Kenwood LS-V30 Speakers

[RSDeuce]

Back in 2004 I bought these:
http://i.imgur.com/VSUcIHZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8v17m04.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/essdMa3.jpg

They are a pair of speakers purchased at the AAFES BX on Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan. I love them, but in my other post the initial reaction I get is to upgrade them.

Here are the specs:


So, what is the weak point above? They would pair with a KMF-X9000 amp, which has these specs, so whatever I look at I will need to work around what the amp puts out. With a budget of free to ~$1000 where should I start? Beefy bookshelf speakers or a cheaper set of floorstanders? Entry level brand name or something else?



(Original Thread: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/my-simple-system.762767 )

Here are some of the things in my price range from my local (San Diego) Craigslist. I can look up specs and reviews as I go, but maybe something pops out to a knowledgeable person.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/ele/6013234837.html (Energy HT Speaker Set)
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ele/6046856367.html (Magneplanar speaker collection)
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/ele/6052800623.html (Realistic Mach One 40-4024A)
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ele/6051588731.html (Klipsch Reference Speakers Set)
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/ele/6010759783.html (B&W Bowers and Wilkins CM4)
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/ele/6009267712.html (Polk Audio SDA Speakers SDA CRS, SDA-2A, SDA SRS-2)
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ele/6026724936.html (Polk Audio RTi10)

 

[Fitero]

So, what kind of music do you listen to and at what volume? What do you value most, stripping apart the sound to hear a gnat burp or feeling the impact of a performance?

The ones that you listed show that you might be leaning toward home cinema.

However, I just browsed the ads in your area and I would urge you to go to Home Depot, rent a truck, grab $500 and run over to this guys' house;
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/ele/6045547227.html
If he is legit and if they are any of the larger Vintage series they are well worth the money and a solid investment. I'm a fan of big, dynamic speakers by the way.

 

[Boonaroo]

I sort of take specs with a grain of salt. They do tell you a few things about how the speaker is built, the quality of the drivers , etc. but very little about how they sound, in my opinion. How do they sound to you? They do look to be of pretty good quality. Are there better out there? Sure. But you could have done much worse.

Looking at your first pic, and the specs of your amp, you have a pretty good one there!!! Nice table too. I think that I would first look at a subwoofer upgrade. Don't know what you have there, but it looks like a very early rendition. There have been some pretty amazing advancements made in the sub regions which can be had at a very reasonable investment. I will let others chime in with various options if they agree with my opinion.

That is just my quick observation. Opinions may vary. Most importantly, you must be satisfied with your system, because it is your system!!! Cheers and best of luck in your audio adventure.

 

[RSDeuce]

I listen to a variety of things, mostly too loud. Here is my current wishlist for Vinyl, made up of things I want, or things I need to replace after splitting the collection down the middle with my ex.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/25BY5UFWVG00O

The speakers I posted from CL were all about what I could see that was close. @Filtero throwing out something to go look at was perfect. I can lug the setup down there (already own the truck for pickup) and give those a listen. I will let you know if I can set it up.

The Sub was the cheapest bit, and yeah was bought because I just wanted a good low end and could tell that those speakers only had it in perfect conditions (I have lived in about 10 places with them, and the largest rooms showcased them the best.) In a small space that sub adds just enough to make life good.

Thanks for all of the info. I spent a lot of time reading articles about Sub / Speaker pairing and what all of the specs do and do not mean last night. I am enjoying learning more about the concept.

 

[Fitero]

I just took a look at the music that you posted.
I am one of those who think that much of the emotion involved with music reproduction is not so much "resolution", "sound-field" "imaging" etc, but pure impact! I believe that larger speakers dish out more foot-tapping fun than most. I still install audio gear part-time, so I am familiar with current gear from B&W, JBL, Meridian, PMC and a few more. Planars are cool with the ethereal image. Small monkey boxes are awesome at imaging and disappearing. Big-Axxxd speakers pump out large SPL and dynamics.
Again, my humble, very personal opinion. I have personally gotten the biggest rush from listening to Pink Floyd, Boston, Yes, Kansas etal on big-Axxxd speakers such as the Klipschorns that I urged you to drag home. Horned, horney sounding? Yep, but a little bit of that can be massaged out with modification. Oh, you can also start off there and build yourself an awesome sub to augment the bottom end when the budget permits.

 

[Fitero]

Oh, and just in case you wondered what I am listening to now....

 

[gdmoore28]

However, I just browsed the ads in your area and I would urge you to go to Home Depot, rent a truck, grab $500 and run over to this guys' house;
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/ele/6045547227.html
If he is legit and if they are any of the larger Vintage series they are well worth the money and a solid investment.

X10 on what Fitero suggested! Do it NOW, before somebody beats you to it.

GeeDeeEmm