Well, my wife has decided that we will retire in Australia. I managed to draw my hifi room into the house we will rebuild very soon. Final retirement is probably still 5-10 years away. House will b ready in 2 years. So, now, sneakily, I am likely to go round to audition for new stuff. Eventually, I might bring the Statement (at my current work place location) to our final home. For now, I have a used 252 / 250 set. Anyway, I seek some advice from fellow enthusiasts for speaker recommendations. End game speakers to consider to match with the Statement.
For me, the priority is vocal performance, then soundstage & bass. Room is 4.5m x 7.8m x 3m (slanting ceiling). At my workplace location, I have the Focal Stella. While I finally managed to tame them, they are a bit brutal on bright tracks. So, I am not considering the Focal.
Soliciting recommendations. There is dealer for Vivid Audio and Wilson audio in Perth. Once Western Australia opens up hopefully in 2022, I may, with approval, be able to go to the Eastern States to look see look see as well.
Well this really depends on your end listening environment and budget. Alongside that you mention Neat, Kudos, Dynaudio and Focal (sorry!) are all candidates.
The set will be in a dedicated 2 channel room 4.5m wide, 7.8m long and 3m high (slanting probably to 4m front to back). Budget is for end game so limits are a bit loose but only good for 1 shot.
If i was planning my ultimate end game retirement system - with what you have already - Vivid Audio G1 s2 Spirits would be high up the list to audition. I think there’s great synergy to between the brands at my lowly ND555/552/500 Giya G3 lvl. Vocal realism, holographic presentation are wonderful between the two, real eyes closed singer in the room feel to my ears. The bigger G1’s will go down deep and remain fast and tight im sure. Well worth a listen. Enjoy the journey
Yes, in a big city such as Perth, there are professionals who can help with measurements and room acoustics, unlike my current work place where I had to trial & expensive error. Right now, I prefer diffusion at first & second reflection points. Some diffusion / absorption elsewhere.
In Perth, the dealer for Naim is also a dealer for Vivid. At least the last I checked earlier in the year. Looking forward to this
552/500 is no slouch. I had a lucky chance to pick up a 552/300DR a couple of years ago due to the dealer losing his dealership and wanted to offload his Naim stuff.
So, Vivid + Naim is definitely a combo to look into.
Speaker selection is so much a matter of personal taste as they influence the character of the sound more than any other component. Given the Statement amp, only highest end speakers make sense. I’d suggest PMC MB2SE as a baseline for transmission line, but also try combined with MB2 XBD for enhanced bottom end. Otherwise personally I’d want to hear ATC SCM 150.
Both of these are of course available active, so worth comparing that way as well, the ATC being almost bargain basement in terms of cost.
I presume that room treatment is a given to get the best out of whatever you do go for.
Must go and pay them a visit I think being only 5 miles up the road. If forgiving on some recordings mean closed in on others, please can I have accurate FR. Best Peter
Peter, as you are joking I feel I wasn’t clear. When I say not forgiving, I mean that a bit average or bright recordings can sound difficult to our ears.
My previous speakers were ProAc C8s. I wanted more bass & more holographic soundstage which the Focal gives me but at the expense of the nice mid range on the vocals. All things being relative of course. On well recorded materials the Focals are sublime but struggles on less than ideal recordings. So moving forward, yes I want the bass & soundstage but also want better / more forgiving treatment on the mids.
At the moment, in Perth, as mentioned I have 252/250 + ATC SCM19. So, a pair of ATC SCM150 is definitely an audition target. The local dealer works out of his residence & along the same road from me but he was selling his place when I went to pick up the SCM19 a few years ago.
I did audition the Vivid G1s in Singapore in 2019 but the place was not ideal - the room was literally the whole floor of the shop which was really not ideal. However, I did go listen to the same dealer’s set up even earlier maybe mid 2010’s at the local hifi show & was impressed. Met a guy with Statement & Vivid combo sitting behind me that day.
5-10 years is a long time. I would not be hand-wringing today about what I’d want in a yet-to-be-built room 5-10 years from now. Of course it’s fun to think about! But beyond that I’d assume that I’ll make hardware decisions then. Particularly with regard to digital music, streaming front ends, etc etc.
Technology is working in our favor and hi fi hardware for the most part is getting better, not worse. Today’s latest and greatest will be available used for dimes on the dollar 5-10 years from now.
The house will be ready in 2 years. Retirement is 5-10 years from now. So, this is the perfect excuse to shop around take my time to get something better than the 252/300/SCM19. A bit sneaky…
2 years – I’d be looking to see if Naim offer up a ‘smaller Statement’ type system; a streamer/dac/preamp box for it could also be a N272 replacement. (For example Soulution do a streamer/dac/preamp designed to be connected directly to their power amp box. No need for even a passive preamp.) Thus a Naim 2-box (no external PS boxes) system that rivals or betters the current 500-level system.
I’d wait to buy for the new house for just that reason. Of course if you want new hardware now, now is the only right time to buy
Best Peter
Best Peter