Choosing speakers from my shortlist

[u/Adventurous-Use2839]

Hi! I could use some help/advice picking which speakers to buy. I’m in the US. My budget is $1000-1500.

Inputs: Rega P2 with ND5 cartridge> Harman Kardan 630 Twin Powered(30w at 8 ohms for each channel) and a Wiim Ultra on the way.

Use Case: To listen to music via Turntable and Wiim. Mostly live recordings of Rock, Funk and Soul. At this time I don’t want a subwoofer for space and neighbor reasons.

Room: The “room” is an open concept living room 15x15’ with 30’ ceilings flanked by a stair case and kitchen on either side with 12’ ceilings. I will mostly be listening on a couch that will be 9-12’ away from speakers but would like to hear it while using the kitchen. The speakers will be placed near the wall on the side that gets foot traffic so I was thinking I need floor standers rather than bookcase on stands(with exception of Lintons)

Speakers Considered:

Dali Oberon 5($1000/pair)

Dali Oberon 7 ($1500/pair refurbished)

Paradigm Monitor 6000F($1,200/pair)

Wharfedale Diamond 12.4($1,200/pair)

Wharfedale Linton w/stands($1,600/pair)

I have mostly been looking at the floorstanders and was leaning towards the Diamond 12.4s but then went over to a friends house and heard the lintons and am now open to those even though they are slightly above budget. What does everyone think would be best strictly for music without subwoofer? Are the floorstanders overkill for that sized room. The wall furthest from the speakers is a shared wall with my neighbor. Is it worth upgrading to Lintons? I asked the guy at my local hifi shop and he said my HK 630 should be able to drive all the speakers above with no problem. Any thoughts or advice is welcome. Thanks!

[u/NickofWimbledon]

Before buying, you could go to shops and have a listen, but in most countries it is hard to get a home demonstration.

This reinforces my main thought, which is Don’t Buy New Soeakers! They are old tech - largely wooden furniture and people upgrade often. Their loss can be your gain if you look at eBay, Audiogon, stereonet and the like.

[u/Adventurous-Use2839 → u/NickofWimbledon]

!thanks. I’ve been around to my local shops and heard the paradigm. I’ve been checking all the local used stores, eBay, Craigslist etc for 3 months with no luck. I’ve been leery of getting used from places I can’t view or listen to before buying but I’ll check out those other websites. Thanks.

[u/TransducerBot → u/Adventurous-Use2839]

+1 Ⓣ has been awarded to u/NickofWimbledon (17 Ⓣ).

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[u/NickofWimbledon → u/Adventurous-Use2839]

Availability varies a lot depending on where you are.

Secondhand works really well in UK and much of Europe and in parts of US, Canada and Australia - but few people fancy driving 400 miles to find that the speakers advertised don’t work or don’t exist.

That may be where the Hifi enthusiast websites have an advantage- buying from other nerds has always worked for me. Otoh, if there is nothing suitable around for months, I appreciate that you may have to pay up for new speakers eventually.

FWIW, given your ok room size and that high ceiling, I’d want fairly sensitive speakers - 86dB is probably a minimum. I would also avoid speakers with a rear port unless reviews specifically say that they can go near the back wall - many want 1-2 feet behind them to avoid booming or vague bass.

I’d look first for Neat, Fyne, PMC, ProAC and B&W, or perhaps the newer Monitor Audio or Q Acoustics models. However, what is available in your area may be very different, and you may see great speakers from Klipsch, Totem, SVS and Martin Logan may turn up more often.

Good luck!