Yet another looking to change/upgrade - suggestions?

[teddlesdee]

I'm moving soon - the 'seat-cover' and the old goat (me), want to move closer to the off-spring as we shuffle into our twilight years!

The house we are looking at is a new-build, and I have been potentially allocated (by the boss) the dining room for my 'play-room' and office... not very big, but hopefully just enough.. being approx 12 x 9ft

Currently my system is in the kitchen of all places, but it is about 19 x 14 so quite a lot larger, and the Triangle Deltas are pretty good at filling the room with sound, especially when we get the grand-kids visiting demanding a disco afternoon... Overall, these speaker are on the exciting side and very versatile. On my own I like to listen to a wide range of music such as electronica, stuff like Himalayan/ asian traditional world music, trad jazz, spine tingling beautiful Haley Westernra (discovered from a track on Mike Oldfield's Music of the Spheres).

But... now I am moving, I am thinking I have gone so far with upgrades to the music server setup, so I feel the speakers could be improved on. Clarity, accuracy and wide sound stage are important to me, with a good bass reach for those tracks that need it, like toccata & fugue in D minor which is my all-time fav organ music.

Since I have come back to proper Hi-fi recently after 20 years, and maybe because I am a lot older, I couldn't believe how much I am 'moved' emotionally by some tracks that I have played for years on lesser systems that produced no real engagement.
It is obvious to me now that with a good system and good recordings you hear detail that transforms the experience from being mundane to spine-tingling, and I am convinced that with even better speakers, I would be able to experience & discover even more...

I blame my youngest Son (now 45) for his recent Man-cave idea, where he has (in a similar size room) a high quality ceiling projector & full-width pull-down screen, surround sound (front hif-fi speakers) rears/side/ and ceiling surround speakers built-in, a true entertainment room!

Whether I will go that far I don't know, but first for me is the speaker short-list - Budget-wise around £4-10k max.

They need to be comfortable in a room of the size I mentioned.

German-physics, and Raidho come to mind, but looking for additional alternatives?

Suggestions, gratefully received!

Thanks

[thumb5]

Falling smack bang in the middle of your budget, how about Franco Serblin Accordos?  They do pretty reasonable bass with SAM enabled, and would probably work nicely in a small-ish room.  They don't occupy a huge amount of space either visually or physically, but they sound much bigger than they look.  Incidentally, or not, they are also drop-dead gorgeous (to my eyes, ymmv).

If you're interested, talk to Trev and Gavin at Guildford Audio -- and tell 'em I sent you!

[Eddye]

Falling smack bang in the middle of your budget, how about Franco Serblin Accordos?  They do pretty reasonable bass with SAM enabled, and would probably work nicely in a small-ish room.  They don't occupy a huge amount of space either visually or physically, but they sound much bigger than they look.  Incidentally, or not, they are also drop-dead gorgeous (to my eyes, ymmv).

If you're interested, talk to Trev and Gavin at Guildford Audio -- and tell 'em I sent you!

+15

(can I give +15??)

The FS Accordos are visually stunning, and sound very good. It does depend on your personal tastes, of course.

[SteveO...]

Following a recent house move I am dealing with a similar problem.  I've been auditioning replacements for my B&W 802Ds and at the moment the Wilson Benesch Vector is in pole position.  IMHO, they're a magical combination with my D400 in a room of similar size to yours, and at ~£8.1K well inside your budget.  They sounded much bigger than expected with good top to bottom integration and top class dynamics (they remind me of a certain other "Wilson" speaker company). Also, to my eyes, they are a good match aesthetically with the Devialets.

Also worth considering are PMC with their ATL transmission lines.  I'm currently trying some Fact 12s which are working well in my room; tight and surprisingly deep bass (sans SAM).

[Axel]

Following a recent house move I am dealing with a similar problem.  I've been auditioning replacements for my B&W 802Ds and at the moment the Wilson Benesch Vector is in pole position.  IMHO, they're a magical combination with my D400 in a room of similar size to yours, and at ~£8.1K well inside your budget.  They sounded much bigger than expected with good top to bottom integration and top class dynamics (they remind me of a certain other "Wilson" speaker company).  Also, to my eyes, they are a good match aesthetically with the Devialets.

Also worth considering are PMC with their ATL transmission lines.  I'm currently trying some Fact 12s which are working well in my room; tight and surprisingly deep bass (sans SAM).

My listening room is also relatively small (4.5m by 3.5m) and The speakers have to be fairly close to the back wall. I notice that the Wilson Benesch Vector has a rear firing port. Does this cause any problems? I have been toying with the idea of an upgrade. At the moment I have ProAc D20Rs (downward firing port) On my list is the B&W 804 D3 (front firing) and Magico S1 (infinite baffle), but I'd listen to anything suitable.

[samurai7595]

Following a recent house move I am dealing with a similar problem.  I've been auditioning replacements for my B&W 802Ds and at the moment the Wilson Benesch Vector is in pole position.  IMHO, they're a magical combination with my D400 in a room of similar size to yours, and at ~£8.1K well inside your budget.  They sounded much bigger than expected with good top to bottom integration and top class dynamics (they remind me of a certain other "Wilson" speaker company).  Also, to my eyes, they are a good match aesthetically with the Devialets.

Also worth considering are PMC with their ATL transmission lines.  I'm currently trying some Fact 12s which are working well in my room; tight and surprisingly deep bass (sans SAM).

My listening room is also relatively small (4.5m by 3.5m) and The speakers have to be fairly close to the back wall. I notice that the Wilson Benesch Vector has a rear firing port. Does this cause any problems? I have been toying with the idea of an upgrade. At the moment I have ProAc D20Rs (downward firing port) On my list is the B&W 804 D3 (front firing) and Magico S1 (infinite baffle), but I'd listen to anything suitable.

My listening room is the same size as yours and I have no issues with my ProAc Response D30R speakers.

What I really like about the ProAc Response speaker design, is their down-firing port.  First off, since it's down-firing, it's not affected by how close they are to the wall behind them (mine are 0.15m).  Plus, the down-firing port is designed with a "platform" and it does not just fire to the floor itself therefore, bass will not be affected if your floor has carpeting or not.

I think it's a very small & efficient design and has been working great for me!  Plus, in my smallish room, I also have SAM at 100% and the bass goes very deep but it's very well controlled (not boomy at all).  You should have a serious look at ProAc.

[Axel]

Following a recent house move I am dealing with a similar problem.  I've been auditioning replacements for my B&W 802Ds and at the moment the Wilson Benesch Vector is in pole position.  IMHO, they're a magical combination with my D400 in a room of similar size to yours, and at ~£8.1K well inside your budget.  They sounded much bigger than expected with good top to bottom integration and top class dynamics (they remind me of a certain other "Wilson" speaker company).  Also, to my eyes, they are a good match aesthetically with the Devialets.

Also worth considering are PMC with their ATL transmission lines.  I'm currently trying some Fact 12s which are working well in my room; tight and surprisingly deep bass (sans SAM).

My listening room is also relatively small (4.5m by 3.5m) and The speakers have to be fairly close to the back wall. I notice that the Wilson Benesch Vector has a rear firing port. Does this cause any problems? I have been toying with the idea of an upgrade. At the moment I have ProAc D20Rs (downward firing port) On my list is the B&W 804 D3 (front firing) and Magico S1 (infinite baffle), but I'd listen to anything suitable.

My listening room is the same size as yours and I have no issues with my ProAc Response D30R speakers.

What I really like about the ProAc Response speaker design, is their down-firing port.  First off, since it's down-firing, it's not affected by how close they are to the wall behind them (mine are 0.15m).  Plus, the down-firing port is designed with a "platform" and it does not just fire to the floor itself therefore, bass will not be affected if your floor has carpeting or not.

I think it's a very small & efficient design and has been working great for me!  Plus, in my smallish room, I also have SAM at 100% and the bass goes very deep but it's very well controlled (not boomy at all).  You should have a serious look at ProAc.

Agreed, the ProAcs are great speakers and, apart from the downward firing port, the thing I really like is the sound of the ribbon tweeters.
 I have my SAM set to only 20% though, although room acoustics/furnishing/speaker placement will have a big effect on bass response. Also, I think the bass/ mid driver in the D30R  is different better than the one in the D20R. Perhaps I should have (had) a listen to some 30s!?

[samurai7595]

I did audition the Magico S1 and did not like them at all.

They sounded congested and the bass was weak.

[SteveO...]

My listening room is also relatively small (4.5m by 3.5m) and The speakers have to be fairly close to the back wall. I notice that the Wilson Benesch Vector has a rear firing port. Does this cause any problems? I have been toying with the idea of an upgrade. At the moment I have ProAc D20Rs (downward firing port) On my list is the B&W 804 D3 (front firing) and Magico S1 (infinite baffle), but I'd listen to anything suitable.

The Vectors downward firing ports in the base for bass loading.  I believe the one at the rear is for the mid-range driver.  I didn't have any problems with the rear port (unlike with some other speakers I have tried).

The stand-mount Vertexes are good too (also downward firing ports).

[Axel]

My listening room is also relatively small (4.5m by 3.5m) and The speakers have to be fairly close to the back wall. I notice that the Wilson Benesch Vector has a rear firing port. Does this cause any problems? I have been toying with the idea of an upgrade. At the moment I have ProAc D20Rs (downward firing port) On my list is the B&W 804 D3 (front firing) and Magico S1 (infinite baffle), but I'd listen to anything suitable.

The Vectors downward firing ports in the base for bass loading.  I believe the one at the rear is for the mid-range driver.  I didn't have any problems with the rear port (unlike with some other speakers I have tried).

The stand-mount Vertexes are good too (also downward firing ports).

OK, SteveO, 

Thanks for that, the mid range driver will have less to put out through the port, I imagine, making them easier to place. They look the business too. Another one for the list.