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Which speakers to buy to make my system better ?

Sieniek

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Hello everyone !

I am looking for a new set of speakers to buy but completely do not have an idea which one should I look for. No idea because for my last couple of years I was using open baffle speakers only (Audio Nirvana 15 Super Alnico, Lii Audio F-15 - these are very sensitive around 97db) and I was sure that open baffle sound is better than conventional boxed speaker sound. Now I have done some research on audiosciencereview forum and it looks like going back to conventional boxed speakers is the way to go when it comes to sound quality.

My actual system is:

Minidsp SHD — 2 x Audiophonics Purifi mono blocks — 2 x Lii F-15 + 2 x Rythmik F18
and of course I am using Dirac.

I would like to get rid of open baffle speakers which means that F-15 speakers are the ones which I would like to change for a conventional boxed speakers.

Do you have any idea of which speakers I should look into ? I am looking for the speakers which obviously are the best when it comes to performance/price ratio but if there is anything pricier but worth it then maybe I would up my budget.

I like my music to be very loud sometimes and I do not like my system to have any limits especially in spl.

In the future I will change my Purifi for 2 x Benchmark AHB2 to have around 400 Watts per channel but “only” if it will be necessary and only if the speakers which I will buy will need that and will give me any benefits with such an extra power.

Guys, one more question which I have also is about extra 2 x Rythmik subwoofers as my future plan is to buy another two and have four of them in total for stereo music. Is there any way I could use 4 x Rythmik subs in my system with Minidsp SHD ? If yes, how I can integrate it ?
I know SHD have four outputs where 3 and 4 are for subs optionally, so is there any option to integrate four of them or not at all with SHD ?

Best Regards,

Raf
 

Chromatischism

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It's going to be hard for anyone to say what speakers would be better than what you have because we don't really know anything about your speakers and how they measure. Have there been any tests done that you could link us to?

I would save your money on the Benchmark, acknowledging how good it is, and go with NCore NC500/502 if you do end up needing the power.
 

dkinric

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Since you are staying passive, Revel, JBL or KEF have all measured well here and would be good placed to start.

You say no limits on spl, but what does that mean, exactly? What size room are you looking to fill? Have you measured the SPL at the listening position when listening loud? This can be easily done with an app and a phone. There are hearing damage considerations when you get much over 85 db.

Also, is there a price range you have in mind?
 
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Sieniek

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It's going to be hard for anyone to say what speakers would be better than what you have because we don't really know anything about your speakers and how they measure. Have there been any tests done that you could link us to?

I would save your money on the Benchmark, acknowledging how good it is, and go with NCore NC500/502 if you do end up needing the power.

Thank you for your input, unfortunately I do not have any measurements of the Lii F-15 drivers but I can link over here their specs if that would help in anything:

https://www.lii-audio.com/product/r...loudspeaker-with-tube-amplifier-f-15-in-pair/

I am looking a lot into the measurements and thanks to Amir I have chosen the Purifi amps, if I will need more power some day I would try to buy some used Benchmark AHB2 as I would like to keep my SINAD at the highest even if I cannot hear it Just my preference
 
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Sieniek

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Since you are staying passive, Revel, JBL or KEF have all measured well here and would be good placed to start.

You say no limits on spl, but what does that mean, exactly? What size room are you looking to fill? Have you measured the SPL at the listening position when listening loud? This can be easily done with an app and a phone. There are hearing damage considerations when you get much over 85 db.

Also, is there a price range you have in mind?

Thank you for your input also.

My room is 8m x 5m. Yes, I like to listen quite loud but not too often, it just happens sometimes. The thing is that I like to have room in my volume where I am not hitting the maximum possible output on my volume knob.

For example, before I have bought my first open baffle speakers I have had LS50 Wireless and the maximum output there was quite limited which I did not liked at all. I like when drivers can easily play louder without any strain.

I did not checked the app at all, but I will do, thanks for the idea.

The price range I am looking for can vary because I have some savings and I can pay more if necessary but do more expensive means better sounding ? No and especially on this website. I am sure there are some really great measured speakers which are not the most expensive and can play as good as these most expensive sets.
Also, do I need floorstander speakers if I have two subwoofers ? Maybe stand mount speakers with high spl, easy to drive and with great measurements would do the job ?
 
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Sieniek

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Is it to soon to recommend jbl active pro speakers?

What do you mean by too soon ?

Like JBL 708p pro active ?

Good recommendation and thank you but is there any point to buy an active speakers if I have Minidsp SHD and Purifi amps ? I have thought separates like SHD and Purifi amps are better than any active speakers on the market right now. ?
 

LTig

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What do you mean by too soon ?

Like JBL 708p pro active ?
With your room size I'd go for the Neumann KH420 or Genelec S360.
Good recommendation and thank you but is there any point to buy an active speakers if I have Minidsp SHD and Purifi amps ? I have thought separates like SHD and Purifi amps are better than any active speakers on the market right now. ?
You're main speakers would still have a passive X-over and IME it's cheaper to get very good sound with active X-over and less SOTA amplification than using SOTA amps with passive speakers. It's the package what counts, not the individual components.
 

Chromatischism

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dkinric

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Thank you for your input also.

My room is 8m x 5m. Yes, I like to listen quite loud but not too often, it just happens sometimes. The thing is that I like to have room in my volume where I am not hitting the maximum possible output on my volume knob.

For example, before I have bought my first open baffle speakers I have had LS50 Wireless and the maximum output there was quite limited which I did not liked at all. I like when drivers can easily play louder without any strain.

I did not checked the app at all, but I will do, thanks for the idea.

The price range I am looking for can vary because I have some savings and I can pay more if necessary but do more expensive means better sounding ? No and especially on this website. I am sure there are some really great measured speakers which are not the most expensive and can play as good as these most expensive sets.
Also, do I need floorstander speakers if I have two subwoofers ? Maybe stand mount speakers with high spl, easy to drive and with great measurements would do the job ?
One of the main benefits of floor standers is higher power handling and maximum SPL output, but generally you are correct, a bookshelf/sub system can be a fabulous bang for buck setup. I have recently added the Revel M105 ($1500/pr) to my system, also with an external amp (Hypex based) and 2 subs (Martin Logan). It's fantastic.
I would suggest looking at the Revel M105 or M106, which have one of the best measurements we've see on a passive at ASR. Amir owns a pair of Revel Salon 2, which is their flagship consumer speaker. He even remarked in one of his reviews how the smaller siblings sounded very similar to his towers, although the Salons would obviously get much louder and provide more bass for a larger room.
You can go bigger if needed, and certainly more expensive, but not sure you will find much better in a bookshelf in this price range.
 

Vini darko

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What do you mean by too soon ?

Like JBL 708p pro active ?

Good recommendation and thank you but is there any point to buy an active speakers if I have Minidsp SHD and Purifi amps ? I have thought separates like SHD and Purifi amps are better than any active speakers on the market right now. ?
Well jbl offer passive versions too.
 

Joecarrow

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Has ASR shown that open baffle speakers are a bad idea in a general sense? I’ve seen the Magnepan LRS review but I don’t think I’ve seen many others yet.
 

mSpot

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I would like to get rid of open baffle speakers
Any particular reason why? Are you dissatisfied with how they sound? If so, what qualities do you want to improve?

You haven't said anything about what you want to achieve, besides ability to play louder. Certainly you can choose speakers based on how they measure. Besides measurements, what else do you want from new speakers?
 
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Sieniek

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With your room size I'd go for the Neumann KH420 or Genelec S360.

You're main speakers would still have a passive X-over and IME it's cheaper to get very good sound with active X-over and less SOTA amplification than using SOTA amps with passive speakers. It's the package what counts, not the individual components.

Thank you for your input, really interesting what are you saying and I would agree with you that active package can be a lot cheaper than going passive but at the moment I have all my passive gears in my system which means it would be better for me to exchange the speakers only and stay with all the amps and SHD which I currently have.

Also I am sure the amps like Purifi measures way better with better SINAD than the amps in active speakers, this is the main reason for me to stay on the passive side.
 
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Sieniek

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Some of the recommendations here are very good, however look at THX certified speakers. THX is no joke; they don't even publish the certification criteria. You send in your speaker, and THEY will tell you if it passes and in what tier.

https://arendalsound.com/1723-series-shop-page/

We do know that THX certified speakers have to meet high output and low distortion requirements: https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/monoprice-monolith-thx-365t-thx-365c

Thanks ! These THX speakers looks like some great speakers especially being THX certified.

Now I am thinking mostly about these three models:

Revel M105
Kef R3
Arendal 1723 THX Monitors

What do you think guys ?
These THX monitors look really tempting, anyone have any experience with them ?
 
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Sieniek

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One of the main benefits of floor standers is higher power handling and maximum SPL output, but generally you are correct, a bookshelf/sub system can be a fabulous bang for buck setup. I have recently added the Revel M105 ($1500/pr) to my system, also with an external amp (Hypex based) and 2 subs (Martin Logan). It's fantastic.
I would suggest looking at the Revel M105 or M106, which have one of the best measurements we've see on a passive at ASR. Amir owns a pair of Revel Salon 2, which is their flagship consumer speaker. He even remarked in one of his reviews how the smaller siblings sounded very similar to his towers, although the Salons would obviously get much louder and provide more bass for a larger room.
You can go bigger if needed, and certainly more expensive, but not sure you will find much better in a bookshelf in this price range.

Is that mean that even if I have two Rythmik subwoofers and if I will pair them with Revel M105 I will be not able to play as loud as Revel Salons alone can play ?

I know that with subwoofers obviously I would have more bass but what about an spl of the whole system ? Will Revel M105 play loud enough to keep pace with these subwoofers ? I mean if the Twitter and midrange woofer will have a possibility to play loud enough without any burning or braking ?
 
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Sieniek

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Has ASR shown that open baffle speakers are a bad idea in a general sense? I’ve seen the Magnepan LRS review but I don’t think I’ve seen many others yet.

Recently I was doing a research and mostly from what I could understand and read from this forum is that open baffle speakers have less advantages than conventional speakers. This is why after years of listening open baffle speakers I have decided to go back with conventional speakers again and I hope with them and properly done DSP I will get even better sound than I have now.
 
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