Looking for Speaker Upgrade Advice

kleinbje

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Dec 20, 2012
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Hi,
I have been rotating between the Joseph Audio Perspectives and the Revel Gem 1's, I love both, but now I am looking for the next level of bass reproduction and imaging soundstage/dynamics. The Revels image and soundstage well, but are missing some heft, the Josephs can get edgy in the presence range with some material, similar to what was described in Stereophile , but have nice bass heft without exciting harsh resonances. I am running a VPI Classic 3 with Koetsu RSP, Lamm Lp2, Naim NAC52/NAP300. No digital. I have a relatively small room 11.5'*13.5'*8'. Models that I'm looking out are the Vivid B1/Giya 3/4, Kef Blade 2, Magico S1/Q1/Mini. Looking for advice on distinguishing between these and any other thoughts. Almost all Hard Rock/Classic rock/singer/songwriter. Thanks.

Jeff
 

Down Under

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Jun 26, 2014
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Coincidently ,I have heard just about all of those speakers-all are very good.
Taking into account your very nice ancillary gear and the room size I would lean towards the Vivid B1.
It is a very "fast" speaker with low colouration and sounds very good in smallish rooms.
The Wilson Duette 2 is really worth hearing as well.
Good luck and let us know what transpires.
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Hi

One of those hard question to which you may receive as many answers as people writing them... This said, I know the Revel some and the Joseph Audio not at all :). Based on what I value about music reproduction, I would suggest to take a hard look at the Giya 3...
I am a Magico fan, I like the Q3,Q5, Q7 a lot but IMO the S1, Q1 and Mini, however great their reputation may be as full range, if you need realistic 40 Hz at 90 dB ... look elsewhere. OTOH the Giya B1 or G3,G4 will take you there with ease especially the G3; these are in IMHO well-balanced serious speakers, among the best out there... at any price. And while this may look like it's coming from Left Field, please have a listen at the JBL 4367, which from peoples whose ears I trust , is the real deal. Depending on your budget, it would be interesting to investigate a pairing of something like the Giya G3 or JBL 4367 with the Audio Kinesis SWARM subwoofer system. As a matter of fact, any speaker however full range does benefit from the addition of subs (plural as at least 3 :)) regardless of the favored musical genre: from chamber music to hip hop ...
 

Al M.

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Sep 10, 2013
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Based on what I value about music reproduction, I would suggest to take a hard look at the Giya 3...
I am a Magico fan, I like the Q3,Q5, Q7 a lot but IMO the S1, Q1 and Mini, however great their reputation may be as full range, if you need realistic 40 Hz at 90 dB ... look elsewhere.

Or you can simply combine monitors with a sub (or subs) like I do. Two audiophiles with large speakers who are also into rock (one of them a bass player, the other one a drummer) love how that music sounds on my system and what kind of bass pressure it gives -- easily with the music playing cleanly at 90 dB (and I think with my new speakers I could go higher no problem, but I really don't want to kill my ears).

And for kleinbje's small room (considerably smaller than mine) this may be the ideal solution anyway. It makes no sense putting large speakers there.

***

kleinbje, perhaps you want to check out my system thread (see signature).
 

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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Your NAIM is a nice smooth amp, and I think that, from your roster, the Magicos would be the best fit, by far. I'd just skip the bookshelves from the brand, specially the Q1, as I find them weak in the mid-bass department.

If you want a slightly different take, I believe the YG Carmel 2 would be a definitive speaker for your room. Or, if you want an upgrade on the cheap(-er), there's always a used YG Carmel (which can be had for less than $8k).

As they're sealed box, you won't have many issues positioning them in your room.

A more traditional pairing for NAIM, and one that I've heard many times, would be the Dynaudio line. The Confidence line has a bit of bass bloat, but the old Focus line, and the current Countours are pretty solid. They will require a bit of fiddling with positioning, though, but they do sound lovely with NAIM.



cheers,
alex
 

Al M.

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If you want a slightly different take, I believe the YG Carmel 2 would be a definitive speaker for your room. Or, if you want an upgrade on the cheap(-er), there's always a used YG Carmel (which can be had for less than $8k).

As they're sealed box, you won't have many issues positioning them in your room.

Are you sure?

See (Setup):
http://www.stereophile.com/content/yg-acoustics-carmel-2-loudspeaker-0#o2ax6JQBIjQIFjLF.97

Seems problematic in the rather small room.
 

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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I would not buy the KEF blades. At first I was thinking the Vivid's have to be a good option. Then Dave posted... There's no reason a somewhat physically large speaker can't work in a smaller room. It's most so about things like if it's OB, dipole, line array, etc that determine how it works in the room.
 

KeithR

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May 7, 2010
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Hi,
I have been rotating between the Joseph Audio Perspectives and the Revel Gem 1's, I love both, but now I am looking for the next level of bass reproduction and imaging soundstage/dynamics. The Revels image and soundstage well, but are missing some heft, the Josephs can get edgy in the presence range with some material, similar to what was described in Stereophile , but have nice bass heft without exciting harsh resonances. I am running a VPI Classic 3 with Koetsu RSP, Lamm Lp2, Naim NAC52/NAP300. No digital. I have a relatively small room 11.5'*13.5'*8'. Models that I'm looking out are the Vivid B1/Giya 3/4, Kef Blade 2, Magico S1/Q1/Mini. Looking for advice on distinguishing between these and any other thoughts. Almost all Hard Rock/Classic rock/singer/songwriter. Thanks.

Jeff

Speakers are personal, so highly recommend you go to dealers or attend a big show. Most recommendations will just be a reflection of what folks own so aren't terribly valuable.

That said, if you want to rock out with great bass/dynamics I would be looking at higher efficiency speakers.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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I would not buy the KEF blades. At first I was thinking the Vivid's have to be a good option. Then Dave posted... There's no reason a somewhat physically large speaker can't work in a smaller room. It's most so about things like if it's OB, dipole, line array, etc that determine how it works in the room.

Me neither... mids and highs were nice but midbass was MIA and lower down was boomy/underdamped.
 

Barry2013

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Oct 12, 2013
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Your NAIM is a nice smooth amp, and I think that, from your roster, the Magicos would be the best fit, by far. I'd just skip the bookshelves from the brand, specially the Q1, as I find them weak in the mid-bass department.

If you want a slightly different take, I believe the YG Carmel 2 would be a definitive speaker for your room. Or, if you want an upgrade on the cheap(-er), there's always a used YG Carmel (which can be had for less than $8k).

As they're sealed box, you won't have many issues positioning them in your room.

A more traditional pairing for NAIM, and one that I've heard many times, would be the Dynaudio line. The Confidence line has a bit of bass bloat, but the old Focus line, and the current Countours are pretty solid. They will require a bit of fiddling with positioning, though, but they do sound lovely with NAIM.



cheers,
alex

I had Carmel 1s with my then Naim 500/552DR and they worked very well together in my 12x21 ft room.
A good used buy.
 

kleinbje

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2012
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Thanks for all the replies. I have been looking at the Carmels as well, as they can be had for 5-7k used now. Cheaper than the vivids. I was worried about brightness with the Carmels. Seems like not many here like the Blade 2's, anyone with a favorable impression?

Thanks again
Jeff
 

Barry2013

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Oct 12, 2013
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Thanks for all the replies. I have been looking at the Carmels as well, as they can be had for 5-7k used now. Cheaper than the vivids. I was worried about brightness with the Carmels. Seems like not many here like the Blade 2's, anyone with a favorable impression?

Thanks again
Jeff[/QUOTE

I found the Carmels transparency and imagining very good but no brightness in the unwelcome sense. Possible I suppose with the wrong cables but the same for other speakers.
Top class build quality and although I have no personal experience of the Vivids I have heard unfavourable reports of their build quality on the inside.
 

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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Are you sure?

See (Setup):
http://www.stereophile.com/content/yg-acoustics-carmel-2-loudspeaker-0#o2ax6JQBIjQIFjLF.97

Seems problematic in the rather small room.

I'm 100% sure. We've had these speakers in rooms of various sizes, from closet space to huge halls. I know full well how they behave. A good speaker requires careful pairing, even before you consider the room, and that simply wasn't considered for that review. That's why I said the NAIM amps would probably sound peachy on the YGs, as I know the characteristics of both.
 

slcaudiophile

Well-Known Member
Nov 6, 2014
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Um ... SLC?
Thanks for all the replies. I have been looking at the Carmels as well, as they can be had for 5-7k used now. Cheaper than the vivids. I was worried about brightness with the Carmels. Seems like not many here like the Blade 2's, anyone with a favorable impression?

Thanks again
Jeff

i have had both carmel 1 and 2s. you will not have an issue with brightness with either. there is nothing that will get me out of a room quicker then a bright speaker (except a naked fat chick ... nothing against those of you into lovin the tube of goo type). anyway, both carmel's are very transparent and never verge into being "bright." they have a very detailed, very accurate, very high performance sound but that is not to be confused with bright. i have heard the kefs blades a couple times and they sound nice but they are not in the same league to the YGs. if you can get a pair of 2s you will be happy for life.

if you are into cars ... here is an analogy that might explain the differences in the two. please forgive me in advance if this is stupid. but to me, the YG sound is like driving a Porsche gt3 ... wicked fast, mind blowing technology and build quality and the car is faster then just about anything you could come across. but most importantly, the driving experience is raw, uninhibited, mechanical and the car allows you feel everything that is going on ... and you literally smile the entire time. kef blades by comparison would be like a large BMW. they are nice, they are pretty to look at, they have a cool paint job and are fast ... but in a totally different way. just blah!

ok ... i know its a bad analogy!
 

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