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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
grislybutter
2,836 posts
 

@jjss49 every situation is different. I watched the last 20 or so Darko podcasts on speakers, he said and explained it several times in great detail: DON'T buy the speakers first.

brewerslaw's avatar
brewerslaw OP
35 posts
 

Thanks for all the responses, I’ve read reviews and discussion threads for everything that was recommended.  Samples from GIK arrive tomorrow so we can choose colors for the room treatment. They’ve been great.

My wife and I have been able to audition a bunch of speakers: KEF, Martin Logan, B&W, Vandersteen, Sonus Faber, Paradigm, Legacy, Klipsch, McIntosh, and a random couple others.  We’ve narrowed down to the Olympica Nova III and the original Persona 3Fs that we liked.  Wife is adamant that the Personas sound best. I have a follow-up question for anyone familiar with the Personas: Amp recommendations under 10k?  I’ve heard the speakers with both the Anthem STR and MA8900 but not sure if anyone has found the “ideal” pairing. 

grislybutter
2,836 posts
 

@stevedbrewer I just read this  - PrimaLuna’s EVO 300 Hybrid :

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

I have both a preamp and an amp with Anthem ARC room correction paired with Paradigm speakers, in a treated room it REALLY will make your system perform in a very satisfying manner. No matter how much you spend on amp or room treatments, with room correction included it makes a big difference.

 

 

 

 

overthemoon
417 posts
 

@northman Working with a good audio dealer is excellent advice. My local dealer is really good and that matters if you have questions, problems or upgrade or down grade

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