Well your room is similar in size to my own. In that size room I would think your amp at 150wpc would drive the Pulsars fine. They are not as easy to drive as the Fritz however.
Started with $1k speakers … what now?
I got into this hobby during Covid, browsing YouTube reviews my first speakers were Polk L100s and Sonus Faber Lumina 1s. Not bad as an entry point, but wondering what would be the next level is where a speaker is built with fewer compromises in the drivers and crossover design. My hope was that in the $5k range truer “hifi” entry points may be found in a small room system with a REL t5x. My source and amplification is already in the $5k range.
I visited a hifi store recently but was overwhelmed by the amount of choice and unsure what would be an upgrade based on first listening impressions alone.
Thanks in advance for any insights.
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@balooo2 Fritz discloses the crossover design because it is a well-known public domain property of AR, which has received various good and mixed reviews. These issues are known to DIYers, who either appreciate them or modify them to enhance the speakers' sound quality. However, it's unclear whether Fritz publishes any modifications or specific parameter settings on the parts. In essence, if Fritz retains the crossover design as proprietary information, even though it originates from the public domain, it is akin to what others do. This practice safeguards intellectual property, preventing DIYers from openly replicating or fabricating Fritz speakers. The intention is to protect proprietary knowledge, a common and understandable approach in the industry. Regarding other speakers, I've expressed my trust in the reviewers' discerning ears and their almost perfect assessments of Fritz speakers. However, I do acknowledge the concerns raised by reviewers about the quantity and dynamics of the bass region in Fritz speakers. While I appreciate my Buchard S400 mk ii, I was genuinely surprised to learn that Fritz "easily beats Buchard or Dynaudio S40" in the high/mid regions. Personally, I have a preference for speakers with weighty and nimble bass. The inherent bass aspect of Fritz remains a reservation for me in making a purchase decision. It ultimately boils down to personal taste and, infortunately, there are no 'jack-of-all-trades' speakers as Dave rightly pointed out. I hope your audition of the Fritz speakers goes well, and you find them to your liking. I understand the painstaking process of choosing the right speakers, so best of luck in making your decision. |
@lanx0003 This is the first time I've heard of AR (Acoustic Research?) having a hand in series crossovers. What's your source for this statement? |
@jdavis234 I had a budget to spend up to $10k on monitors for my small office, 12 x 11 x 9 (I use my closet to stuff my desk and 6 monitors so another 4 feet). I use a SilentPC so no noise from this setup. I was thinking of the following monitors:
All very good to great and costly. However, the main thing to consider is the room. Experience with other speakers in this room told me that I would have difficulties getting any of those monitors to work perfectly in the small space (maybe not the Vivid). I lucked out and tried the $1000 Magnepan LRS+. This speaker produces a huge wall of sound and disappears in my room. The room is acoustically treated and the LRS+ seems to play the nicest in this space. I think the sound is directed differently than the others I list. Maybe less reflections which can really mess up the sound in a small space. I also use the KEF KC62 sub with the LRS+ and it works seamlessly. It sounds like 1 speaker. Only issue with the LRS+ is that it is hard to drive. I found a perfect amp for it. A used Sanders Magtech ($4k with warranty from Sanders). A CODA #8 would also work nicely. If you want baby steps the PeachTree GAN400 works rather well with it. It is about $1k and it does not complete with the Sanders but gets you about 80%. A great starter amp for the LRS+. Another option for a small room is the KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub. That does not have the massive sound of the LRS+, but it has its own charms and its a sleeper setup, I had it before. I would get this pairing over the KEF Reference 1 for a small room, no matter what experts say. The LS50 Meta can also be driven nicely by 100 watts, whereas the LRS+ needs a lot more juice.
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