Looking for Best Speakers - Floor/Bookshelf

I need advice!
41

Well let me tell you, I will post up my setup soon. In my “entertainment room” which was 10x16 I had my home theater setup and my stereo setup all in one. My AVR to my home theater and integrated or power amp to my stereo setup.

The new speakers I got a few months back which is my current dedicated setup are monsters. It forced me to take the bigger room we have available. Cause I can’t house everything in that room and swapping in and out a 100lb speaker is crazy difficult.

That’s the point I was getting at, anything different might be better. Doesn’t mean that it has to be more expensive. You naturally head towards more expensive as being better and that’s not always the case.

There is no perfect speaker, just like headphones, some with crazy high prices check more boxes than others but clearly there are a few things that to your ears are amazing. I’m not sure what they are for you.

I would provide one last piece of advice, is check Craigslist, Offer Up, EBay, all the used market and ask the people who are selling if they can demo before you buy. It will be free of charge and you can get idea what direction each company is going towards. Not that all manufacturers do follow a precise sound signature, there is definitely variations; even slight. You can see what’s out there.

Honestly I understand your paranoia on audio stores, but at the same time buying lets say a 2000 dollar pair of speakers and spending 300 on room treatment would be better than dropping a huge amount on one speaker.

In my opinion if you hit side wall reflection and behind speaker you will hit the same performance as many crazy treated room. It does clearly depend on your room but that will cover a lot of bases and isn’t expensive.

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42

The thing again is you really want to stay away from the same line, house sound will vary but it’s not drastic.

Right now I own Elac Uni-fi 2.0 for home theater and that’s my first stereo setup too.
I purchased Jamo C97 concerto MK2 for a more live presentation without being crazy treble nasty.
I got a pair of Jamo S809 for dirt cheap for my living room where I listen almost daily simply for fun.
Then the last speaker I got are my Elac Adantes.

I got my house loaded down with audio. The thing is I demo’d both my Elac speakers, and I preferred the Adante but at the time of purchase I couldn’t afford the Adantes. I found them later for dirt cheap and jumped on them cause I did want those speakers.

I got a lot going on with audio, the C97 was merely just a speaker with different flavor.

But even after getting all this I don’t miss an opportunity to demo. I’ve heard a lot of speakers cause I want to just see what’s out there. I don’t hesitate on vintage or any product cause you never know what may or may not stand out to you.

I’m obviously over the top at this point, I definitely got at least two pairs of speakers that are nearly always idle.

Again, I don’t know about you, but I am in my adolescent stage of audio. My name should make this clear, I started with headphones and home theater and now I am a stereo fanatic.

This is why I’m wasting time and money to find out what I really want. It took me nearly a year to find what I want. It’s not easy, but in the process I’ve saved a lot of money, that’s why I’m giving you my opinion to help you save money.

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43

Really appreciate all the time you spent in responding!

44

The places to look for used audio gear are Audiogon and US Audiomart. Of the two, I prefer Audiogon. It’s worth subscribing for a time so that you have access to their used equipment bluebook price guide.

45

I don’t have experience buying or selling through them myself but something that comes up often from our customers is https://tmraudio.com/.

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46

My suggestions were only strictly based on local sales so he can go to the persons home and actually take a listen. I’ve done it probably a dozen times already to listen to different speakers and get a feel what’s out there.

I mean you basically pretend you are interested in buying and requesting to make sure the product is functional.

If it comes to purchased I would honestly only stick to audiogon or eBay as your money is protected. Not sure if usaudiomart has that level of protection. As @taronlissimore said TMR is great and if you see anything on EBay or Audiogon you can call them direct for an even further discount or bargaining. Which with TMR comes with a warranty too, regardless how you purchase.

48

I’ve been speaking with them to possibly sell my current speakers - thanks!

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49

I ordered from them maybe 15 years ago for some car audio equipment. They were, at that time both reasonably priced and responsive.

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50

Late last year and got my Bryston BHA-1. Great service, answered all my questions, so far so good.

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51

I would honestly avoid selling anything to TMR, they give you really bad prices. You would get way more from Craigslist, OfferUp, or any local classified ads.

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52

I’m finding that out, actually. Would love to sell to a reseller rather than eBay/Craigslist, etc. (less aggravation; easier shipping) but I may need to keep my options open.

53

Yes, but what you get out of that is far less money. I’ve noticed they will usually only pay you 25% of what the msrp. At that price you may want to just keep it. You should be easily able to get 60% of what you paid on a quick sale. 70% may take longer, still worth it.

What is it you are trying to sell? You had a fairly decent budget.

Think you should figure out what you want prior to making moves, as you want a definite purchase prior to making any other transactions.

Edit: I would also check out highendaudioauctions on eBay. They buy and sell as well, possibly get a better deal. But I would strongly suggest you avoid that route.

Also, another bit of advice is never make a decision on anything right away. Excitement and anticipation creates a lot of mental fogging leading to poor decisions. Think about what you’re going to do over a couple days if possible.

54

Thanks - I’m pretty well thought-through on my strategy if not the avenue for selling the old speakers - which I’ll only do if I’m happy with my new ones. Just doing my homework for now, but appreciate the advice.

55

agree on that, they really don’t give much unless its high end,

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57

I went with the R11s as an upgrade to my Q950s, rather than supplementing my current setup with dedicated 2-ch audio speakers.

What a perfect upgrade for me. The R11s are clearer, more detailed, more dynamic, and have a greater presence. The sound quality for music went from a sufficiently detailed but vaguely muted/muddy to a clear, shiny, liquid sound rich with detail and with a broader soundstage.

I’m absolutely sure many of the fine recommendations from all of you could provide an even greater upgrade, but the value of not crowding my room with two more speakers, combined with the sheer uptick in quality, makes this one of my most gratifying additions to my system.

And of course, I went ahead and just ordered an upgrade from my Q650 to the R2C center channel for movies. My Q350 surrounds and Q-series Atmos satellites will more than suffice, though!

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58

That’s awesome. Hoping years of enjoyment. I just can’t seem to get rid of my Kef 201/2 bookshelves in my office area, they just do so well with my Pass amp, I heard the REF 1 bookshelf in my room with my amp and was blown away, but its a little outside of my reach… .

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59

Well, I folded and bought R3 rear speakers. The overall sound is clearer, punchier, more immediate.

But I WILL stick with my Q Series Dolby toppers.

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60

Advice for purchasing an amplifier please: I am planning to purchase the Wharfedale Linton anniversary speakers for my apartment. My living room is quite large but I plan to listen only about 8 to 10 feet away from the speakers. I’m looking an amplifier ideally under $1500 (but could go a bit higher if necessary) that would work well with the Wharfdale speakers. Those speakers are known to have a warm and lush mid range which is what I’m primarily interested in for vocals and melodic music. I understand one is supposed to purchase an amplifier that does not duplicate the sound of the speakers as it may be too much of a good thing. Primarily I want an amplifier with sufficient power and a tonality that preserves the rich mid range. Thanks.

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61

I don’t usually make recommendations without knowing the particular product, but I am familiar with the Wharfedale speakers. I use a fully restored vintage Sansui solid state integrated amp with the speakers in my office, and a Wyred4Sound class D STI-1000 with my main home speakers. Both are not in your price range. I also have some Schiit equipment that I like very much but not, again what you’re looking for.

If I’m guessing correctly, you are looking for an INTEGRATED AMP, one that does not require a separate pre-amp. Note that if you have a turntable, many modestly priced integrated amps no longer include an input for either MM or MC cartridges, which means that you would also need to buy a phono pre-amp.

Now here come the ideas, which I won’t go so far as to consider recommendations. In your price range, the SCHIIT Ragnarok should work well with your speakers. If you want separates, I know @Torq had a couple of VIDARs which would also be close to your range with a separate pre-amp. These will all be traditional and analog, not class D, which many audiophiles feel is inferior. They’re wrong, of course, Class D can be done right, but there are a lot of products that don’t do it right. Class A is heavy and generates much heat. It’s the audiophile preference / holy grail. Class AB or B are very traditional.
Class D is the first of the “digital” classes and is physically quite light compared to any of the earlier ones which require serious power supplies. Class D will get you lots of watts for the dollar, but again, implementation is critical.

That said, I am happy with my Wyred4Sound class D amp, the STI-1000 at about $2500, and their small MINT amp in your price range has won many awards. The Wyred4Sound does NOT have a phono input so you’d need a phono preamp if you use a turntable.

Reputable brands of integrated amps in moderate price ranges include Rotel, NAD, Cambridge Audio, Quad, Musical Fidelity and others. Personally I think you pay extra for the name on Marantz and Sony, and brands like Denon and Yamaha may give good value, but are sort of consumer-oriented.

In a SOLID STATE amp, you’ll probably want at least 50 WPC from a quality brand, and more certainly won’t hurt. If I’ve guessed wrong about what you’re looking for, and you want tubes, that’s a rabbit hole of it’s own, and you’re on you own ;). I hope this helps.

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62

There is a T+A Amp 8 (used for $900 ) over on the Audioshark forum. That’s one heck of an amp.

======================
The overall circuit design of the AMP 8 is that of our sensational PA 3000 HV integrated amplifier, which is why the input stage and the voltage amplifier stage operate at much higher voltage potentials (HV – High Voltage concept). The input stage is a cross-coupled J-FET cascode amplifier, while the voltage amplifier stage is a single-ended Class-A Hawksford FET cascode. The output stage is responsible for current amplification, and is equipped with ThermalTrak TM high-performance audio transistors to ensure that the bias point is totally stable and free of inertia effects. The voltage amplifier stage and the current amplifier stage are completely separate from each other, and each has its own power supply. This prevents any feedback effects from the loudspeakers influencing the voltage amplifiers, which are crucial to sound quality.

We call this circuit concept ICA (Isolated Current Amplifier), and developed it years ago for our R-series of equipment. The individual stages are of extremely linear, broad-band design, with the result that the AMP 8 requires very low levels of “overall” negative feedback; the bandwidth is more than 200 kHz. Our engineers have invested tremendous effort in creating a circuit track layout with absolutely minimal inductivity, thereby helping to achieve superb transient and dynamic response. At those points in the circuit which are crucial to sound quality we employ carefully selected audiophile components such as amagnetic Vishay resistors and special WIMA and ELNA audio capacitors.
The mains power supply is designed to cope with extremely severe and difficult loads. Its torroidal transformer generates up to 400 Watts whilst maintaining low leakage fields, and is capable of driving even very demanding loudspeakers effortlessly. The power supplies for the amplifier stages are completely separate for each channel, and feature their own reservoir capacity and buffering. In consequence there is no trace of interaction of any kind between the channels.

SPECIFICATIONS
Output Stage

Nominal output per channel into 8 Ohms / 4 Ohms
80 Watts / 110 Watts
Peak output per channel into 8 Ohms / 4 Ohms
100 Watts / 130 Watts
Frequency response + 0 / – 3 dB
1 Hz – 200 kHz
Slew rate
60 V/µs
Damping factor

170
Signal to noise ratio
103 / 110 dB
Channel separation
81 / 65 dB
Total harmonic distortion
< 0,009 %
Reservoir capacity
33.000 µF

Mains
110-120 V or 220-240 V, 50-60 Hz. 400 Watts
Standby
< 0,2 W

Additional features
Triggerinput +5 … 20V for external switching on
Automatic signal-controlled power o

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