For a while I've been contemplating a mini system. Choosing speakers is confusing /difficult.-- There are so many small book-shelf speakers new and used; it's a chore to separate 'claims' from opinions, from reality. Seems everybody's monitors sound like Wilson X1's for 3/6 hundred ?? (Read GMA Europa;Whorfdale 8.2 VSM--on and on.)
speaker suggestions for modest arcam alpha system
hi, I have very recently changed my system with a used arcam alpha 7se cd player and alpha 9 integrated amp...these two pieces and a pair of paradigm monitor 7v2s are my whole main system....i am considering changing my speakers (although i am not unhappy with them, just want to use them with my old amp (NAD T751) in a seperate home theatre setup) and i was wondering if any of the low-end-mid-fi gurus out there could suggest a good match for this modest setup.
the listening/living room is 8'Hx12'Wx16'L. my listening position is about 3.5' from back wall and about 9.5' from speakers which are along the 12' dimension of room (only way to make room work).
I love the look of floorstanding speakers but probably don't need them in my listening enivronment.
I mainly listen to modern rock, acoustic rock, vintage blues and some electronica...periodically i listen to vivalldi's 4 seasons, which is the only piece of classical music that i own
my price point is $600 to $800 (incl. stands if bookshelf variety) and prefer used gear (my cd player and amp costed $650 total after shipping, used)
any suggestions would be great, thanks, Mark
the listening/living room is 8'Hx12'Wx16'L. my listening position is about 3.5' from back wall and about 9.5' from speakers which are along the 12' dimension of room (only way to make room work).
I love the look of floorstanding speakers but probably don't need them in my listening enivronment.
I mainly listen to modern rock, acoustic rock, vintage blues and some electronica...periodically i listen to vivalldi's 4 seasons, which is the only piece of classical music that i own
my price point is $600 to $800 (incl. stands if bookshelf variety) and prefer used gear (my cd player and amp costed $650 total after shipping, used)
any suggestions would be great, thanks, Mark
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Tom, yeah i learned a bit more about Thiel after my second post...one concern I came up with about the Thiel is that its rated at four ohms, which i believe will make my Alpha 9 integrated work pretty hard, and the amp tends to timeout when it gets hot...(am i completly off base?)(would a powered sub alleviate some of this with it's own internal amplification?) (i have read that the Alpha 9 biamped system alleviates this problem) Tom, could you update this post when you get your ProAc/Arcam system dialed in?....they are the speaker i am kind of leaning towards (but price could be a problem) the Ascend Acoustics have been recommended to me before and seem to have a loyal following...i was actually considering them for my home theatre...but changing out my Paradigms and using them for home theatre sounded like more fun! thanks for all the input...right now i am leaning towards the ProAc (if i can find 'em in my price point) followed by Thiel and Meadowlark...but i need to do more research on Totem and Dali...i am still leaning towards floorstanders due to personal preference, but maybe i should buy some bookshelfers just to broaden my horizens a bit...thanks again, mark |
Underwood Hifi has some new Soliloquy 5.0's listed here on Audiogon for $500 (originally $1,100) and at that price they're an amazing bargain. They're extremely well built and have a sweet, solid sound that's very satisfying. I'm not affiliated with Underwood, just very impressed with his prices and service. |
Mark: For Thiels, the CS.5's are pretty easy to drive. Personally, I would think that the Arcam would be able to handle a 4 ohm load just fine, but as of yet, I do not have firsthand experience trying this. If you used a subwoofer with a crossover that you could plug into the "preamp out/power amp in" loop, then, yes, this would make your main speakers easier to drive, though I think that there would be some sonic sacrifice in this approach. I really wouldn't think that the small Thiels would be hard to drive. A pair of SCS3's (bookshelf size, but can be arranged horizontally or vertically) could sound nice, also, and I know that they are not hard to drive. I am really stoked about getting my system up and running. Those little ProAc's are phenomenal for their size. ProAc makes a couple of nice little subs, but I do not think that I will need them. The regular Tablette Reference 8's that I heard had plenty of bass, and the Signature models that I ordered (the dealer just told me that he has them in his hands) go even lower (38 Hz for the Sig's, versus 40 Hz for the standard Ref 8's). Your shopping list of five brands, ProAc, Thiel, Meadowlark, Totem and Dali is a fine list, and all are top performers in their price range and size, IMHO. Good luck! Tom. |
Avguygeorge here's adding to the minisystem speaker confusion: ELF 1.5 For $125 hard to go wrong. They sound natural. |
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