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Recommendations for HiFi Listening Room

Newbie here.  Wife and I are looking to turn our Great Room into a listening room.  It’s roughly 21’X’19 and has a cathedral ceiling that is 11’ tall at the wall and 20’ tall at the apex.  Spoke to a good hifi dealer in the area who made the following recommendations/proposal and I’m curious if this group may have any input for getting maximum bang for my buck.  Basically, with a budget around 35k (or thereabouts) would you buy something similar or are there any components you’d add or swap out?

Paradigm Persona 3F

McIntosh MA8950

Pro-Ject Xtension 9 w/ Ortofon Black Cartridge 

Sony ES DSD Music Server (this one concerns me a touch in that it appears to be an 8 yr old product line).

Thanks so much in advance for your collective expertise.  My wife isn’t going to let me drop money into this for another 15 years so I need to get it right the first time. 

If it matters, our musical taste is quite varied: classical, jazz, classic rock, alternative, hip hop.  My mother complained in my youth that if i had 10 bucks I would just buy a CD with it.  She is still right. 

128x128brewerslaw
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,625 posts
 

We are a persona dealer the 3f is a fantastic speaker you need a really good sub or they wont work well in that space also due to their extreme resolution they can be too bright in an untreated room, 

 

Also you can get a far better amp then a macintosh tonally nice with the personas

 

t+A is a german company that makes some of the world's best gear

also the krell k300i will outperform the macintosh 

also the 8-year-old Sony server is laughable you want a Roon based server

 

please reach out to our store and we can guide you 

 

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

paradigm krell T+A dealer

importer of high-end servers 

 

 

mesch
3,411 posts
 

The first thing you need to do is listen to some systems to get a feel of your sonic preferences.

Purchase a copy of 'The Complete Guide to High End Audio' by Robert Harley.

Take your time.

Some statements of general guidance on a a path to take:

1)The room is a major component of your system. Having a dedicated one is a luxury. Think through system placement and room treatment. 2)Find a speaker that mates well with the room and your listening tastes. Listen to many. 3)Find the amplifier that mates well with the speakers, sonically and for power. 4)If employing both a digital and vinyl front end you might devote half of your budget on these components.  Sources must be on par with rest of system. 

I would be interested as to the questions the dealer asked you prior to making this recommendation. Was there a discussion about your room, sonic tastes? Did he have you listen to speakers having contrasting characters? 

tomcarr
1,473 posts
 

Get the acoustics of the room right.

Buy gear used if possible.

Spend time getting your setup right.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come!

tomcarr
1,473 posts
 

+1 @mesch 

overthemoon
402 posts
 

I like your goal and vision.

My suggestion is to listen to as many different types of systems as you can.  My rationale is there are different sonic characteristics and the goal is for you to find what you like the best.

For example, I have a friend who has Magnapan speakers - they are very different than my Sonus faber speakers in sound presentation including for vocals and different types of instruments.  

Based on my tastes - if I was to spend $35k here's what I'd likely do:

Speakers: Sonus faber Olympica Nova V (or Nova 3)

Electronics: Moon by Simaudio 390 Network player preamp with 330A amplifier

Rega P8 turntable with Ania

Quality cables- Transparent, Kimber, Nordost.

This is close to my current system except I have 2 M400 amplifiers.  

And for the record I moved from McIntosh to Moon - based on my personal preferences.  I loved my McIntosh gear.

 

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