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Looking for speaker choice advice.....

I'm looking for some direction/help in selecting some new speaks for my recently completed dedicated listening room. The room itself is built over my garage and measures 16' wide x 30' long. Side walls are 4' tall where the rafter slope occurs with the main flat ceiling about 8' wide at 8'-4" high running the length of the room.

My existing components include a 250/wpc Threshold S500 controlled by a Conrad Johnson PV11. I was previously running B&W CDM7s but this room was a little too large for those so I sold them to finance an upgrade. I'm looking for a very musical speaker w/good bass extension, natural mids and an accurate high end.

My musical taste center around progressive rock (60%) , (think Yes, Genesis and some newer stuff along the same lines), modern jazz guitar (10%) and classical strings (30%). I'm looking for a full range floor stander to cover all the bases. Size isn't an issue since the room is all mine and right now I'm setting my max budget at $3.5k.

Unfortunately, I'm in a somewhat audio depraved location and there isn't a lot of places to demo gear although I may take a trip to NY in the spring just to do some demos if I can't decide but I don't mind "buy to try" if I can turn them around w/o loss. I was originally thinking of sticking w/B&Ws, going with M802S3s or N803s but have recently found interest in the Coincident Super Eclipse, Soliloquy 6.3, and Maggie 1.6 and 3.3s.

So... Any comments or suggestions? I'm dying to get some nice speakers in this room since I sold my B&Ws my interims have been old DCM TF600s (which still sound pretty good considering their age and $75 price tag).
b2sc
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Still...with your dedicated room...I would be hard pressed not to give the Maggies a shot...any yes...you have enough room for 3.3s...although the 1.6s would work great too...and are the better value...good luck
loontoon
301 posts
 
If you like the coincidents and wish to save some bucks, look into the Odin 3's a www.madisound.com. You will have to assemble them. But it's a breeze. They will cost a bit more than 1000$. Then add a good subwoofer to them and your all set.

Excellent value for the money.

jeff
unsound
7,341 posts
 
Thiel 3.6's ?
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
If you have some patience.I would consider strongly looking at the Soliloquy 6.3s.These have been an all around contender.The only weak point I can find in these speakers is the breakin period.But once you get past 500 hrs , these speakers are amazing. I also have a dedicated listening room. And spend many hours listening to them. These are so efficeint that there are no constraints to what amp is used and you are free to explore tubes or ss,highpower or low power amps. The weight and realism of the 6.3s will beguile you! There are alot of good speakers out there,but some make you jump thru hoops to get the right sound.I have ran them with 25 watt,100 watt,300 watt ss amps.And also a 30 watt and 125 watt per channel tube amps. There aren't many speakers on the market that can do this and sound good with either.I also live where there isn't much to choose from. I drove 4 and a half hours one way to listen to these. I bought them the same day! There's a new review on them in Sensible Sounds. The reviewer liked them so much he bought the pair he was reviewing! I have found at least 4 or 5 audio reviewers from different magazines using these or the 5.3s as reference speakers.This is special for the simple fact is they get to hear more audio equipment than the average audiophile.I have talked to the president of Soliloquy and he is a very nice guy.Their customer service is without flaw! They treat you like you are the only customer,I can't say that about some of the other guys.The designer is a cofounder of AE and designer of the AE1 and Solo Platinum,argueble some of the best monitors in the world! Each has one countless awards. The same engineering is in the Soliloquys!
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