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sub 2k speakers for live and vocal performances at low volume??? Thanks all

bert695

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Good evening all, my first post here!
Im looking for speakers up to 2k, that could give me the best 'live sound' for music like pink floyd, and jazzy vocals artist.
I want something that performs a low volume.
Room is 13 wide by 21 long with 8 feet ceilings.
Only component left from my teardown is a RX-A1080 and a SVS 12in sealed sub, could be sold and replaced by something else(tube? or else as i am moving away from HT.
I'm thinking of adding amp too maybe. around sub 1500$

I thought of.:
Tekton
Zu Audio
ohm 1000
KLH model 5
Magnepan LRS+ or .7
DIY???

Thank you.
 

MarkS

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I would add Revel M106 (on sale through Dec.31) to Sancus's list.

Keep the SVS sub (nothing at or near the price is better). If your receiver does bass management (subwoofer integration), keep that.

We're generally not fond here of exotic designs like omnis (Ohm) or panels (Magnepan); you have to be sure that's what you want, and can set them up in your room properly. Zu has awful measurements. KLH, Tekton, I don't know (somebody here does though).

Best listening test for any speaker is to buy with return privleges and try in your room.
 

dped90

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My goals are similar to Bert695’s. ~ $2k each for speakers that need not be designed for high SPLs.

To build a 5.1 system, my goal is to find speakers which closely resemble the neutrality/tonality mixture of the Acoustic Research A3 acoustic suspension speaker, plus with a large 3D soundstage, airy highs with great dispersion, accurate imaging and lifelike superbly textured midrange and midbass.

But bass response of the main speakers need only extend to the low midbass, as subs like these will handle content below ~65Hz.

https://jamesromeyn.com/speakers/subwoofers/debra/
https://www.rythmikaudio.com/F12SE.html
https://gr-research.com/product/sub-series-double-trouble-with-flatpacks-copy/

My room is 20 ft x 16 with a triangular ceiling from 11 ft down to 8 ft. And as those like Earl Geddes would consider my ~ 2850 cu ft room to still be small, I doubt that my ears could safely tolerate SPLs over 50db @ 6 ft from ~ 2kHz to 700Hz, especially with 5 main speakers playing, assuming properly mixed recordings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour

And also because given 5 speakers, every speaker adds at least 3 db to the apparent and/or actual acoustic loudness.

Thus, the mains would not have to be designed to play at high volume nor to conform to any such THX standards.

But what to use for a center speaker?

And what amps drive those five speakers?
 
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Marc v E

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Good evening all, my first post here!
Im looking for speakers up to 2k, that could give me the best 'live sound' for music like pink floyd, and jazzy vocals artist.
I want something that performs a low volume.
Room is 13 wide by 21 long with 8 feet ceilings.
Only component left from my teardown is a RX-A1080 and a SVS 12in sealed sub, could be sold and replaced by something else(tube? or else as i am moving away from HT.
I'm thinking of adding amp too maybe. around sub 1500$

I thought of.:
Tekton
Zu Audio
ohm 1000
KLH model 5
Magnepan LRS+ or .7
DIY???

Thank you.
If I were you I would seriously consider Genelec. Especially the SAM models with a sub. A sub can be added later.

Ime the way to get great sound is speakers with a flat frequency response and room equalisation.

That means that to get great response from your speakers in your room, you either need equalisation in your speakers (read: Genelec, Neumann), or in your dac (read: minidsp flex). The latter is what you would need for a passive speaker. Genelecs are usually beter engineered ime and hold their value better than passive speakers or elektronic gear like dacs and amps.

In the end you'll spend less over the years and have more satisfaction going this road imo and ime.
 
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dped90

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If I were you I would seriously consider Genelec. Especially the SAM models with a sub. A sub can be added later.

Ime the way to get great sound is speakers with a flat frequency response and room equalisation.

That means that to get great response from your speakers in your room, you either need equalisation in your speakers (read: Genelec, Neumann), or in your dac (read: minidsp flex). The latter is what you would need for a passive speaker. Genelecs are ussually beter engineered ime and hold their value better than passive speakersor elektronic gear like dacs or amps. In the end you'll spend less over the years and have more satisfaction going this road imo and ime.
Yes, my DAC would likely be one like this multichannel model. https://www.exasound.com/Products/e688-channelDAC.aspx
and use miniDSP (since the amps in the powered subs of interest don't have onboard DSP) and/or DIRAC.


However, call me crazy but I'm not comfortable with Genelec switching from Class AB to Class D amps in their G and 8000 series speakers. They made the switch sometime after 2009. https://community.genelec.com/forum/-/message_boards/message/929725#/
 

Rja4000

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I've been using a pair of Genelec 1032A for that a few times.
I don't know where you live, but here we sometimes see a pair below 2k (used, of course).
But a single one would probably do it, if volume remains low enough.

They are excellent speakers.
I currently own 2 pairs.

And if you want to see measurements, here are the excellent ones from @TimVG

 

Marc v E

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Yes, my DAC would likely be one like this multichannel model. https://www.exasound.com/Products/e688-channelDAC.aspx
and use miniDSP (since the amps in the powered subs of interest don't have onboard DSP) and/or DIRAC.


However, call me crazy but I'm not comfortable with Genelec switching from Class AB to Class D amps in their G and 8000 series speakers. They made the switch sometime after 2009. https://community.genelec.com/forum/-/message_boards/message/929725#/
What makes you not comfortable with speakers powered by AB or class D amps ?

Btw this is probably the right time to mention my main speakers are active and powered by AB amps on the mids and the highs, while powered by class D on the bass. And that B&O's successors to my current speakers are powered by class d ! Lol. I agree with what Genelec said that the whole speaker matters more than the amplifier technology they use. In fact the eq I mentioned earlier has a lot more influence on the end result.

Actually the best cure for doubt is to listen for yourself.
 
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lewdish

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Ascend Sierra-LX, Kef R3, Philharmonic BMR.
been a while since they've come out, im curious if there are any people out there who have gotten a set of the sierra LX yet, the measurements look amazing for the price! Been waiting for some impressions by folks~
 

dped90

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Genelecs are clearly very popular here and far beyond this page, though I’ve yet to hear any Genelec models. But from
user reviews at places like gearspace.com and this review on the G3’s
https://www.stereophile.com/content/genelec-g-three-active-loudspeaker ,if you’re doing studio mixing or mastering the Genelecs will likely prove to be exquisitely precise tools for perfecting the final product. And also likely delightful to hear with high quality recordings.

But what if much of your favorite music was, for example, produced the decades earlier and with less than well-designed, built or maintained mixing boards, tape machines and mics? And some which were recorded by idiots who unwittingly-or deliberately (I know of one such Detroit “engineer”) had mic or record gain levels cranked into overload? Or used excessive amounts of compression on louder orchestral passages, presumably to prevent groove mistracking and distortion, in the years prior to CDs, and which not only squashed musical dynamics but may have created other kinds of sonic garbage?

How would such recordings, some by famous artists and record labels from those times, sound on a Genelec system-even after surgical solutions were only partially successful
https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/tips-to-repair-a-compressed-or-noisy-interview.html -and if one is opposed to using anything but the least amount of equalization?

If software tools fail to satisfactorily repair the damage, aside from “embracing” their flaws, probably the only other way to contend with these sonic tragedies is discussed here from 8:50 to 14:34

I could upload examples of such recordings but from your own experience can you truly say that the majority of popular music produced throughout the last quarter of the last century will sound excellent on a Genelec system?
 

Marc v E

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I could upload examples of such recordings but from your own experience can you truly say that the majority of popular music produced throughout the last quarter of the last century will sound excellent on a Genelec system?
Yes they do.
Fleetwood Mac, Elvis, AC/DC etc
I did hear vast differences between recordings where classical pieces just sounded full, realistic and right. Fleetwood Mac sounded just very enjoyable and AC/DC maybe a bit thin and brash but the energy and fun of their records makes up for that imo. Especially older recordings sound absolutely fine.

Imo it only becomes unlistenable if the source recordings are terrible, as in you and I as an average consumers can record it better; the editing/mixing was done in somebody's attic. And the compression was deliberately put to the max for maximum impact on a car's sound system or bluetooth mini speaker.
For example the only one song that sounded truely horrible to me was New Look by Rita Ora.
 
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