Downsizing Speaker Setup

[Kerry]

I'm about to move and need to downsize my Maggie MG-1.5/QR's (bought in 1989) to something that won't dominate the room.  I've got a Classe CA-200 from a few decades ago.  I do love the sound.

I'm looking to trade in for something that could sit nicely and likely integrate into my home theater setup.  A high WAF is required.

I don't know what the trade-in value of these are but I'm likely to shed a tear or two in the process.  If I could cover just new speakers for whatever the current amp & speakers go for I'd be ok with that.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[n_maher]

Kerry,

Sadly a quick google leads me to believe that you wont get enough out of the maggies to make a trade possible.  I came across a couple adds for pairs in the $500 range...

Given you skills, Kerry, I'd have a look a Selah Audio.

[Kerry]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.  The amp was about $3K when I bought it.  Was hoping to pull another few bucks from that as well.

I'm about to go through a move, so I'm not going to have too much DIY time on my hands for a little while.

I'm going over to Lyric HiFi tomorrow to ask about trade-in options or just to depress myself.

I'll likely need to kick in a few $'s.  I'm figuring budget of $1K to $1.5K for new/used speakers.  Any suggestions on that.

[dsavitsk]

I listened to a lot of speakers in that range a couple of years ago. Almost all of them were not worth having. The only things I found that were were used and said Dynaudio on them.

[spritzer]

Maybe something crazy like the Sound Lab MiniStat...  

[skullguise]

The new Elac UniFi series should be really good for relatively cheap $.  I had the Debut B6 from the first series designed by Andrew Jones.  A little soft up top, but good deep bass and otherwise lovely sound, all for $280/pr.

The new $500/pr UniFi UB5 bookshlves should be more extended up top, with a 5" mid-bass driver and concentric mid-tweeter combo.  The UF5 is a floorstander for $1k/pr.

The Pioneer models he designed I thought were very good, but the Elac Debut B5's and B6's were leaps and bounds ahead IMO.

They also make a sub and center if you want to try to go 5.1+

[Dusty Chalk]

I would think that a 2.1 setup would be more likely to have a higher WAF, but what do I know?  I haven't been married in years.

Whatever you do, show her luvdunhill's setup first.  That should move the bar of her expectations.

[luvdunhill]

Well, that isn't entirely fair. I could use some help on fabric choice.

[mypasswordis]

You're moving?! Good luck with your new setup and abode. Following Dusty's train of thought, I believe the standard HC approved option is Kef LS50 with sub? Rear ported so still needs space in the back. Not having any experience with WAF, my personal choice would of course be a Quad ESL 63.

[bjarnetv]

16 hours ago, skullguise said:

The new Elac UniFi series should be really good for relatively cheap $.  I had the Debut B6 from the first series designed by Andrew Jones.  A little soft up top, but good deep bass and otherwise lovely sound, all for $280/pr.

The new $500/pr UniFi UB5 bookshlves should be more extended up top, with a 5" mid-bass driver and concentric mid-tweeter combo.  The UF5 is a floorstander for $1k/pr.

The Pioneer models he designed I thought were very good, but the Elac Debut B5's and B6's were leaps and bounds ahead IMO.

They also make a sub and center if you want to try to go 5.1+

i've heard a lot of praise for Elac lately, so that's definitely a hot tip.

Edited November 19, 2016 by bjarnetv

[Dusty Chalk]

9 hours ago, luvdunhill said:

Well, that isn't entirely fair. I could use some help on fabric choice.

The fact that your wife accepts those speakers says a lot about your wife, actually.  I meant no disrespect.  I just think most of the "you must downsize" school (my ex definitely would not have tolerated Maggies or horns or electrostats -- I've been to her place since I moved out, she won't even put her Insignias that I got her anywhere decent -- they're on the floor on the carpet buried in the corners -- it's downright painful to listen to) wouldn't.

[RudeWolf]

LS50ies are a safe bet, if you need bookshelves. The ELAC coax bookshelves look nice, but i can't understand the advantage of using a 3-way arrangement if you have 5-6" woofers.

And yeah, get a sub if you can.

[swt61]

JH-13s. 

[grawk]

JH13 does have the highest WAF to sound quality ratio ever

[Kerry]

Thanks.  I'm going to try and have a listen to some of these.

I made the mistake of telling my wife my plan to downsize.  She reminded me that she cried when I first got the maggies.  Needles to say she was happy.

[Pars]

I presume that wasn't cried because she loved them so much

[TMoney]

Are you moving out of the upper-east side, Kerry?

[Kerry]

No, we're planning on staying in the upper east side.  Turns out it's still one of the better values in NYC.

Edited November 20, 2016 by Kerry

[Torpedo]

I've liked for years two monitors that you might enjoy (not having heard ELAC things ever)

Spendor S3/5SE (or whatever is the last version)

Proac Tablette Reference 8 (specially the Signature)

They're monitors that depending on the room size may sound adequately loud and filling, with rather high WAF with the right bases. Still very different sounding from the Maggies. I like some Dynaudio, but they're in the "descriptive" side of things, which isn't always very enjoyable. I wish you find something that you really like, Kerry.

[JimL]

Hey, Kerry,

I used to live on the Upper East Side in another life (504 E 81st studio apt) when I was a fellow at MSKCC.  I've had Quads for years, even managed to squeeze them into the studio apt with a Hartley subwoofer, but my HT set-up has used Tannoy System 8 NFM II speakers which are stand mounted and reasonable size.  Needs a subwoofer though as they only go down to about 55 Hz.  A bit industrial looking with gray matte cabinets and black grilles, as they were designed as studio monitors, but sound pretty good.  The late JGH used System 10 DMT II monitors in a 5.1 system for a number of years, which is what I have now, but with an 8 as a center speaker - I still have a pair of 8s sitting around, but w/o grilles.  I think the 10s may have been his last system.  They are obsolete but show up from time to time on ebay  within your budget.

[guzziguy]

Another brand you might consider is Joseph Audio.  Being in NY, it shouldn't be hard for you to audition them.

[ironbut]

Here's another vote for the Elac's.

I own 1.6qr's and I've had other Maggie's before them. 

I spent an hour or so with the Elac UB5 with and without the sub driven by Audio Alchemy electronics and I was blown away!

I've considered selling my (kind of huge) system and getting exactly the setup I heard.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2016/04/28/axpona-2016-elac-and-audio-alchemy/

[Craig Sawyers]

It may seem perverse to consider building something, but these http://www.linkwitzlab.com/LXmini/Introduction.htm take a lot of beating, and can be built for not much more than $700 for drivers and all hardware, and including the DSP crossover. And you need four channels of amplification, which of course costs some more. Such as https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/xpa-gen3 for about $1k, but there are many options. You can get a kit from Madisound https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/lxmini-linkwitz-lab-speaker-kit-pair/ for a number of kit options.

Someone who had built a pair came along and we did a shoot out between the LX-mini and my LX-521. Apart from a comparative lack of bass, the imaging and neutrality were just as good.

[bjarnetv]

LX Mini - Has there ever been a speaker with less WAF?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Um...yeah, the maggies.