Help me please my wife!

progger7

Active Member
...but not in the way you twisted minds are thinking. ;-) Here is the situation:

My wife has been unwilling to have large speakers clutter up our living room - I'm sure many of you can relate to this. So, my poor Marantz 2275 (my living room system) has had no other choice but to be hooked up to crappy Cambridge Soundworks original emsemble satelite system - subwoofer and two satelites conveniently hidden on the bookshelf and one mounted on the way behind a ficus tree! I've been dying to get a better speakers in the living room! My wife, until recently, hasn't cared about the quality of the sound.

So...the other day she returned from a friends house and, to my surprise, commented about how great their stereo sounded. She said she didn't know it could sound so good and, sheepishly, said "ours would sound better with better speakers huh?". They have the higher end new Cambridge Soundworks satelite system hooked up to a new Harmon Kardon receiver.

So, I *might* consider getting an upgrade to another satelitte system or very small wall mountable speakers of some kind. But, my wife said she would be willing to consider larger bookshelf speakers if they weren't huge and...to my surprise...."they are like my father's old system. They are light wood with that bamboo colored grill. I won't have black grills in this room."

So, the first thought that came to mind was a pair of Dynaco A25's - since they have that light colored grill, nice wood AND they are smaller. I also thought of Advent loudspeakers but she'd probably think they are too large. I showed a pic online of the dynaco's and she thought they looked great!! BUT, my question to all of you is, is she likely to be impressed with the sound of A25's hooked up to my Marantz 2275 - note the A25's will be on the floor. Is there another speaker or speaker system I should consider that is either small or unobstrusively designed (no black). Thoughts?
 
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I would bet as long as both the Dynaco and Marantz are up to snuff they should sound very good. Now if ya want to floor her throw a small set of Maggie's on the wall and add a sub. Bet your friends come over and say your system blows their away :yes:
 
One other thought, throw some Jordan JX92s drivers in a small cab, add a sub and let her rip. They don't play super loud, but I've heard nothing but good things.

No black cloth? I certainly don't understand that. But if it's a must, you could easily recover any speakers you find with a different colored grill cloth.

Cheers!
 
KEF C20's.

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KEF C20's.

For scale, the C20 is sitting on a Bob Brines style folded TQWT and in front of a Klipsch Cornwall.

C20 has a shelved LF response designed to be bolstered by placing them up against a wall (i.e., truly designed as speakers for bookshelves).
 
I bought 3 Tannoy* Saturn speakers (SL6R?) with 6.5" dual concentric drivers. I like them! Retail is something like $900/pair, but I got all three on ebay for under $300. Okay, they are black, which you don't like, but it would be easy to stretch any color fabric over the existing grillcloth frame. I'm going to use these as front left center and right for a little HT setup.

Several pairs of the 8" version are on ebay from one UK seller now.
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*Yes, of course I mentioned Tannoy. Only 223 more mentions and my application to the Tannoy Cult will be ready to mail in!
 
ooh, ohh... yeah!

Rogers LS3/5A's High SAF, as they say... except the price.

(photo borrowed from a current eBAY auction)
 
Maggies can be bought in off white. :)

How about a modern tall and thin speaker? I think you should push the limit here - you may never get another chance like this!
 
I agree with grumpy on this one. Maggies will disappear on a wall. Most women think that they are art work or tapestries or something equally girly. But a pair of Magnepans and a Velodyne sub will stun her and impress your friends. Especially when they are trying to figure out where the sound is coming from. Stuff the Velodyne behind that ficus plant and it'll disappear like she wants it to.

Here's a link: http://www.magnepan.com/

Be sure to check out "The Offer We Hope You Can't Refuse..." section.
 
Hmmm....these Maggies are intriguing. Anybody know if my Marantz 2275 can adequately power them? I think I read the Maggies are 4 ohm. Any thoughts on a decent subwoofer to go with them? I like to listen to alot of 70's rock in additional to jazz.
 
I have 2 sets of A25s and I love them. You need to lift them off the floor at least 12". This goes for any speaker or you will get boomy bass from the boundary effect. The speakers must be at least 2 feet from any wall as well. If she balks at this, do like I did; put them where she wants them, play something, then say, "now here is what they sound like when they are properly placed." And put them there. She will say something like, "Oh, wow." and you will hear no more about it. Trust me on this; she has already shown that she can hear the difference, just let her come to her own conclusion.
 
Maggies are dipoles so you can't hang them flat on the wall. They should be out in the room which may not work for her (although she will be happy with the sound)... but since she has opened the door on this one how about a pair of Tannoy Churchills.....LOL
Bill
 
Yep I was talking bout the MMG's. Maggie sells a a wall bracket kit for $20.00 You will get NO bass below 80hz so a sub is definitely needed.

I am sure your 2275 would work with them but if you like loud rock music you will need more power.
 
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