@orrman Hi on your list, if your room will work, and you can up the budget some, i would put the Devore 093’s, the 096 even better but not necessary for the amount of power you have on hand. I think they would be a solid 80% match for all you ask for.
Next, Audio Note An-? Series speakers, there are multiples in the series to choose from and finely detail your desires and wants. Again, well beyond the budget.
Both choices presented are over budget, even used.
Next in line, used, are Klipsch or JBL IF their house sound is to your tastes. The Forte 2 or 3 and 70’s - 90’s K-horns used are within budget if you look. Harder to find similar in JBL but they are out there. We are talking high sensitivity horn box style speakers here. These will meet most of your criteria and play well in your power and quality of amplifier range. I personally like the Cornwall too but the bass is not as hard hitting as Forte or K-horn IMO.
I think many single driver models and also allot of the 2 piece 1.5 way models built on a transmission line design will also appeal to 80% + of your tastes, the transmission line design i think digs a bit deeper than standard ported designs but also tends to cost much more because of the build. Again budget constraints will dictate how high up the chain you go here. They are much more room friendly and easier to position overall.
I want to try low priced open baffles myself, very much and will concentrate on them at the 2022 CAF show in MD but i cannot recommend any from personal experience that would be any where near under $20k so i have nothing to offer here.
I would love to throw out a super friendly budget choice for shits and grins i am listening to as we speak. Decware Tube tots…go look them up. Just for fun if nothing else.
Thank you that’s super helpful.
You mentioned in your previous post the open baffle will probably not be a good fit, can you elaborate why? I see the Spatial Audio speakers are always recommended with the LTA and they just released a new M4 Ultra that seems to borrow some from the higher end X line. Is it because of the bass? is it hard to incorporate a subwoofer to a system like that?
I do NOT have personal experience with them but I know I want open baffle speakers that are on the affordable side. I know personally I will have a bit of difficulties incorporating them into my room but I’m sure I will love them once done no matter what, it’s my personality.
My opinion is that every reviewer has mentioned that electronic music is not their strength. Specifically mentioning electronic style music. Do some more research on you tube to make sure I’m not steering you in the wrong direction. That’s my opinion of them.
The few high end pieces I listened too all were played with vocals and jazz so my only experiences are limited to costlier models with those music choices.
Does that help?
I think you’ll want to try and hear at least dipoles (including most open baffle speakers in that), single driver speakers, and horns, along with several more conventional multiple drivers in a cabinet designs, they all have very distinct things they do, and a lot of people either love or hate them.
It’s easier to talk about what you want when you have a point of reference.
It’s worth travelling to a few Brick and Mortar stores to demo things, even if they aren’t exactly what you want.
In an ideal world you really want to hear speakers in your own space before buying, but I know that’s not always possible.
@orrman FYSA, 50 watts per channel is by no means low wattage or power, you are open to more options than we have mentioned BUT as has been repeated, at least a little bit of hands on with some various types of speakers to get a general direction for yourself first is highly recommended and encouraged by all.
As a simple example, I was recently using a 25 wpc amplifier to power my 8ohm 87 db sensitivity stand mount Philharmonic BMR’s. At no point did I feel they were being underpowered and to be quite honest they sounded exquisite in the simple configuration I had them set up w/ while I was playing w/ a Berkeley Alpha DAC trying to get a feel for it’s character.
You have freedom with the quality 50 wpc you purchased and there are many good choices of speakers. Your audience here is very limited as far as 2 channel goes and some of us here are a bit eccentric in the boutique products we are using.
I don’t personally own any expensive (relative term) speakers and get a ton of enjoyment out of what I have, 3/4 of which are used and some as old as I am🤪
I’ve been in this hobby for about 20 years now in various degrees of interest. I learned over time to always buy the best quality one can afford and that there’s no such thing as giant killers and unicorns. I’m lucky to be in a position where I can spend time thinking about this (probably more than I should lol) and I know what and the people I’m dealing with
I’ve been using the same speakers for the last 8-9 years and finally have a house with kind of a dedicated room so I can go a little deeper down the rabbit hole.
Sorry for driving everyone insane and probably shake their head once or twice today!
What other forums do you guys participate on? Most of mine have been headphone focused side of audio and was looking for another forum or two that is related to 2 channel audio.
Audiokarma is sort of this but more old guys with the turn tables talking about Nam and their bargain bin finds of 70’s equipment that needs work. Its ok but not for me.
Most of the other forums I find are Home theater related (AVS) or very specific in nature (audio circle).
Not looking for a new home just looking to expand a bit.
My specific tastes though are served best over at AudioCircle and I participate a tiny touch there. https://www.audiocircle.com/
There are also a bunch of places on Facebook that allow for questions direct to very focused individuals of products. Most of those conversations tend to go deep offline though when I need specific info.
I forgot, there is some knowledge to be gleaned from these articles, and allot of the DIY groups have knowledge buried in them reference particulars to tube audio.
hasn’t happened to me in a long time but plugged in a new (to me) piece of audio gear and it sounded like shit.
Got a used Omega deephemp 8 subwoofer to replace my SVS SB1000 (so it can go back to the home theater) and couldn’t listen for more than a few minutes.
I don’t think it’s faulty, or at least don’t have reason to believe so.
I’m wondering if it’s purely placement and settings (I can control phase, crossover and volume) and maybe that’s it a down firing vs what I’m used to?
Ordered some extra long power and RCA cables to do a sub crawl over the weekend. SVS is back in the 2ch for the time being.
So I’m finding that I prefer how the bass sounds when I’m standing up in front of my speakers and sub and not sitting with my ears leveled with the speakers. What can explain that?
I would guess it diffuses the sound a tad, so if there’s a frequency spike that’s fatiguing when it hits your ears directly, it might be softened a bit when less direct/diffused. That would likely also proportionally change perception of bass quantity since treble is more impacted by changes in position, I believe.
Speakers have both volume and different frequency response once you get off axis, on a speaker with multiple drivers (assuming they aren’t coaxial) your also changing the phase relationship of the drivers, which will in effect cause the crossover to behave differently.
Try toeing in or out the speakers, it can have a similar effect, thought it won’t change the phase relationship.
These are Omega single 8 inch drivers and an Omega subwoofer (will be adding a second one this weekend).
I understand sound would be different off axis and in the Omega’s case even more so (they are so sensitive to placement, toe in and where I sit).
I’m wondering if there’s a way to get that sound I hear when my head is higher to be similar lower if that makes sense. Speaking mostly about the subwoofer.
