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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
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.
petrakis_a
9 posts
 
I currently own Dynaudio C4's, and up until recently have considered the C1 something of a benchmark in the reasonably priced monitor category. I've heard the C1 many many times, and through it's many iterations. It's not the best monitor I've ever heard, but until RMAF was the best I've heard under $10,000. What changed my thinking was Vapor Audio, their offerings were just overall cleaner sounding with more air and detail, but also a more 'real' sense of musicality. I'd highly recommend looking into their offerings as many will fit into your budget new, not used.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Petrakis_a, I had largely the same experience with the DC10 Audio monitors but the Evolution Audio MMMicros ones were great also.
rsimms
150 posts
 
I would suggest a small tower speaker. No reason the space taken up by the stands couldn't be used to increase base response. It wouldn't take up any more floor space.

Bob
dmwoods
1 posts
 
Mlman: If this helps I have previously owned Micro BE's and KEF 201/1's in a 12X13 room, untreated at this point. Earlier this year I took a chance on a pair of Vapor Audio Cirrus and have been living in speaker blissdom ever since.

The BE's were more narrow in their dispersion and would seem to do better in a larger room. They also would finish last in a qualitative performance ranking of the three speakers mentioned. I liked the 201/1's a lot, better in every way than the BE's excepting cosmetics and build quality. From what I've seen of the 201/2's the 1's have arguably a better complement of drivers but a lesser quality cabinet. I have not heard the 201/2.

After thoroughly researching Vapor products and speaking to the builder/owner, Ryan Scott, I was convinced he really knew his craft. If you can stand the wait I highly recommend the Vapor Cirrus. My search for a high quality small room speaker is permanently over. There is an excellent thread on the recent RMAF on Audio Circle which discusses impressions of the Cirrus.

Good luck with your search.
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