2. amps-preamps
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Speakers: $3,000-$4,000 on Audiogon

I am moving to a larger listening room (21 x 14) and am looking into new speakers - to pressurize the room, as I tell my wife ;). My current speakers, B&W CDM 9NT, have always sounded to bright in my previous listening room and are currently not at the same level as the rest of my system (click on the system link to see the components and cabling). Cardas cables and a McIntosh have somewhat tamed to extra energy in treble region.
I am looking for a well rounded speaker that excels in all the important areas (dynamics, frequency extension, detail, musicality). If I had a preference, I would lean towards a warmer/less analytical sound but not to the point of sacrificing detail.

Some speakers which I've had my eye on off the top of my head:
Dynaudio Contour S 3.4
Magenpan 3.6
Von Schweikert VR-4jr
Focal JM-Lab 946 Electra

Open to other suggestions,

Thanks in advance
AdamG
adamg
wellfed's avatar
wellfed
690 posts
 
I believe high efficiency horns are the speakers to build around personally.
kcgumbohead
28 posts
 
As a former B&W owner (N805s) I have for several years owned the JMLabs be series. I have no desire to use anything else. You can find some of the Be 927/937 on occasion in the used market. I can't recommend them enough as I sought what you describe and they fit the bill perfectly.
alextychkin
87 posts
 
Proac D-25/D-28
nick778
147 posts
 
The CDM's use B&W's metal tweeter and is their lowest grade tweeter retailing for about $100 each. The next step up is their aluminum tweeter and it sounds much better than the metal one.

Given you McIntosh amp and BAT and if you like the B&W sound but the tweeters are too bright, I would suggest their 803S speakers. With the right speaker cable (i.e. Audioquest CV-8) they will sound great. The CV-8 dbs is slightly on the warm side and will tame the brightness of the B&W's even more without loosing any detail.

Of couse their diamond series tweeters are fantastic, imo, but that is out of your price range (ie 803D).
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Maybe I have not heard these speakers in too long a time, but I'm suprised to see Thiel and B&W mentioned in this context; fine speakers no doubt, but compared to something like a Harbeth, Spendor, or Proac they don't seem to answer the call for warmth - they both always sounded to portray the "detail" side of the spectrum. I would not call the Merlin VSMs, that I own and recommended, warm either, but they do have a great, smooth highend with that Dynaudio Esotar tweeter.
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