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Early stages of choosing replacement floorstanders

My room: Hard floors, hard walls, 12X19X8.

Material: Movies/TV most of the time, not critical sound. When I'm listening to music it can be Dire Straits, Enya, Nora Jones, Pink Floyd...I'm actually expecting my enjoyment of a wider spectrum to increase with a good enough system that will be involving.

Size: I have an accepting wife, but I do have a wife so living around the speakers is a factor. I can pull them into the room to a degree, but something closer to the wall is better. What I'm replacing is about 40X17X15, and I can go a little taller, mainly looking to slim down (seems to be the way speaker construction is going anyway, so that's ok)

What I've listened to so far:
PSB Synchrony 1's and Imagine T2's. Liked them both, pleasantly surprised by how good they sounded. The Sychrony has been a little enigmatic - occasionally I've felt it sounded slightly veiled, then other times it hasn't. Electronics and placement has been the same

Theil 2.7's - I think that was the number. Possibly due to placement, but they left me cold.

Vandersteen Treo's - Liked them very much. They were obviously far better set up, in their own room, with about $15K+ of Ayre electronics behind them. Staging was wonderful, involving, very impressed, but tempered by the disparity of set up and associated equipment.

Focal 1028Be - read some reviews, and stumbled onto a dealer with them on display. His set up most closely resembled my setup at home. Powered by Marantz. Liked them very much as well. Heard details and air in some of my recordings I had never heard before..(like the change of direction of the bow across strings, or so it seemed. Details like that) Involving and engaging. I am concerned about that tweeter in my 'live' room though. Definitely pushing the limits of size.

Various B&W's in months past - liked most of what I heard, but would need to relisten in light of more recent speakers I've auditioned.

the questions I'm throwing out to any past/present owners of these is how flexible can I be with placement, can I keep them within 18-24 inches of back/sidewalls? Should I be cautious of rear ported vs front?
Should I choose the speakers I like best regardless of store setup/placement, and then treat my room once I have the speakers, or consider the room heavily in my auditioning before I buy (would that Be tweeter on Focal become to strident in a more live room? Avoid metal dome tweeters? etc).

Budget is less of a concern than finding what I can live with for a while - I'm replacing 25 year old mains now - and used is viable for me. What I've listened to has ranged from 3500-8500. My sources are streaming or discs through an Oppo BDP103, Yamaha receiver for HT, to an Odyssey Stratos. I also have a Hsu ULS15 sub for movies.

I don't expect definitive answers, I'm looking to glean usable information from the wealth of knowledge and experience here that I don't have. Thanks in advance
english210
james63
534 posts
 
You listed some good speakers but I would pass on any B&W below the 802d. I had a pair of 703s when I first got started. They sounded nice at first but as I learned to listen I heard their coloration. They were also VERY fatiguing.

I have demoed the 1028be and 1037be and own thiel 2.4. All are ok and different in their own way. I like the focal but wanted more bass impact.
english210 OP
175 posts
 
I have a blind spot when it comes to KEF, probably un justified, and partly because they have some many options, I'm not sure where to start looking - and of course I haven't found a dealer yet. I'll work on that - they obviously have a strong following. Revel I'm interested in, but no dealers I can find close seem to stock anything. Dynaudio is a new-ish name to me, but one I'm seeing more of.

Good to here, Telescope trade. I liked what I heard initially.

I've heard a disparity of opinions on the 802D/803D comparison. Some say the 803D is quicker and more precise in the bass regions. Not sure if I'll stretch to 5 figures, but a deal on used...?? I have to be careful of size. I think 802D would just be too big. I listened to the Thiel briefly at the place that had PSB and Vandy's, and maybe it was placement on them, but they didn't do anything for me. They had the new 2's (2.7's??). I wasn't blown away by the bass on the Focal, but didn't feel I was missing much either. My main focus was on what I heard from the tweeter, though. I liked that.
english210 OP
175 posts
 
How much of a factor is room size in my decision making? Not from an aesthetic factor, but from a sound standpoint. It is well known that a speaker that impresses in one environ, disappoints in another, and part of the difference is the room. What guidelines are there in terms of room size to speaker size from an audio standpoint?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,182 posts
 
Sometimes, with a lively room as you describe, less can be more. How about a pair of kef ls50's to start? Add 2 or more subs optionally later as/if needed.

Also check out the audiokinesis line. One of those might be a nice fit as well.
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