Those old sensitive speakers will probably sound great with an Atom. They will probably be fast and dynamic and have a realism that the small speakers can’t match. A big speaker like that, with that efficiency is kind of hard to come back from. It is difficult to get something like that these days because they are not that readily available to buy. High efficiency speakers have to be large in order to produce low bass and this is expensive for manufacturers to build and ship around the world. This is why there are so many small and inefficient speakers with nil dynamics requiring large wattage amps to perform well.
No one can help you make this decision, you need to decide what you want from your system. Can you part with the big speakers? Maybe. Many people are very satisfied with smaller speakers, it just takes some mental adjustment to appreciate music played at a lower volume and without the same dynamics. I also like my big speakers.
I am really interested to hear your thoughts after you have listened to the larger speakers. I do feel like you need something of a higher quality but that your call.
I think you have summed it up nicely, mpaltadome has a set up that I would certainly be happy with - but with the changes that have been outlined. Decent stands and decent cable
His original speakers would have been a good match for the Atom - hope he gets it sorted
Yes I certainly got that. I have no doubt the Atom would give that too. But it comes at the price of a massive wall of sound reduction in my case - or less perceived. If there’s a lot of instruments in the mix, you hear a lot of instruments in the mix, and if your brain is configured to want to follow all of it, like mine, playing a lot of these songs will get you tired. I compensated a bit by connecting a subwoofer that delivers the low end thumb, which I like. Basically I like analytics, PRAT, and a bit of extra bass. I once thought about auditioning floorstanders, but the truth is that my study is very small, 2.4 by 4.2m, and very modestly treated for sound reflections. Most people say floorstanders will be too much for such a smalll room, so I never tried… Just to show you what the setup looks like today:
Mmmm. PMC took 5 months to reply to a query of mine. The cat got hold of the black grilles very shortly after I bought them, and I asked them how to get new ones. I then did some half decent DIY attempt putting on white speaker fabric. I like the white looks better anyway.
Beautiful place!
I have a similar listening taste: details, separation of instruments. Sometimes I think the best way to do this is the way it was done in the old days: with an equalizer. But they are no longer used and these models are not prepared for it. I have mine from 30 bands saved.
Below I will comment on the new configuration that I am testing
Well, I finally got the old Infinity back.
I am testing both configurations with the Atom.
I am not going to spend a penny more until I am convinced of the sound to obtain, or I can do other tests at my house and that the improvement is significant.
They will point out to me that without supports I cannot get the best sound from PMCs. The reality is that every day I move the Atom with the PMCs to different rooms, to differentiate what belongs to the acoustics, the support, etc. and that is typical of the speakers.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself but the Infinity sounds much more spacious, more rested, it’s more relaxed to listen to, the scene is wider and more relaxed. PMCs have superior detail … but not abysmal.
I will give them time
I’m glad you didn’t get rid of the old speakers , sometimes they can be bargains .
The PMCs would do a lot better on stands , why not keep the PMCs?
Hope this comes across in the right way, but your Infinity speakers are older than some of my jokes and I am not sure they will be easily replaced, so that when they do give up the ghost you have replacements
The advantage of larger speakers can be dramatic. I find much more enjoyment with larger speakers. When they are set up well it allows my brain to relax and enjoy the music more. Instruments sound more real, and listening at low volume should me much better too. The downside is that high quality replacements may be very expensive unless you go down the diy route, in which case I can point you in the right direction.
It is as you say. The monitor sound is difficult for me because I am not used to it, although I will continue testing.
If you can show me the way of DIY I will be very grateful, it may be a possible upgrade
