I’m new to Hi-Fi. I’ve mostly dabbled with headsets, and now I’m finally taking the plunge to buy some real speakers and an amp. The setup will go in my living room and be used about 50/50 for music and movies/TV. I listen to a mix of genres—jazz, electronic, classical, rock, and hip-hop. I’ve also got some space constraints, so I've mostly considered bookshelf speakers. They’ll need to be fairly close to a wall—about 10 inches (25.5 cm) away.
I was initially eyeing the LS50 Meta + a sub, but then I watched and read reviews of the R3 Meta. Then I got swayed by the Buchardt S400 MKII, which led me to the E50. But after seeing the E50’s frequency response, now I’m considering the A10. I’m all over the place.
*See title*
I think I’ve narrowed my choices down… for now. (Check back in a few weeks for updates.)
Option 1
The R3 Meta setup seems like the most logical first buy-in. My wife isn’t exactly thrilled by the way they look; I think they’re fine. I “demoed” the R3 and R5 at Best Buy today for about 5–10 minutes. The R5 made the R3 sound small, but I was very impressed by both. I had a wow moment with the R3, then got blown away by the R5’s wide soundstage. They both need a sub, in my opinion.
I’m really drawn to the E50’s aesthetic. My wife likes it too, which is a big plus. Everything—from the internals to the cabinet—just screams premium. But spending ~$4.5 K on passive speakers for my first “Hi-Fi” setup feels like a stretch. Plus, I’d probably have to upgrade from the Lyngdorf 1120 to the 2210 to power them properly, which means more $$$. I'm open to other room correction options too, but RoomPerfect sounds simple. After looking at the frequency response, I felt a little underwhelmed. Not sure why I’m hung up on that—my untrained ears wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I’m sure they sound great and at that price point, they’d better.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about active speakers. They’re intriguing, but when I think “Hi-Fi,” I picture passive speakers + amp. I know that’s an outdated mindset, but still. My only concern is future upgrades—or if something fails after warranty, I’d be stuck replacing both the amp and the speaker. Maybe that’s nothing to worry about.
The Ascilab A6B also look tempting. See title—again.
If you were in my position and had $5–10k to spend, what would you do? Maybe you can sway me in another direction
EDIT: The room is an open floor plan about 18’ x 24’ (5.5 m x 7.3 m), with the living area itself around 18’ x 13’ (5.5 m x 4 m). My listening distance is roughly 14 ft (4.3 m). The ceiling slopes from 15 ft to 9 ft (4.6 m to 2.7 m), with the speakers placed at the higher end and my seat at the lower.
I was initially eyeing the LS50 Meta + a sub, but then I watched and read reviews of the R3 Meta. Then I got swayed by the Buchardt S400 MKII, which led me to the E50. But after seeing the E50’s frequency response, now I’m considering the A10. I’m all over the place.
*See title*
I think I’ve narrowed my choices down… for now. (Check back in a few weeks for updates.)
Option 1
- KEF R3 Meta
- Some sub—maybe KC62, SVS, or something else
- Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 (RoomPerfect sounds compelling)
- Buchardt E50
- No sub
- Lyngdorf TDAI-2210, NAD with Dirac, or something else with room correction
- Buchardt A10
- No sub
- Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 or another affordable non-amp streamer combo with Dirac
- KEF R5 Meta
- Some sub—maybe KC62, SVS, or something else
- Lyngdorf TDAI-2210 or NAD with Dirac
The R3 Meta setup seems like the most logical first buy-in. My wife isn’t exactly thrilled by the way they look; I think they’re fine. I “demoed” the R3 and R5 at Best Buy today for about 5–10 minutes. The R5 made the R3 sound small, but I was very impressed by both. I had a wow moment with the R3, then got blown away by the R5’s wide soundstage. They both need a sub, in my opinion.
I’m really drawn to the E50’s aesthetic. My wife likes it too, which is a big plus. Everything—from the internals to the cabinet—just screams premium. But spending ~$4.5 K on passive speakers for my first “Hi-Fi” setup feels like a stretch. Plus, I’d probably have to upgrade from the Lyngdorf 1120 to the 2210 to power them properly, which means more $$$. I'm open to other room correction options too, but RoomPerfect sounds simple. After looking at the frequency response, I felt a little underwhelmed. Not sure why I’m hung up on that—my untrained ears wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I’m sure they sound great and at that price point, they’d better.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about active speakers. They’re intriguing, but when I think “Hi-Fi,” I picture passive speakers + amp. I know that’s an outdated mindset, but still. My only concern is future upgrades—or if something fails after warranty, I’d be stuck replacing both the amp and the speaker. Maybe that’s nothing to worry about.
The Ascilab A6B also look tempting. See title—again.
If you were in my position and had $5–10k to spend, what would you do? Maybe you can sway me in another direction
EDIT: The room is an open floor plan about 18’ x 24’ (5.5 m x 7.3 m), with the living area itself around 18’ x 13’ (5.5 m x 4 m). My listening distance is roughly 14 ft (4.3 m). The ceiling slopes from 15 ft to 9 ft (4.6 m to 2.7 m), with the speakers placed at the higher end and my seat at the lower.
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