Young audiophile metal head looking to level up speaker choice


Hello Audiogon,

I'm a pretty new to the world of audio and looking to make a signifiant upgrade from my first self purchased speaker, the Q Acoustics 3030i.  I was encouraged by an audiophile friend to join Audiogon and post a question regarding what speaker would be best.

I decided to pick up a much nicer amplifier last year, upgrading from a Cambridge AXR85 to a Rogue Sphinx V3. This 2024 I am wanting to make a similar upgrade to my speakers.  I wanted a more dynamic amplifier and found the Cambridge to smooth when combined with my Q Acoustics.

I have my own listening room but it's rather small 11ft x13ft.  I listen to mostly heavy metal/rock music at 70-85 decibels.   I have looked at been cross shopping the Buchart S400 mkII, Dynaudio Evoke 20, Zu DWX, Arendale 1723 - but have also heard good things about vintage Usher speakers..

Thanks for your consideration and advice here.

cheers

killingforcompany

Try a pair of Vivid audio Kaya S12 for about 7k and get a subwoofer to pair with it like a KEF KC62. The other choices are not very dynamic speakers and Buchard is using cheap cheap cheap drivers. Dynaudio is not what it used to be and went downhill the past 10 years. This is a real killer hifi system for under 10k that is going to get you out of midfi land and last you 25 years.

Metalhead here too! If I were starting out I’d scrape together $2.5 or so and buy used heresy lll or IV and an SVS sub, 1000 or 2000 ported. Also paradigm founder series (not easy to find used at good prices) Goldenear.. already some great suggestions here. I wish I had more experience with JBL and Tecktron fellow members seem thrilled with them.

Your Rogue has 100 wpc 8 Ohm, 200 @ 4 Ohm. I would look for speakers that are 90 Db + efficiency. Metal requires a lot of energy as it’s a "Wall of sound" and it’s complex due to all of the instrumentation all at once. It also requires a good bass response, bookshelves may leave you wanting more bass. My Son is a metal head and when he visits some times and I hand the iPad to him so I get quite a dose of that genre of music. His last visit he commented how intense that the music is when played over a great revealing and dynamic system. It was previously mentioned to try Legacy Audio Speakers. I you can swing it I would recommend the Signature or the Calibre. They are very efficient and thrive on heavy metal, hard rock music. they are very dynamic speakers and at 4 ohm your amp will drive them easily. My son is amazed with my Focus XD’s bi amped with a tube amp on top. I see some here mentioned the Klipsch speakers and the JBL’s. Klipsch can be fatiguing after a while with certain electronics, the JBL 100’s would play a little nicer with your amp IMHO. Upscale Audio had the JBL’s on sale, not sure if they still do. Steven Covey says "Begin with the end in Mind" so buy the most speakers you can so you save more in the long run upgrading. Good luck on your project.

I listen to primarily hardcore, punk and grind and my room is smaller than yours at 9x13. I’d recommend any room this small to load up on bass traps and at treat first reflections with anything you can afford. Bass bloat was a problem in my smaller room and after the $500 to fix it with bass traps the depth and detail of music really comes alive. Really, don’t skimp on this section. I made the same mistake as others and it’s definitely not the coolest or most fun upgrade, but the gains are worth it.

 

Speaker wise I ran Kef’s and was super happy with them. Detailed and fast. I guess it depends on the type of metal you listen to , but if it’s fast you want something that can keep up. I run focal now and am also really happy with the detail and speed. From personal experience you should be fine with any recommendations here. Good luck!