Need help with Spica TC-50 / Kinergetics setup

I have found that spicas need to be at least 2-3 feet from rear and side walls and that I have to sit at a distance roughly equal to the spacing of the speakers (I have a 5' equilateral triangle).
Only then do I get the imaging ... but wow, what imaging.

For reference I borrowed some Spendor S3/5 minimonitors from a friend for a weekend. These are a relatively new design and get great reviews, and cost about $900 a pair new. In short my spica angelus were far, far better speakers in just about every respect, especially in imaging.

I came away from this realizing that I;d have to spend a lot of money to better the spicas on imaging and microdynamics, though I could probably better them on bass, loudness and macrodynamics for about $500.

If you just want loud and bass then probably $500 should replace the tc-50s, but if you want loud, with more bass and dynamics AND anything approaching spica imaging/soundstage I think you should prepare to part with more than $1000. If you have that kind of money then Green Mountain Audio Europas seem to be the speaker that all of the ex-spica people are raving about. I've never heard them myself (I don't have that kind of money to burn :-( )

I may be a little tight in my current room configuration. The speakers are only about 18" from the back wall and one is that far from a side wall.

I remember in my old apartment where they were more in the open and being blown away with the sound stage. When I closed my eyes, it sounded like the singer was up on stage in front of me. Wild! I don't get that much in my current configuration (although we are hoping to expand the room in the next few months and I wonder if the sound will change).

What $500 speakers do you suggest I look at?

I wish I could just add a little more "umph!" to the Spicas for movie watching. I still question if the kinergetics are just not performing optimally either due to restricted power or placement or something...
.
.

I'm afraid that I can't help with the kinergetics. It could be the room ... some rooms just suck out the bass. It could be that your amplifier is running out of power (passive subs must really suck current from a power amp).

I do know that a REL strata will complement the tc-50s very well, and may well give you what you're looking for overall. Musicality with a bit of grunt. However it will probably set you back a bit. Mine cost $800 used. No it's not for sale ! :-)

Something of a compromise between the spica imaging and having a bit more bass might be a used pair of Epos es-14s, though these are rear ported and will have to be a couple of feet from the rear walls. They're nice speakers and are about $500 or less used. Other possibilities are Mission 753s. If you really want bass then I liked B&W DM603s ... real rockers, but not for classical.

I think you have an old, but, realy nice little music system there. In that regard I would suggest a better amp for the Spicas. Neither the Spicas or the Kinergetics was really designed for home theatre. The Kinergetics was intended to augment speakers like the Spicas (which are not know for their bombastic dynamics, quite the opposite) with a bit more bottom and touch more punch for the typical small music system of its day. Heck DVD's weren't even around when this stuff was introduced. I'm sure I'm not alone, when I say that I'd hate to talk you out of keeping this stuff. It would be very hard to get a comparable music system for it's present day value. If you have your heart set on home theatre (I can offer a multitude of reasons why I would suggest reconsidering, but, that not my place) perhaps some other gear might serve you better. You might want to have a tech look at the Kinergetics.

Thanks for the input. Seems the consensus is that, although a good speaker set for music, the Spica / Kinergetics just aren't for home theater. And that maybe my Kinergetics have a power supply problem on top of everything else.

Can anyone suggest a good tech in the SF Area? (maybe I should repost a thread in "tech talk")