We have transformed our kichen and are thinking about a upgrade from our hifiset.
Currently we have a Nait 5Si with a Qute as streamer, Dali Zensor 1 speakers and Odyssey Chord install speakercables. RCA-Din is Chord Chorus.
The speakers are situated on the upper shelf inside a Ikea wallcabinet and are just a few centimeters away from the wall. They are +/- 2,5 meters apart from each other.
We are are thinking for an upgrade:
Staying passive and changing speakercables in Shawline
Changing to another speakers and cables
Going active with KEF LSX II or LS50 wireless. LS50 will probably be to big.
we have the LS50 wireless in the bedroom and I think they are great.
it cleared up the mess of having an all in one box sat in the fireplace, and also to my ears they provide a great sound for their small size and relatively modest price point.
nice clean modern style and colours will suit a new kitchen… albeit how much they will like being on a cupboard shelf I’m unsure. ours are about a foot from the back wall and close to the sides of the chimney and work well… so I think they are ok close to stuff.
If it is a new kitchen, I’d suggest thinking with a clean slate.
Does the decor lend itself to separates or one box?
Does the decor lend itself to full width or shoebox?
Does the decor lend itself to a rack (standard or midi width sized)?
Are speakers likely to look better modern, retro, invisible, etc etc.
As audiophiles, we rarely put on the “how it looks comes first” hat, but a fancy kitchen/dining room is probably the room in which to exercise that side of the brain. And only then when you decide those things start asking whether what you already have in terms of hifi fits in with what you have in mind for the kitchen. Having got a new kitchen myself in the past 6 months, I really tried to start from scratch with a “for the kitchen” mindset. Ran out of money and am using a pair of speakers I had not planned on, but even so, it all has a very, “this was assembled with the kitchen in mind” look to it as a seamless design cue with the rest of the room.
We replaced our kitchen as well. However replacing the audio system was not an option. IT WAS A MUST. Our former Rega system, except for our P9, did not survive our renovation. Use your renovation as an opportunity to rethink everything. Wiring, equipment, support, speakers and speaker color, streaming and even a TT, if desired. Do not neglect ease of use. It does not matter how good the stuff sounds, if as we age, it becomes difficult to operate. Rely upon a dealer you know and trust.
We totally renovated our kitchen a few years ago and didn’t want “separates”, so fitted two pairs of B&W ceiling speakers driven by two Sonos connect amps hidden in a cupboard. All that shows if you look are the grilles for the speakers, the Sonos system is faultless probably the best App there is and certainly the most widely supported by all the known streaming services. My NAS provides the local files as it does to my “sit down and listen” Naim system, but I confess that the Sonos is used much more frequently. I swopped out the Connect Amps for their replacement in the Sonos range simply called “Amp” and that was an uplift in quality and also takes an HDMI source from the wall mounted TV into the cupboard where the Amp’s sit. No it isn’t Naim but it’s certainly good enough to show the differences in stream and recording quality of various sources and it’s totally invisible. For convenience and operational characteristics I don’t believe Sonos can be bettered, and when I upgraded the amps they gave me a 30% discount on the replacements, and you still get to keep the old equipment to sell on if you wish. The B&W speakers are beautifully engineered and sit in a universal cradle so you can upgrade the actual speaker at a later date , which I did when I changed the amps. Works extremely well for us.
Chris