Hi, I've been itching to upgrade my speakers for a few weeks now but can't seem to make up my mind on which ones. It all started when I sold my Triangle Stellas. I really liked the PRaT and detail but the upper mids where just too thin/aggressive for classical violin and some female voices. As a temporary solution I figured I'd grab a used pair of PSB B25s and see what developed from there. The B25s actually pretty good but look "big and cheap"(WAF) and can sound a bit boxy at times. So I started with some Reference 3a Dulcets - not bad but not worth the price. Then it was B&W CM1s - beautiful smooth highs but somehow sounded a bit tame and at 84 db probably too inefficient for my lowly Cambridge 640a V2. Then I brought home a pair of Era D4s - again nice highs but at 84db weren't "opening up" at all. Next it was a pair of Proac Tablette ref. 8s - beautiful speaker(I almost kept these) with surprising bass and good PRaT but not enough presence at low volume and rather pricey considering their size. So now my last hope is Dynaudio. I heard a pair of Audience 42s a while ago and remember them being very detailed in the mids and highs and the price is reasonable but I can't remember if they were "musical"(PRaT)and they look rather ordinary.Then there's the Focus 110s which I haven't heard but assume that they would be a notch or two above the 42s. So anyhow what I'm wondering is do you think I'm better off keeping the B25s or would the Dynaudios be a noticeable improvement? My room does not handle "bass boom" very well - would I have a problem with either of the Dynaudios? Would my 75w/ch Cambridge be capable of properly driving these rather inneficient speakers? And the last burning question - would I be better off upgrading my amp and then my speakers? Thanks }
You've mentioned everything you dislike not not once mentioned what you do like. If none of these speakers suit you, you need to get a grip on what it is you want. Othwerwise, you're shooting blanks.
"So anyhow what I'm wondering is do you think I'm better off keeping the B25s or would the Dynaudios be a noticeable improvement?"
"And the last burning question - would I be better off upgrading my amp and then my speakers?"
If you have speakers that don't suit you, should you upgrade your amp? Is that the question?
There are better amplifiers than the Cambridge. You haven't mentioned what's feeding the Cambridge or the room or what you really want to hear.
Actually I thought I was rather objective in describing what I liked and what I didn't like in each speaker. I found that most of the better ones demanded a lot of power to be properly driven which is why I'm finding my choices limited with the 640a. It's also that I'm finding that, so far, the B25s seem to hold their own with most of the speakers I've tried. I know PSB are good "bang for the buck" speakers but I figured there must be somewhere to go from here. Of course if I had $3000 to spend I would pick up a pair of Merlins - not to many compromises there. So basically what I'm looking for is a something that will be a bit smaller and more aesthetically pleasing than the B25s, has good mid range detail(for TV and movies) that can be placed relatively close to the wall without loading my 11' x 17' room up with bass. I thought the Dynaudios might fit the bill but was a bit concerned about the low impedance and power requirements. I hope this helps clarify my question(s).
I've thought about it but as this is not a dedicated room it might not fly too well with the WAF comity. So far the little Proacs have come the closest to what I'm looking for. The bass dug pretty low without loading up the room with resonance, they had decent highs and good WAF but didn't have enough presence and mid range sounded a bit constricted at low volumes to justify their hefty price tag. Was I expecting too much from a 9 1/2" tall speaker? Was it my amp that didn't have enough torque to do them justice? Maybe. So I'll keep looking.
I've heard the Dyn 42s aren't that difficult to drive. The higher up you go, the more difficult they become, or so I've been led to believe. I don't have enough experience with the 42s or your amp to give a definitive answer on how they pair up.
Totem Rainmakers are a great speaker which should be conisdered, as Art pointed out.
I don't know your budget, nor do I know the rest of your system well enough to know how any of the following speakers will sound in your system and room. This is just a list to point you in a direction you may not have thought of before -
PMC DB1+ and TB2+ Focal Chorus range Rega Naim N-Sat Linn Katan
They should be pretty easy to drive and have a great sense of PRaT. That being said, they're different from each other and have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Oh yeah...the Rega R1 is an excellent little speaker...good job Stu. The others you mentioned are nice as well...the Naim and Linns being of particular interest. The R1's can be driven nicely with a 5 watt per channel tube amp (I know folks using an Almarro amp with them).
I had the Dynaudios in mind because they appear to be quite resolving and my aging ears need this for difficult to follow dialogue(Don Corleone mumbling, British working class accents, etc.) I also thought the 110s would be a good choice because of the regulated impedance - I'm not sure if the 42s have this feature. I heard the Rainmakers briefly a while ago. I thought they sounded pretty good but the guy at the shop kept steering me towards the less expensive Mites??? I thought they were OK but I was concerned they might be a bit fatiguing(bright) after a while and this store does not offer the possibility to bring them home for evaluation or to return them if I'm not happy with them. My system is a slightly modified Squeezebox3---> external DAC--->Cambridge 640a V2. I use a universal Oppo 980H for movies and as a CD transport. Cables are Cardas, ICs are Blue Jeans . My budget is around $1500 but ideally I was hoping I wouldn't have to go that high. I'm not a big B&W fan but one speaker I thought I could easily live with was the 805s - unfortunately it's too expensive and a bit big for a monitor.
In addition to what you've said about them, the 805 is also very difficult to drive properly and is probably too revealing of your electronics to be worth the cost.
Art - My Naim/Rega dealer said that the R1 can even be driven by a Naim Headline (Headphone amp) in a nearfield computer-type set up. They've sold that combo a couple of times.
Both the ProAc and Dynaudio are good choices and have similiar strengths. The Audience 42s are very easy to drive but being very dynamic speakers, can benefit from high power (Rotel 1080 for example).
The Focus 110 has a narrow sweet spot (like it name sake) and sounds less natural to me than the Audience 42. It does benefit from a better midrange driver. They both have impedance corrected crossovers. If you are looking at the Focus 110, I recommend you skip to the Focus 140.
