Question Replacing floorstanders

[Jan Gaens]

Current system: Rega Brio amp, Rega Apollo cd, bluesound node 2i.
Current (failing) speakers: KEF Q7.

Your advise on new floorstanders (price/quality matters, not too intrusive in living room).
Mainly listening to classical music but also pop, rock, jazz,...
Are the neat iota alpha an option?
Listening to my favourite boheme recording with schippers, freni, gedda there is a harshness in forte high voices (oh sventata, che gelida manina): can this be overcome with new speakers in the current system?

 

[Al ears]

Size of room, budget might be helpful.
Listening to those recordings on CD?
The iota alpha are not a particularly easy speaker to drive and not too sure how they perform on a carpeted floor with that downward firing bass.

 

[Jan Gaens]

Listening space 5x5m oak wooden floor ceiling 3 m, this space is open to diner space 6x4 m.
Listening to CD for classical music and jazz, for radio and other genres (spotify, internet radio) I use the bluesound node attached to the Rega Brio.
Budget 1000 to 3000 euro.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

If i were looking at neats iota series it would be iota Xplorer, think they pretty much fall into your budget (could be wrong) and would be a better fit for your space.

But i would look a Revel 106m don't be put off by there standmount stature they give a full range experience and are able to be played loud with ease, though can compress just a little at the extreme. They're very much a match for any compact floor stander and have one of the best mid/bass drivers money can buy, There best attribute is there very listenable at lower levels which not every speaker can do. At this price and size level, nothing matches them nothing is as dynamic these should be on your shortlist floorstander or not

The slightly more left field option (for some) would be the Klipsch Heritage line of speakers great for anything acoustic jazz, classical, rock (sound like you) though they play everything with aplomb. They deliver crystal clear vocals, lovely mids with dynamics that are unbeatable for the price (not even the revel can match these), though can sound a tad shy on bass, you can't have it all. BUT! Will fill your room with ease with there 99DB+ sensitivity giving your amp an easier life and they go loud! no joke! With little to no distortion and with very few watts, 5 will do it 20-30 will rock your world.

The outgoing heresy 3 model can be picked up very cheaply at the moment. So if you need a bit more weight a little sub could be added with your leftover budget. But the sweet spot is the forte 3. But the best thing is they go against all traditional speaker setup wisdom and can be plastered right in the corners and up against the front wall, in fact, you're encouraged to do so in manuals as a starting point. And they're all hand made and book matched to boot.

Those are what i have tested and compared and have owned and had in my house, in the case of Klipsch still own and will nver get rid of.

Then you have your usual boring suspects PMC ATC KEF and so on which i also auditioned and in comparison in my opinion the revels beat nearly all but that's me and people are after different flavours.

 

[Al ears]

When you say "harshness in the forte high voices" what source are you listening to or is it the same with all sources?

 

[Jan Gaens]

Listening to the CD, should I try the Flac version stored on my Bluesound vault?

 

[Al ears]

Listening to the CD, should I try the Flac version stored on my Bluesound vault?

You could, I was just curious if it was simply one source producing this effect or was it a symptom of the speakers themselves.

 

[daytona600]

Rega Brios £599 budget amp if you have up to 3,000 euro budget look at improving source/amp 1st to reduce harshness
34F very liquid & smooth sounding with no harshness

Elipson Prestige Facet 34F

It is often said that the seventies were the decade that taste forgot and apart from being the era that introduced many of us to the idea of high-fidelity stereo sound, few seem to have fond memories of it. Some seventies design trends, however, are coming back into fashion and much like...

www.hifichoice.com

 

[Jan Gaens]

If i were looking at neats iota series it would be iota Xplorer, think they pretty much fall into your budget (could be wrong) and would be a better fit for your space.

But i would look a Revel 106m don't be put off by there standmount stature they give a full range experience and are able to be played loud with ease, though can compress just a little at the extreme. They're very much a match for any compact floor stander and have one of the best mid/bass drivers money can buy, There best attribute is there very listenable at lower levels which not every speaker can do. At this price and size level, nothing matches them nothing is as dynamic these should be on your shortlist floorstander or not

The slightly more left field option (for some) would be the Klipsch Heritage line of speakers great for anything acoustic jazz, classical, rock (sound like you) though they play everything with aplomb. They deliver crystal clear vocals, lovely mids with dynamics that are unbeatable for the price (not even the revel can match these), though can sound a tad shy on bass, you can't have it all. BUT! Will fill your room with ease with there 99DB+ sensitivity giving your amp an easier life and they go loud! no joke! With little to no distortion and with very few watts, 5 will do it 20-30 will rock your world.

The outgoing heresy 3 model can be picked up very cheaply at the moment. So if you need a bit more weight a little sub could be added with your leftover budget. But the sweet spot is the forte 3. But the best thing is they go against all traditional speaker setup wisdom and can be plastered right in the corners and up against the front wall, in fact, you're encouraged to do so in manuals as a starting point. And they're all hand made and book matched to boot.

Those are what i have tested and compared and have owned and had in my house, in the case of Klipsch still own and will nver get rid of.

Then you have your usual boring suspects PMC ATC KEF and so on which i also auditioned and in comparison in my opinion the revels beat nearly all but that's me and people are after different flavours.

Thank you for your excellent input. Klipsch wasn't in my minds allthough I have a pair of

If i were looking at neats iota series it would be iota Xplorer, think they pretty much fall into your budget (could be wrong) and would be a better fit for your space.

But i would look a Revel 106m don't be put off by there standmount stature they give a full range experience and are able to be played loud with ease, though can compress just a little at the extreme. They're very much a match for any compact floor stander and have one of the best mid/bass drivers money can buy, There best attribute is there very listenable at lower levels which not every speaker can do. At this price and size level, nothing matches them nothing is as dynamic these should be on your shortlist floorstander or not

The slightly more left field option (for some) would be the Klipsch Heritage line of speakers great for anything acoustic jazz, classical, rock (sound like you) though they play everything with aplomb. They deliver crystal clear vocals, lovely mids with dynamics that are unbeatable for the price (not even the revel can match these), though can sound a tad shy on bass, you can't have it all. BUT! Will fill your room with ease with there 99DB+ sensitivity giving your amp an easier life and they go loud! no joke! With little to no distortion and with very few watts, 5 will do it 20-30 will rock your world.

The outgoing heresy 3 model can be picked up very cheaply at the moment. So if you need a bit more weight a little sub could be added with your leftover budget. But the sweet spot is the forte 3. But the best thing is they go against all traditional speaker setup wisdom and can be plastered right in the corners and up against the front wall, in fact, you're encouraged to do so in manuals as a starting point. And they're all hand made and book matched to boot.

Those are what i have tested and compared and have owned and had in my house, in the case of Klipsch still own and will nver get rid of.

Then you have your usual boring suspects PMC ATC KEF and so on which i also auditioned and in comparison in my opinion the revels beat nearly all but that's me a

Thank you for the excellent input. Klipsch wasn't in my mindh I use a pair of rp600m in my study room. Do you think these heritage speakers van adress the problem of harshness. The Rega Brio is a budget amplifier. Any idea how a more conventional klipsch RP 8000f would perform?

 

[Jan Gaens]

When you say "harshness in the forte high voices" what source are you listening to or is it the same with all sources?

The harshness isn‘t that disturbing, guess it is also the recording and the high pitched soprano and tenor passages.No clear difference between CD and FLAC (CD better sounding than FLAC over bluesound over Rega Brio 😉). Do you think new speakers can better this?

 

[Jan Gaens]

Speaker stand up not that easy, see photo.

 

[insider9]

Very few speakers will do well in that setting. Try some Audio Note or full range driver designs. Alternatively look at in wall if convenience is important.

 

[Al ears]

Insider9 has a point but, personally, your current speakers are not ideally placed. They need to be out further and closer together away from those side walls.
To my ears the KEF Q series were always a tad bright, I would suggest replacing them with something a bit more neutral. Perhaps second-hand Sonus Faber Venere 2.5's

 

[Jan Gaens]

Insider9 has a point but, personally, your current speakers are not ideally placed. They need to be out further and closer together away from those side walls.
To my ears the KEF Q series were always a tad bright, I would suggest replacing them with something a bit more neutral. Perhaps second-hand Sonus Faber Venere 2.5's

They are pretty far away from thé rearwakl

Insider9 has a point but, personally, your current speakers are not ideally placed. They need to be out further and closer together away from those side walls.
To my ears the KEF Q series were always a tad bright, I would suggest replacing them with something a bit more neutral. Perhaps second-hand Sonus Faber Venere 2.5's

They are pretty far from the rear wall (0.5m) but close tot the side walls. For concentrated listening I can bring them before the couch.

 

[jjbomber]

They are pretty far from the rear wall (0.5m) but close tot the side walls. For concentrated listening I can bring them before the couch.

Just point them slightly inwards towards your listening position. You can try a few different positions to see which one is best.

 

[Dom]

It's a conundrum, if your careful you can really get awesome sound quality.

 

[Jan Gaens]

It's a conundrum, if your careful you can really get awesome sound quality.

Any suggestions for my setup?

 

[Dom]

Dynaudio Special Forty.

 

[Al ears]

Dynaudio Special Forty.

Good point but he isn't going to get them and a decent set of stands for his budget.

 

[Jan Gaens]

Good point but he isn't going to get them and a decent set of stands for his budget.

For some reason I prefer floorstanders. Speakers have to be a step up from the old kefq7’s but they should not overshoot the Rega equipement wich i intend to keep a while.

 

[Jan Gaens]

I read good reviews on the q acoustics 3500, dali oberon 5, Wharfedale evo 4.4 etc. Can i do better since i am willing to stretch the budget to 2000 and eventually 2500-3000 euro?

 

[Al ears]

I read good reviews on the q acoustics 3500, dali oberon 5, Wharfedale evo 4.4 etc. Can i do better since i am willing to stretch the budget to 2000 and eventually 2500-3000 euro?

It's very awkward at this time as normally I would suggest going to a dealer and auctioning.
Buying on other people's recommendations isn't a good idea but realise you might have to do just that in the current climate. Buy carefully and if they don't work for you then you shouldn't lose too much if you sell them on at a later date.
Check the dimensions of these speakers and see if they will fit comfortably in the space you have . Each of those speakers you mention have good reviews but it doesn't mean they will work well within your current space, that said I think they will all give a different, and probably better, presentation to those you currently own.
Are you only considering new speakers as opposed to second hand?
Please note also, being in the UK, I have no idea as to what you can get for speakers within your upper budget.

 

[Jan Gaens]

It's very awkward at this time as normally I would suggest going to a dealer and auctioning.
Buying on other people's recommendations isn't a good idea but realise you might have to do just that in the current climate. Buy carefully and if they don't work for you then you shouldn't lose too much if you sell them on at a later date.
Check the dimensions of these speakers and see if they will fit comfortably in the space you have . Each of those speakers you mention have good reviews but it doesn't mean they will work well within your current space, that said I think they will all give a different, and probably better, presentation to those you currently own.
Are you only considering new speakers as opposed to second hand?
Please note also, being in the UK, I have no idea as to what you can get for speakers within your upper budget.

Almost all speakers you can buy in the UK are available in Belgium. Prices here are generally the same or a little bit lower here.

 

[Jan Gaens]

Second hand is harder tot het here comparing to sites in the UK. For instance the sonusfaber venere 2.5 afore mentioned.

 

[rainsoothe]

Dali Oberon 5 is a good bet, and with the upped budget, Focal Aria 926 or 936 should make great partners. Or SH Sonus Faber Toy Tower or Spendor A5R. On the other hand, with the big budget, another way to look at it would be improving source and amplification - Maybe a Naim Uniti Star - and upgrade the speakers at a later date.