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Help with speaker choice

Aj523

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Hi - I’ve narrowed down the search for a speaker in my gathering room to these 8 choices. Hoping to get an honest assessment from anyone with experience on these models /brands. My budget is under $25k and I have a 250 wpc amp. My only source is a turntable so midrange /voices is a valued attribute. Room pics below

Fyne Audio 8 (new) or 10 used

Estalon Aura

Reynaud Abscisse Jubilee

YG Acoustics 3

PS Audio FR20 or 10, (but even the 10may be too big)

Perilstein S7T.

Focal Sopra 3

THOUGHTS?
 
If USA - Revel 328be (and get the wife something nice). If EU - Kef F3 Meta (and get the wife something nice).
 
it's too difficult to give advice on speakers:

1) you can start from the technical characteristics of the speaker and check what best matches your amplifier.
2) you can check what best matches your space in terms of technical and physical characteristics
3) you can have measured speakers and based on the real measurements make decisions based on the environment, the amplification and your taste
4) the speaker is perhaps the only part of the system that has a real timbre, so taste is not secondary.
Advice: the best thing is to listen to them exactly where they will be placed. if you can't take some home to try in your environment at least try to go and listen to them in person. It's true, every space is different and every environment has a different response, but at least you can start to get an idea.
everyone could give you neutral advice based on the measurements: so you know that based on those, you can expect a certain behavior, but then, as listed before, there are really too many variables.
 
Hi - I’ve narrowed down the search for a speaker in my gathering room to these 8 choices. Hoping to get an honest assessment from anyone with experience on these models /brands. My budget is under $25k and I have a 250 wpc amp. My only source is a turntable so midrange /voices is a valued attribute. Room pics below

Fyne Audio 8 (new) or 10 used

Estalon Aura

Reynaud Abscisse Jubilee

YG Acoustics 3

PS Audio FR20 or 10, (but even the 10may be too big)

Perilstein S7T.

Focal Sopra 3

THOUGHTS?
My thoughts are you can buy yourself to perfect speakers at a 25k budget. Pretty much nobody is going to have actual experience with all the speakers you listed. Maybe Amir? Doubt even he could say that. It really comes down to what you value. Focals on your list look incredible and actually have heard them. But they really did not seem a good value to me beyond furniture. I’d expand my list to tested speakers that are delivering the flattest FR if I had 25k for a a pair. Just saying.
 
You want thoughts from here with that question?

My first thought is with turntable only, you're wasting your time. I'm still old school, source first, and in this day and age a turntable may be fun but if you are buying $25000 speakers just for vinyl you are wasting your money. Get a decent streaming source as well, expand your listening and improve your sound quality at the same time, while you can still keep vinyl as a primary source. Such a source will hardly scratch your budget. Relative to that, turntables do sound different, and we need to know that setup as there may be a combination of imperfections between the turntable setup and speakers (neither will ever be "perfect") that rule out some models, for example a rising treble in both products.

Secondly, you have a "250W amp". That tells us very little. Name it. If you want help in this range we need to know what that amp outputs into 1 and 2 Ohms as a starting point. Just because you have one big sounding number, the amp may still not drive some of these speakers correctly. Generally, we would recommend choosing a speaker first and getting an amplifier to match, for this reason. (Most here would then still recommend good class D regardless). On top of that, active speakers are likely to be better at this price point. Your comment about the PS Audio models suggests you aren't after a large speaker, and size is often the only likely advantage of passive speakers in your price range.

Thirdly, "the science" begs us to recommend that you investigate multichannel audio in this price range. Immersive multichannel is preferred to stereo in controlled tests and that is a good budget for a great multichannel system. As a stereo-constrained listener myself for different reasons, I get that you aren't asking to go there, and you may already have another, multichannel system anyway, but this is still ASR.

Fourthly, I see no room pictures below. Your listening space may need something other than stereo speakers - DSP or room treatments, or additional subwoofers to assist with the bass response, for best sound. Or you may (as I am) be constrained in where you can place your speakers in a normal living space, and that may rule out some designs of speaker.

Fifthly, how have you narrowed your search to these speakers? Have you been listening to them in your room or a similar environment? Are you choosing from wordy reviews? Attempting to match measurements to your setup? Too often people use guesswork when it comes to speakers, yet it's possible to learn something.

Reading some existing speaker threads on this site may help. Reading Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole will give you a comprehensive introduction to the reality of how loudspeakers and rooms work. Watching Amir's video on how to understand speaker measurements is another way into understanding the subject.

On your list, I would personally shy away from the Fyne Audio and YG Acoustics products based on having heard some of their other speakers, to actually address your question as worded. That, however, is purely personal preference and the only part of this wordy answer that you can ignore. In other words, I am pretty sure that you are starting from the wrong place and asking the wrong question. Go do some reading.
 
I forgot, with all that heckling... and welcome to ASR!
 
Thanks everyone. I went with the Fyne Audio f1-10s speakers, source Macintosh MT10 turntable, Mac MP100 phonostage and my Wyred4sound 250 wpc amp.
 
Thanks everyone. I went with the Fyne Audio f1-10s speakers, source Macintosh MT10 turntable, Mac MP100 phonostage and my Wyred4sound 250 wpc amp.
Thanks for reporting back. People often don't. Enjoy your new setup.

(I still say you should add a streaming source at some point, though :) ).
 
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