New house, new listening space need recommendations...

HunterMcD

My ears are ringing. Is that a symptom??
So here's the situation...
Buying a new house that doesn't have a room that I could use as a dedicated listening space like I currently have. So, my new listening space will be in our main room which is a huge open floor plan. The room dementions are 30x22 with ~10ft ceilings. (Yeah huge)
My current system consists of either my pioneer sx750 or luxman r1040 driving a set of floor standing mtm tritrix speakers (parts express).
I want speakers capable of a huge clean sound in this massive room. (I know I may be adding sound treatments)
Does anyone have suggestions on speakers capable of this with my current amps or am I going to need more amplifier? Would like to keep the speaker buget around or under $800 and they can't be dog$#!t ugly...
Any help would be appreciated!!
 
My recommendation won't be surprising given my system and post history... but you can probably find original ML Quests or Quest Zs if you look around local and get lucky, and failing that Sequels / Sequel IIs. Listen to them before purchase -- if the panels need to be replaced you will double your budget or more, instantly.

Dogshit ugly is obviously in the eye of the beholder. I personally think the big hybrid 'stats are beautiful, statement pieces. Certainly don't look like anything else. More amp will definitely be necessary, though.

Perhaps more realistic given you wouldn't need new amps... Klipsch heritage of some description? Cornwalls, maybe? Again, not sure about the 'ugly' thing, and average asking price is a little above budget, but they can be found in that range from time to time. Super efficient, really big sound.
 
My recommendation won't be surprising given my system and post history... but you can probably find original ML Quests or Quest Zs if you look around local and get lucky, and failing that Sequels / Sequel IIs. Listen to them before purchase -- if the panels need to be replaced you will double your budget or more, instantly.

Dogshit ugly is obviously in the eye of the beholder. I personally think the big hybrid 'stats are beautiful, statement pieces. Certainly don't look like anything else. More amp will definitely be necessary, though.

Perhaps more realistic given you wouldn't need new amps... Klipsch heritage of some description? Cornwalls, maybe? Again, not sure about the 'ugly' thing, and average asking price is a little above budget, but they can be found in that range from time to time. Super efficient, really big sound.
Thanks, I'll have to look into the quests and sequels.
I've thought about Klipsch, they would fit the buget, but I've heard so much about the horns being bright and overpowering.
 
Magnepan Magneplanar MMG. Just about every review I've read describes their output as either "open" or "expansive" or both. I've had the fortune of hearing a couple of pairs myself and wholeheartedly agree. These, without a doubt. will fill your room give the dimensions you posted. The average going price is $600/pair.
 
I own Maggies (3.6R's) and would not recommend them for the OP's application. Don't get me wrong--I love them and they are "keepers" for sure, but they are huge 6'X2' panels and very placement-dependent, needing to be 3' to 4' out from the backing wall. Probably not the best option for a main living area of the home. Mine are in a dedicated listening space, so it doesn't matter, but I can see WAF issues with a pair of big Maggies sitting out in the living room.

Maggies are also not particularly "efficient" and are a 4 ohm load (a very constant/static load), but a 4 ohm load nonetheless. They are definitely going to need some more "juice" to drive them adequately.
 
Magnepan Magneplanar MMG. Just about every review I've read describes their output as either "open" or "expansive" or both. I've had the fortune of hearing a couple of pairs myself and wholeheartedly agree. These, without a doubt. will fill your room give the dimensions you posted. The average going price is $600/pair.

I believe that Magnepan still has a 60 day money back guarantee on the MMG's if you don't like them. The current model is MMGi. The i indicates they use Magnepan's quasi ribbon technology. This should preclude the wire lifting problem many older Maggies have.

MMGi's are much smaller than savatage's 3.6R's. However, they still need to be around 3' from the front wall.
 
Yeah, anything that has to be too far out from the wall could be an issue. We want to get full use of the space and not leave too much room for toddlers and a dog to run behind equipment...
 
Dunno if it helps but we primarily listen to classic rock and metal. Some occasional blues and classical music too.
 
Dunno if it helps but we primarily listen to classic rock and metal. Some occasional blues and classical music too.

Rely on your own ears, Klipsch may be just the ticket. Room filling sound without a ton of power required, Best Buy should have some of their new offerings on display.

Or you could look locally for some Heritage Klipsch for auditioning before purchase to see if the Klipsch sound is for you. They've been around for a looooooooong time so obviously some people like them lol.

As for placement against or near the front wall, that's only a plus for the older Klipsch, especially the Heresy. Some here may say the Heresy has no bass, that's not true, plenty of gut wrenching tight musical bass down to its limit of 50hz, and useable bass below that if positioned as intended.

That said, a pair of Heresys using twin Dayton Sub 1200's from Parts Express as stands is hard to beat, and within your budget. Series I Heresys $400, two Sub1200's $296, total $696 of concert level capable output down to 25hz heh heh heh. Preserves the Heritage Klipsch sound only BIGGER.

Hint: I happen to be one of them.
 
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I own Maggies (3.6R's) and would not recommend them for the OP's application. Don't get me wrong--I love them and they are "keepers" for sure, but they are huge 6'X2' panels and very placement-dependent, needing to be 3' to 4' out from the backing wall. Probably not the best option for a main living area of the home. Mine are in a dedicated listening space, so it doesn't matter, but I can see WAF issues with a pair of big Maggies sitting out in the living room.

Maggies are also not particularly "efficient" and are a 4 ohm load (a very constant/static load), but a 4 ohm load nonetheless. They are definitely going to need some more "juice" to drive them adequately.
Thanks for the honest take, savatage1973. You'd think after being married for 21 years now the "wife approval factor" would've come to mind o_O. The first things that crossed my mind were room dimensions, sound, and price - in that order. I know that they can occupy the visual plane like a pair of sentinels/soldiers but the sound is truly immersive and downright amazing given the thinness of the panels. Then again, I just read further into the thread and noted the word "toddlers." I'm picturing the hurculean effort a tot would have to make to resist the urge keep their hands off of them out of sheer curiosity. As much as I hate the phrase "kids will be kids," it's true.
 
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Yeah, anything that has to be too far out from the wall could be an issue. We want to get full use of the space and not leave too much room for toddlers and a dog to run behind equipment...

Sadly pretty much all dipoles (electrostats, maggies, other planar speakers) are out, then. The 'stats could handle being touched much better than Magnepans, but they'd still need to be out from the wall for best effect.
 
Thanks for the honest take, savatage1973. You'd think after being married for 21 years now the "wife approval factor" would've come to mind o_O. The first things that crossed my mind were room dimensions, sound, and price - in that order. I know that they can occupy the visual plane like a pair of sentinels/soldiers but the sound is truly immersive and downright amazing giving the thinness of the panels. Then again, I just read further into the thread and note the word "toddlers." I'm picturing the hurculean effort a tot would have to make to resist the urge keep their hands off of them out of sheer curiosity. As much as I hate the phrase "kids will be kids," it's true.

Although Magneplanars are large panels they have no parts that are easily accessible to little fingers.The true ribbons in 3.6's and higher have a very delicate tweeter diaphragm. The Quasi ribbon speakers do not have true ribbon tweeters and are relatively robust in their childproofing. Maggies have no woofer dustcovers nor do they have any domes that can be pushed in. Of course if an ankle biter attacks one with a sharp object the consequences will be dire. However, even the most liberal parent keeps sharp objects out of their hands. If a child manages to knock one over it's fairly certain that child should have never been allowed through the front door.

MMGi's have one thing in their favor. That is, they are easily moved out of the way when not being used.
 
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Rely on your own ears, Klipsch may be just the ticket. Room filling sound without a ton of power required, Best Buy should have some of their new offerings on display.

Or you could look locally for some Heritage Klipsch for auditioning before purchase to see if the Klipsch sound is for you. They've been around for a looooooooong time so obviously some people like them lol.

As for placement against or near the front wall, that's only a plus for the older Klipsch, especially the Heresy. Some here may say the Heresy has no bass, that's not true, plenty of gut wrenching tight musical bass down to its limit of 50hz, and useable bass below that if positioned as intended.

That said, a pair of Heresys using twin Dayton Sub 1200's from Parts Express as stands is hard to beat, and within your budget. Series I Heresys $400, two Sub1200's $296, total $696 of concert level capable output down to 25hz heh heh heh. Preserves the Heritage Klipsch sound only BIGGER.

Hint: I happen to be one of them.
Is it really ok to place Heresy's directly on top of a sub?
 
Although Magneplanars are large panels they have no parts that are easily accessible to little fingers. They have no woofer dustcovers nor do they have any domes that can be pushed in. Of course if an ankle biter attacks one with a sharp object the consequences will be dire. However, even the most liberal parent keeps sharp objects out of their hands.
Pencils, don't ask how I know that they like the pop sound it makes when puncturing, it's a sad story.
 
I would consider pencils to be sharp objects.

I also have no problem visualizing a pair of MMGi's sitting on top of a couple of Dayton Sub 1200's.
 
I would consider pencils to be sharp objects.

I also have no problem visualizing a pair of MMGi's sitting on top of a couple of Dayton Sub 1200's.
5 yr olds are old enough to use pencils at school, but not old enough to realize the consequences of poking one through a speaker film, as evidenced by all the speaker domes pushed in, or are your children still using crayons to write in college lol.
 
Fortunately my son never showed the slightest interest in poking his fingers into things. While he was growing up I was using Acoustat esl's. They have non-removable grill cloth. So there wasn't much incentive for him to poke around. Also, very early on he learned that there were certain things that were off limits.

Besides, he had his own VCR, TV and modest stereo to poke to his hearts content. I had to give him those things. Watching The Lion King every other day wasn't working for me.
 
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