Modern speaker upgrade, please help

[komoyuki]

Make a lost of sense. I even started a thread about this that had a lot of discussion... Like the pressure in the room is loaded up and it cause the sound to change fairly drastically... but I've not found that to be a negative

I use to have a pair of Axiom M80 in a very small room (11x12) They bass were just overpowered in that room. I had no choice but to sell them. So indeed room make all the difference

 

[JohnVF]

Mwalt what kind of sound are you looking for ?
Music taste ?
Tower or monitor ?

I use to have a Usher X-718 monitor. Great sounding speaker, good tight bass, good looking. I guess the Usher tiny dancer might be better.
Here a good review (Scroll down)

http://www.stereomojo.com/Grant Fidelity RBS-1Speakers Review/GrantFidelityRBS-1SpeakersReview.htm

Those Grant Fidelity speakers look promising. They're really pretty, too. Now I want to hear a pair of those, too!

Dang you MWalt- you're filling me with the speaker bug again!

 

[komoyuki]

Those Grant Fidelity speakers look promising. They're really pretty, too. Now I want to hear a pair of those, too!

Dang you MWalt- you're filling me with the speaker bug again!

Check signature link for more pictures of those :thmbsp:

 

[Art K.]

Out of the qualities you mentioned, 3 dimensional soundtage and air are my higher priorities. Maybe I am expecting too much for 2k.

Be sure to listen to Totem. Totem speakers disappear in a room like few other speakers. Also the ProAc Tablettes are an astonishing speaker in that respect.

 

[JohnVF]

Be sure to listen to Totem. Totem speakers disappear in a room like few other speakers. Also the ProAc Tablettes are an astonishing speaker in that respect.

Agreed.

The little Totem floorstander, the Hawk, can sound surprisingly large in a small room. Its a floorstander but takes up less space than most stand-mounts. It is VERY placement sensitive but find the right spot and it's almost like a magic trick. I listened to Totem's designer/president Vince Bruzzese demo a pair of these and was just really floored by how good they sounded, for such a small footprint. The Forest is even better and less placement sensitive, IMHO, but they're beyond your budget unless used. I've heard the Forest demoed on, geez, must have been about $60,000 worth of upfront gear, and it really didn't seem like much of a bottleneck. They were used in that demo as the guy doing it was demoing a turntable system and needed speakers that were easily portable. The demonstration was very much about imaging, as it was a demonstration of cartridge azimuth adjustment software- and they imaged remarkably well in a very large room, for a 2-way with such small drivers. The smaller cheaper Hawk is really a neat speaker, though.

 

[2DualsNotEnough]

AK sponsor Grant Fidelity has an interesting pair of their version of the LS3/5A that a very,very favorable review says has considerably more bass than the standard LS3/5A,and they come in at half your budget($1000).
http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Grant-Fidelity-LS3-5A-Studio-Monitors.html

Jimmy

 

[Sound Dragon]

I also Run The Grant RBS-1 and find them to be a very musical speaker. I was in the same boat as you are but with Fortes instead of snells and replaced them with a stand mount speaker. So I know your pain. I can and do recommend The Grant fidelity speakers.

 

[thedelihaus]

I want to add to my initial post.

I stopped by Audio Lab today.

The Monitor Audios I've been listening to that i like start at $4,500 and go past $12,500 I think Mike said. Fantastic ribbon tweeter, non-fatiguing top end, but sorry, I didn't realize the cost was out of your budget.

I think the step below in model line are great at inner detail retrieval but I can see a strong possibility of them possibly verging on fatigue inducing for prolonged listening. Tom Waits sounded great but I question long listening sessions.

The entry level models I've never cared for.

The new Rega RS-10 will come in at a guesstimated $15,000 Mike told me. Fantastic- but should be at that price.

The RS-5 he has for around $1,500/$1600.

An aside- He had the ltiny lttle PSB Imagines playing- puny little buggers . But nonetheless impressive and great imaging. However these are not at all what you are looking for. Just felt my short session with them proved nice.

 

[MWalt]

Those Grant Fidelity speakers look promising. They're really pretty, too. Now I want to hear a pair of those, too!

Dang you MWalt- you're filling me with the speaker bug again!

John, speakers are like cars or women. No matter how good the one you have is, you find yourself wanting to try something different every now and then

 

[JohnVF]

John, speakers are like cars or women. No matter how good the one you have is, you find yourself wanting to try something different every now and then

In regards to women, I wish I didn't know what you were talking about.

(says the 38 year old single man who's been engaged twice).

 

[MWalt]

I want to add to my initial post.

I stopped by Audio Lab today.

The Monitor Audios I've been listening to that i like start at $4,500. I think the step below in model line are great at inner detail retrieval but I can see a strong possibility of them possibly verging on fatigue inducing for prolonged listening .

The entry level models I've never cared for.

The new Rega RS-10 will come in at a guesstimated $15,000 Mike told me.

The RS-5 he has for around $1,500/$1600.

An aside- He had the ltiny lttle PSB Imagines playing- puny little buggers . But nonetheless impressive and great imaging. However these are not at all what you are looking for. Just felt my short session with them proved nice.

You know Paul, I am not so sure that I can top the Rega RS-1's that I have very easily. I know one thing, I will have to spend a little to do it. They are some very sweet sounding little speakers. My budget for this is going to top out at around 2k.

 

[MWalt]

AK sponsor Grant Fidelity has an interesting pair of their version of the LS3/5A that a very,very favorable review says has considerably more bass than the standard LS3/5A,and they come in at half your budget($1000).
http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Grant-Fidelity-LS3-5A-Studio-Monitors.html

Jimmy

They look nice, but can we trust a Chinese made speaker? I know some very nice elctronics come from China (I have a GF DAC09) but I am not sure that I trust speakers or turntables yet. I wish I could listen to them. Convince me

*EDIT* I just looked at those and the pair that Komoyuki has and if they sound as good as they look then you are onto something good here.

In regards to women, I wish I didn't know what you were talking about.

(says the 38 year old single man who's been engaged twice).

Enjoy 38 and single says the married guy with a very active 3 year old son. :yes:

-Mark

 

[MWalt]

Be sure to listen to Totem. Totem speakers disappear in a room like few other speakers. Also the ProAc Tablettes are an astonishing speaker in that respect.

The only Totem I can afford is the rainmaker. Is there another one that you have in mind in my price range Art? Is the Rainmaker a big improvement over my Rega RS-1's is the other question.

I did find a pair of Proac Tablette Reference 8 in Mahogany Finish, brand new for just under $1100. The tiny 4.5 inch woofer concerns me though.

 

[Art K.]

They look nice, but can we trust a Chinese made speaker? I know some very nice elctronics come from China (I have a GF DAC09) but I am not sure I trust speakers or turntables yet. Convince me

Well Tempered Amadeus GTA. Best sounding table I've listened to for less than big money and made in China.

Speakers...the Epos speakers are made in China. At your price point not buying speakers made in China would severely limit your choices.

 

[Art K.]

The only Totem I can afford is the rainmaker. Is there another one that you have in mind in my price range Art? Is the Rainmaker a big improvement over my Rega RS-1's is the other question.

I did find a pair of Proac Tablette Reference 8 in Mahogany Finish, brand new for just under $1100. The tiny 4.5 inch woofer concerns me though.

Actually I was talking about the new Tablette Anniversary. A lightly used pair could be had near your budget. For the Totem the Hawk can be had lightly used at your budget.

 

[JohnVF]

I think a read that the GF speakers use Morel drivers. Not sure what your Regas have but my Rega Juras have a very sweet fabric dome from Morel. Speaking of which, I totally forgot I had those speakers until I typed that! They're sitting on their sides over my head on my cabinet at work here. Ugh, the life of a former speaker collector.

 

[komoyuki]

I dare you to take a pair of GF RBS-1 at home. Carefull when your jaw will hit the ground

 

[cubdog]

Does anyone know who builds the Grant Fidelity speakers?

cubdog

 

[komoyuki]

They are made by Jungson for Grant Fidelity :

The RBS-1's (Reference Bookshelf Speaker) come to you from over 3 years of development to bring it to market. Cabinet is from Jungson Audio, crossover is special made by Grant Fidelity in Canada as a 1st order crossover. This speaker is tweaked to fit the North American music style, unlike the Jungson original version with a complicated crossover and more suitable for Chinese music listening and room setup

 

[MWalt]

Well Tempered Amadeus GTA. Best sounding table I've listened to for less than big money and made in China.

Speakers...the Epos speakers are made in China. At your price point not buying speakers made in China would severely limit your choices.

I had no idea. I learn something new every day. I have heard that the Consonance TT's are really good also. For the record, I was just messing with
2DualsNotEnough and Komoyuki.

I dare you to take a pair of GF RBS-1 at home. Carefull when your jaw will hit the ground

I think you should send yours to me so I can demo them *wink*

By the way, I saw your setup and listening room. It should be featured in a magazine it looks so good.