undecided on new Floor standing speakers

[maslence88]

Hi guys long time reader 1st time writer,

I need your help i have set up a 2 chanel set up in my open plan living. Monitor audio RX2 bookshelfs with a NAD 326bee amp and NAD 546bee CD player, and also my old man gave me his old NAD turntabe about 25 years old but still going strong, (dont make them like they use to)so i love my natural sounding and nutural music and high detail to music... but

im setting up my home theatre and im in a dilema, my options are that my budget is 5k just speakers and sub at a 1 lump sum. but im leaning more now towards buying it in stages and building the system so here are my thoughts. room is 7mx5m

amp- either NAD T757, Marantz sr5008 or if i can find a nice but "cheap" Arcam, but here is where im getting lost, if im building then im happy to wait and not have the 5k budget for everything but i dont want to go stupid, or the better half will have my.... well you know.

so speakers i was looking at in a package where the monitor Audio silver 6 series with the BX range for rears. or do i now think big, im looking at the Sonus Faber venere 2.5, but 3.5k for speakers i dont know. id love to keep it under 3k. unless someone can tell me they are the bees knees. also the B&W 683 s2 heard gread stuff on dynaudio havent had a chance to listen yet. so 2 things if i go to 3k on the speakers i dont want to be spending stupid on the amp. so the $1,200 mark would be ok. the NAD is $1,400. do you think they will run them to there full potential? so all suggestions are welcome. Ohh and i listen to everything Loud!! cant hear yourself speak loud. and it will be about 80 20, 80% being music listning

please help

 

[KidKomet]

Hi Maslence and welcome to the fun!

That's a healthy budget so do take as much time as needed to get the sound you enjoy the most, don't rush anything. Demo as much as possible.

Now, if you're going down the floorstander route you definitely won't have to worry about a matching sub unless you're looking for an extreme bass imbalance. The Sonus Faber's you mentioned are fantastic but you'll need a better amp to get the most out of them. The likes of Sugden, Exposure, Electrocompaniet, Musical Fidelity etc.

Have you considered the active route? Adam Audio, Martin Logan, Bang & Olufsen etc.

Just my 2 cents, enjoy the journey *drinks*

 

[maslence88]

Thank you for the feedback,

i acually havent looked into the other brands just yet but will deffently look into. so you think that i will be needing a better amp. ive heard and listened to great things with the Musical Fidelity. The price on the other hand is well a little out of the budget. but like i said if im going to build the system slow and steady wins the race.

ill be looking into the amps now. man its just like.. when do you stop, im always thinking yea but for an extra bla bla i could get this.

what a journey

thanks

 

[KidKomet]

It's a controversial issue within the hobby, always wanting to upgrade or try something different. It has it's pros & cons. The only truly solid piece of advice we can all abide by is to demo as much as possible and then go with whatever sounds best to you.

 

[Zax89swe]

If i was you I would keep the present setup or go for a new stereo setup with floorstanders and maybe a subwoofer aswell for the movies. I got myself Tannoy Revolution dc6t se and these are a little smoother then my previous Jbl studio 290, the diffrence isnt huge as you would expect. The biggest diffrence in sound for me was when i use my computers soundcards equalizer, less shrill more neutral and fuller sound was the result.

 

[maslence88]

well i had a demo of the Monitor audio silver 6 floorstanders with the NAD T758 and i also demod the Sonus Faber venere 2.5. all i can say is OMG. i said not to tell me what speakers he was setting up and i just wanted to listen. tried both and it was chaulk and cheese. The SF were absolutly beautiful with the NAD. so balanced and detailed. the soundstage was amazing even though it wasnt evenset up correctly.

im able to get bot the NAd T758 and SF for 4.5k. what are your thoughts?

thanks for all the feedback guys

 

[CnoEvil]

I have to be very brief (for now), as I'm heading out the door...but two thoughts:

- Think of budgeting a similar amount for amp as you are for speakers.

- Don't get tunnel vision and jump at the first system that sounds great.

Will put some further thoughts together, later on.

 

[CnoEvil]

In my rush this morning, I thought you were putting together a 2 channel system, so I will gear my advice around an AV system that is geared towards 80% music listening.

If I was in your position ie. doing it in stages and with such a high percentage of 2 channel listening, I would be looking at a Linn Majik DSM (has all the digital socketry you need for 2.1 and has a good phono stage) with some Kef R700s. Then I would add a BK Sub.

When funds recovered, I would add an AV amp + R Series Centre and R100 surrounds. In this case the DSM can cover Front L&R in a 5 channel system, and you don't need such a good AV amp, as 2 channel is already covered.

http://www.linn.co.uk/all-products/network-music-players/majik-dsm

http://docs.linn.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Majik_DSM

If you want to do the whole thing with an AV amp, I would not look past the AVR 450 due to the decent 2 channel performance. I would be looking to pair it with R Series, PMC or SF Venere.

FWIW. I think the first option would work very well for you, as it would build the system up the right way round for your needs (ie. big emphasis on 2 channel)....and who knows, after living with 2.1, you might not feel the need to go any further.

I urge you to get a demo, as I have heard this particular combination and believe it offers very good VFM.

 

[maslence88]

Great post will have a look at the Keff.. prob looking at staying with the one receiver atm.. I will be demoing a pair of vienna acustics and the shop said they will let me listen to a few amps. So far the SF venere 2.5 are outstanding atm. So im curious to hear from these tomorrow. Again guys thanks for all the feedback. . Like all have said demo demo demo

 

[nopiano]

When I first heard Sonus faber, the original Extrema (many years ago), I just knew I had to own some Sf one day. I reads like you feel the same, so if they work for you then go for it.

But I agree to try other things. Then when you go back, you'll know the Sfs were the best for you!