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Advice on stand mount speakers

I am looking for my final speaker purchase. Giving up the chase.
I have a small listening room 13 deep x 12 wide x 8 high.
I have had several types/brands of speakers including Martin Logan Aeon I's Vantages, and Scenarios, Audio Physic Scorpios, and Kef 103/3's.
The Vantages are too much for the room. The Scorpios had too much bass but imaging was spectacular. The Kefs were very good but I had to augment the bass.
What I am looking for is a stand mount that has enough bass and has excellent imaging side to side and front to back.

I have been looking for used speakers in the $3500-$4500 range.
That includes a lot of good choices, Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors, Focal Micro Utopia, Merlins, Kef 201/2 and possibly 203/2.
I have no way of comparing these or any others you might suggest side by side so I am asking you all what your experiences/advice would be.
What are the strengths of each as well as weaknesses of them?
I realize the last octave of bass is out of the question but I want meaningful bass without having to resort to a sub.
Power will be provided by a Cary SLI-80 (40/80 watts) or a Phase Linear 700B (350 Watts) for now but will probably upgrade soon.
Thanks all,
Marlin
mlman
jeffreyds
115 posts
 
I second the Dynaudio C1. Also, I'm having good luck with Harbeth SHL5 in a room roughly that size with a pair of Cary 805Cs.
xti16
1,525 posts
 
Another vote for the Dynaudio C1. MKII version would be even better if you can find them used
rebbi
1,326 posts
 
Of course, everybody is going to tend to recommend what they have already! :-)

That said, I would recommend that you take a look at either the Dulcet or MM De Capo iA from Reference 3A of Canada. I owned a pair of Dulcet's for about six months that I bought direct from Reference 3A. I then took advantage of their six month, full value trade up deal, and moved up to the MM De Capo iA, which is the latest iteration of this speaker.

My room is not that much larger than yours, about 16 x 13 with an 8 foot ceiling.

Both of these speakers image like crazy and have satisfying bass response. My new speakers are still breaking in at about the 75 hour point, and they keep getting better and better. And either speaker, brand-new, will come in substantially below your price range. Hope this helps.
jperry
2,450 posts
 
I suggest Proac Response D-2. I had a set of the original Response 2 in a room that size and was hapy for 9 years. I only changed when I moved to a larger room and I am not sure that was necessary. Plenty, but not too much bass and they will work well with your Cary integrated amp.
listener57
730 posts
 
An excellent speaker choice in the used category would be the Platinum Audio Solo or Platinum Audio Duo.
Priced ridiculously low as the brand name long gone.
These are among the speakers that passed through my systems, and in hindsight are clearly among the modern era's over-achieving monitor speakers.
Sub-woofer not required to get full range thrills from these.
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