Unless I missed it, you never stated a budget.
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
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- 64 posts total
@csmgolf I would like to stay under 3k. I have been researching the Polk SDA speakers, and it looks like I can find some at around 1-1.5k . It's a really underrating vintage speaker... While they are designed to be placed against my front wall, I wonder about the distance between each speaker and the side walls.. Each speaker would start about 20 inches from the sides walls and start roughly 50 inches from each other - I fear that would not only be less than ideal, but problematic. Interesting to see such division over the golden ears.... @helomech @mijostyn - do I need class A/or pure tubes for Klipsch speakers? I would worry that my Rogue Sphinx would make them harsh and fatiguing... |
For your budget and room size, consider the Tekton Electron. It is not the last word in refinement or imaging, but does a good job tonally and dynamically and should meet what you are looking for. If you stretch your budget a bit, there is a pair of Legacy Classic HD for sale currently on US Audiomart for $3500. I am a big fan of Legacy, though I am not as enthusiastic about the Studio HD as some others here. The monitor of theirs to get is Calibre, but it is not likely to be found in your budget. As others have mentioned, with your amp I would get something with a sensitivity above 90 to 92 db. |
@killingforcompany The Polk L800 SDA typically goes for 6k per pair. Here’s a pair for 3500 (42%off) with a 2 yr warranty from Polk. Even if you sold it one day, you'd cut even. Don’t miss out man..this is easily the best speaker Polk ever made. The older SDA polks were kinda crappy in comparison to the new L800 (took them a minute to perfect the tech). You also need to place the L800 a lot closer together than typical speakers (not too far apart from each other), which would work quite good for your smaller room. |
- 64 posts total