mk V pre-amp fed by Luxman D-10x (DAC/SACD player) and Antipodes CX/S30 (server/streamer). I use roon mostly and listen vocals, Jazz, classical, Indie Rock, contemporary instrumental and the likes. Room size is 17 x 14 and height is 10 feet. I have already done all room acoustics. Cables are Silversmith Fideliums (never going to change that) and Shunyata anaconda/python, TQ black diamond and AQ Hurricane.
romney80
falconquest's avatar
falconquest
1,108 posts
 
@romney80

I was trying to keep the price modest. ;-) I agree with you but I would also own the VR-55’s in a second!
soix
9,662 posts
 
Why are so many people promoting JA? These are off-the-shelf parts standard speaker designs. Which is fine, but it seems like a LOT of money for what is essentially premium DIY speakers.
Have you heard them?  That’s the reason.  Lots of “Best in Show” awards to back it up.  I challenge you to DIY the crossover.  It’s patented BTW. 

aj523
373 posts
 
I heard “them” and it’s just another well made box speaker; they really are a dime a dozen where everyone has a favorite cause what it really comes down to is what music you predominantly listen to. And that should determine the speakers you demo and ultimately buy. And then that mostly comes down to the crossover design. Soooo....let’s start over, what music do you listen to ?
soix
9,662 posts
 
I heard “them” and it’s just another well made box speaker; they really are a dime a dozen where everyone has a favorite cause what it really comes down to is what music you predominantly listen to. And that should determine the speakers you demo and ultimately buy. 
Well, that’s one take on it.  Unfortunately I find it’s quite a bit more difficult and involved than that.  Of course that also makes it that much more rewarding when you ultimately narrow it down to the right speaker.  Telling me what type of music someone listens to doesn’t help me make recommendations much precisely because box speakers — or any good speakers — are NOT “a dime a dozen.”  If you really think that, then what are you even doing here?  Yeesh. 

aj523
373 posts
 
@soix
Ok you totally missed my point so I’ll try to simplify as best I can.
If you haven’t figured it out yet from the countless threads, and by an order of magnitude, even more countless posts, everyone has a flavor of speaker they worship and defend and profess to tell you why theirs is the best and yours simply is not — it’s the human condition on display.
But, and a big but, since our brains all hear differently it’s mostly all subjective so what then is the common denominator, if any, and putting aside economics?
Well taking in all these countless threads and even more countless posts, it tends to come down to the type of music one predominantly listens to —their musical preference whether it’s pop, classical, jazz, rock, etc that person generally is more likely to favor a certain speaker type/crossover design over another. Hope that helps ! Of course you can over complicate it but what’s the point of that? Life is difficult enough but this really isn’t.
More to discover