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

I drive my Vandersteen Treo's with a quality 65 watt per channel integrated and get clean clear and LOUD sound with no problems. Friend of mine drove his Treo's with a 40 watt Naim integrated, and it too could go loud and clean. Vandersteens are a easy load for most amps.

kinda related…but i am not sure it was a good idea to abandon the NAD….i know it’s the D3020… but…. 

I have a 35 year old 3020 A running in the garage…. like an ugly brown…swiss watch…

Hi Tim ;-) The LiL NAIM mulekicker is a beast…i dont think the OP amp has same muscle….. Treo are lovely. See ya soon brother.

@tomic601 

Kef will sell more LS50 in a year than Tekton has sold since inception. 

 

Words of wisdom. KEF has a pedigree that Tekton can not even dream of. 
The have built some of the best drivers in the world. There’s a reason the LS50s are some of the most celebrated small speakers in the world. 

 

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