I have had a pair of WB Arc’s from new but I’m contemplating an upgrade. The speakers must be stand mounted bookshelf and will be located close to the rear wall circa 25cm. My thought is Kudos Titan 505 or ???. System is modified Linn LP12, Ekos 1, Hana Ml, Superline, NAC52 and 300DR. Thoughts please
Great little speakers the Arcs. I had a pair for a good few years in a system very similar to yours.
I finally changed mine for Kudos S20’s, having tried the stand mount S10’s along the way. I’ve since moved up to T606’s, which are tremendous and have heard the 505’s, which are also excellent and love a 300DR. I’d also try the Vivís Audio Kaya 25s.
My dealer regularly demmed the Arcs with CDX2, 202, 200 about twelve years ago (edit: actually more like 15-20!) and I thought that was a superb sound.
Okay, the game may have moved on, and I don’t know the model that you are considering. I suppose my simple question is what is it you are hoping that those you mention will give you that the Arcs don’t?
I guess that is the 64000 dollar question, honest answer I’m not sure!
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The 505’s are very large compared to the Arc’s and if you have floor space for them maybe a small floor stander is also an option?. I changed my Arcs for some WB Vectors when I upgraded and they take up less space than the 505’s which I also demo’d. WB also offer a loyalty discount and gave me a decent trade in price for my Arcs which resulted in the Vectors not costing much more than the 505’s.
Hi Deeg, what is s your view of the WB Vectors, especially compared to the ARC’s, they are only available through WB and not readily comparable to other speakers at a dealers
Am very pleased with them, they have all the WB traits you would expect and give the extra bass that i wanted compared to the Arcs which i felt needed to be driven hard to get much bass from. They perform well beyond their diminutive size.
The long home demo facility WB offer allowed me to compare then with both 505’s and 606’s which my dealer was kind enough to bring round over a couple of weeks. Both me and my partner preferred the Vectors visually in our room and sonically with our varied taste of music.
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Thanks Deeg.
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I have the WB Discovery on 202+300 for may years now and still love them. Very well balanced and they simply disappear when playing.
I haven’t heard the Arcs, though I have heard lots of good about them - so much so that it would
be nice to hear, and consider for a domestically friendly speaker. But I’d only consider together with the Torus (ideally a pair). If you haven’t got yours paired with the Torus, would getting that give you the upgrade you seek without knowing what it os you seek!?
Certainly worth a listen if they are in your price-range and can be found are the dynaudio confidence 20s. I use them on a 282/250dr system and they are out in the room but the port is routed down and thru the stand that is supplied with them.
But what triggered you to think about new speakers?
The Arcs are very good. I think you need to spend quite a bit more than the price of the Arcs to get a substantial improvement. I also think your front end justifies that. If the speakers need to be that close to the rear wall, it rules out virtually all rear ported designs imo. The upside is that this narrows things down considerably.
Next to the speakers already suggested, I’d put the Magico A1 on the shortlist.
Well so far a lot of soul searching and head scratching. I’ll inform if and when I sort out alternatives, if at all. The Arc’s are very good and I think it’s going to be expensive to markedly better then.
@RBH, I have had my Arcs for over 20 years now and they still sound fantastic. I have toyed with the idea of changing them, but the cost for something that is a drastic improvement is preventing me. If you ever do find a reasonably priced upgrade let me know 
Have any of you with Arcs fried them in conjunction with Torus? From specs and reviews, but never having heard and WB speakers in the flesh, that strikes me as a possibly excellent speakers system, especially for smallish rooms.
Hi Innocent-bystander, I have neither tried or indeed fried a Torus😀
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I’ve never heard the Arcs with Naim but have with other electronics and can only imagine it must be a good pairing, so that begs the question why change? But I can without reservation recommend the 505s.
Usual rule, home demo essential.
That must be one of the best typos going!
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Hi IB,
Not with Arcs but yes with Discovery and ACT.
In a typical UK modern house living room of about 18’ by 12’, with CDX2/XPS2, 282/Hicap2/250, the music was transformed from sterile, uninteresting Hifi to excellent and engaging when the Torus was introduced to the ACTs. It was most impressive.
Aesthetics were too challenging though, as the idea of having a large black dustbin in the middle of our living room was deemed to be many steps too far…
Best regards, BF