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Please recommend speakers

I’m just starting my audiophile journey and want to make sure I pair the right equipment before going too far down the rabbit hole. I am coming into this as a complete newbie. I listen pretty much to everything but mostly pop, classical and jazz in a fairly large-ish lower level living room (maybe 20 x 20 feet square) and speakers sitting on bookshelves. I know they should be on stands or floor-mounted, but that doesn’t really work for me right now space-wise. So far I have Jamo 803 bookshelf speakers with newly purchased SMSL DA-9 amp and matching SMSL SU-9 DAC (previously was using an old NAD D 3020 V1 integrated amp with direct connection from iPad to internal DAC). Now I stream directly from an old iPhone/iPad via a USB camera adapter to the DAC which has balanced connections to the DA-9 amp. I pretty much stream music exclusively (currently on free trials with Tidal and Amazon HD). No other sources. No library to speak of. No headphones. The Jamos sound great to me, but I feel like I need something better to pair with the mid-fi DAC and AMP. So I’m looking for upgrade the Jamo 803s which were purchased on sale for $130. Looking to spend up to maybe $800 for a pair. Recommendations? Thanks in advance!

 

Edit:  Here's what I'm considering so far.  KEF350, Polk R200s, Audio Monitor Bronze.  Thoughts on pros and cons?  Anything else?

expresstrain
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 

Mini Lore monitors.

Tekton are the high value choice. These are 95dB. What that means is they will sound good and play quite loud even with a fairly low power 20wpc amp. It is kind of pointless trying to fill a large room with bookshelf speakers. Much better to max out on what you can, which with these and a nice little tube amp you can get quite good sound when sitting near, and positively passable sound everywhere in the room all other times. 

That old amp will probably be next on your list to upgrade. Buying high sensitivity speakers now will make amp selection later a whole lot easier. You could for example get a little Decware 6w amp and be happy as a clam with sound like you probably never heard before. System building. Way to go.

expresstrain OP
7 posts
 

I’m definitely more value oriented when purchasing things so the demo/used route makes more sense. Browsing through the ads here I’m seeing a set of KEF LS50s for $800.

Will look at the paradigm S2s and Revel M106s also. I am finding I do prefer more detail (hence the purchase of the DAC).

Getting stands also seems to make more sense if I purchase used.

mofojo
2,239 posts
 

The paradigms and revels are better than the ls50s IMO

dadork
632 posts
 

I found that even with a pair of subs bookshelves couldn't move enough air to make it sound right in my space which is smaller than yours @ 12x24. I wasn't satisfied until I moved into some floorstanders. Save some time and money and find a way. Hopefully your room isn't truly a square.

chorus
976 posts
 

Some Online website is offering the normally $1200/pair Elac Unifi Ref  speakers

for $899. Not TMR but that's as much help as I can be. I saw this promo in the last

7 days so you should find it.

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