2. speakers
  3. 173679-169875

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
audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 

I think you will be very happy with a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 225’s, still available @ $349 a pair, were $449.

They do everthing right in my book, and sound like speakers twice if not more the price. There are plenty of reviews to read about these speakers, and they won two awards for budget component of the year, from both the Absolute Sound & Stereophile.

Herb Reichert said: "Forget the Diamond's modest price. This humble wooden box is actually a connoisseur-level audio component. It could satisfy any sane music collector for decades."

 

lanx0003
862 posts
 
@audioman58, ...get a Svs 2000 pro sub later $495 with a great app.
 
I agree with adding a sub but where did you get that deal?  Let me know and I will jump on it.

 

 

jl1ny's avatar
jl1ny
419 posts
 

I tried the LS50 / Meridian 556 combo and found them fatiguing. Considering the OP’s set up restrictions a set of nice headphones might be the best bet.

erik_squires
16,176 posts
 

Listen for yourself, but I’m a big fan of the family of tweeters Polk uses in those monitors. Very extended and smooth.

 

I like Monitor Audio a lot but the tweets are not as neutral until you get to the PL line.

leemaze
330 posts
 

In that case, I could recommend the Wharfedale EVO 4.1 or 4.2. Add a Schiit Loki Mini EQ to tweak the sound to your liking in the bookcase. Additionally add isolation pads from Herbie’s Audio Lab to minimize vibrations from the bookcases. 
 

I have the EVO 4.1 in a cabinet in my kitchen and they sound quite nice. Surprising bass and the downfiring port removes thuddyness.
 

You’ll have a hard time getting a deep sound stage from the bookcases, but you can certainly get great tonality and enjoyment. Using pink noise and “tuning” your speakers to a flat response to your room with the Loki will help a lot .  I’ve done this in a few different/weird setups - really excellent device. 

More to discover