Daydreaming and soliciting advise

First of all I am at this moment simply daydreaming, I might upgrade my system next year. The upgrade has to balance esthetics with musical enjoyment.

I am aware that my criteria are different, but its a tradeoff that aims to please my wife and myself.

1) The speakers have to blend or add to the room so big black boxes are out no matter how good they sound, my guess is white is the only viable option

2) The room can't look cluttered, so everything needs to be placed based on the space not based on the best sound

3) The budget all in has to be 60K USD or less

4) Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect , FLAC's and sometimes Qobuz are the only source we use.

5) I love Martin Logans' and other plannar systems but they don't work in my case as I need a really wide sweet spot (we often listen to the main stereo in the dining room or kitchen (I have tried) 

Sadly I have no opportunity to listen to most of these near where I live so, a lot of it's based on reviews and extrapolation (I will detail as I go).  I just upgraded to a pair of REL S/812's which are connected wirelessly and I really like NAD so unless there is a really good reason I will drive it with a M66 connected to dual M23's.  The speaker cables will likely be Kimber Cable 12TC if it's visible (unless there is a really good reason not to us it.

In terms of speakers I am currently using B&W 805 D4's connected to a M33 and a pair of REL T7/x's I enjoy the clarity and precision but they lack presence in the midrange, I have listened to the 801, 802 and 803's. Honestly the 803's made the best impression (if I didn't have they REL's I would have said the 801 but combined with the REL's I feel the 803 is lighter and more responsive without loosing anything range wise).  I have Usher S-500's in the kitchen connected to a pair of Bluesound Powernodes and I have to admit they are simply amazing speakers for their price/size.

My office setup is a pair of Proac 2.8, connected to a Classe CDP-151 that is fed by a Wyred4Sound Dac2, the source is a bluesound node.

I am considering the following, and could use thoughts from people that have experience with them

• Wilson Audio Yvette  or SabrinaX ,  My wife is not keen on the shape/look and I am really concerned about the wall proximity as they are rear ported 
• Dali Epicon 8

• Paradigm Persona 9H
• Revel Salon 2 but likely the F328Be in white
• Estelon AURA. or YB Mk II or XB Mk II. I have never heard these but my wife likes the shape and the Aura and YB fit in the space
• Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 or 803 D4 
• USHER Dancer or ML's (I know not white but as I said the S-500's amaze me so I am leaving these on the list even if they are going to be a tough sell)

If you enjoy what you have and are just wishing for a better tonal balance then may I suggest Digital Room Control before (and possibly after) you go to the trouble, risk, and spending on new equipment.

There are a number of options—the only one I've tried is Dirac and I never turn it off. I've even run my analog sources through a digitiser to enable Dirac for them.

16 minutes ago, GregWormald said:

If you enjoy what you have and are just wishing for a better tonal balance then may I suggest Digital Room Control before (and possibly after) you go to the trouble, risk, and spending on new equipment.

 

There are a number of options—the only one I've tried is Dirac and I never turn it off. I've even run my analog sources through a digitiser to enable Dirac for them.

 

 

The irony is I have DIRAC live on the NAD M33, but I have not had time to play with it yet, however while I agree it can address some aspects I have heard the whole 80x range side by side and no tweaking will let me get the presence I feel with 801-803, the 805 is great at what it does and in my space it looks very nice too.

9 hours ago, Peter Bomberg said:

First of all I am at this moment simply daydreaming, I might upgrade my system next year. The upgrade has to balance esthetics with musical enjoyment.

 

I am aware that my criteria are different, but its a tradeoff that aims to please my wife and myself.

 

1) The speakers have to blend or add to the room so big black boxes are out no matter how good they sound, my guess is white is the only viable option

2) The room can't look cluttered, so everything needs to be placed based on the space not based on the best sound

3) The budget all in has to be 60K USD or less

4) Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect , FLAC's and sometimes Qobuz are the only source we use.

5) I love Martin Logans' and other plannar systems but they don't work in my case as I need a really wide sweet spot (we often listen to the main stereo in the dining room or kitchen (I have tried) 

 

Sadly I have no opportunity to listen to most of these near where I live so, a lot of it's based on reviews and extrapolation (I will detail as I go).  I just upgraded to a pair of REL S/812's which are connected wirelessly and I really like NAD so unless there is a really good reason I will drive it with a M66 connected to dual M23's.  The speaker cables will likely be Kimber Cable 12TC if it's visible (unless there is a really good reason not to us it.

 

In terms of speakers I am currently using B&W 805 D4's connected to a M33 and a pair of REL T7/x's I enjoy the clarity and precision but they lack presence in the midrange, I have listened to the 801, 802 and 803's. Honestly the 803's made the best impression (if I didn't have they REL's I would have said the 801 but combined with the REL's I feel the 803 is lighter and more responsive without loosing anything range wise).  I have Usher S-500's in the kitchen connected to a pair of Bluesound Powernodes and I have to admit they are simply amazing speakers for their price/size.

 

My office setup is a pair of Proac 2.8, connected to a Classe CDP-151 that is fed by a Wyred4Sound Dac2, the source is a bluesound node.

 

I am considering the following, and could use thoughts from people that have experience with them

 

• Wilson Audio Yvette  or SabrinaX ,  My wife is not keen on the shape/look and I am really concerned about the wall proximity as they are rear ported 
• Dali Epicon 8

• Paradigm Persona 9H
• Revel Salon 2 but likely the F328Be in white
• Estelon AURA. or YB Mk II or XB Mk II. I have never heard these but my wife likes the shape and the Aura and YB fit in the space
• Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 or 803 D4 
• USHER Dancer or ML's (I know not white but as I said the S-500's amaze me so I am leaving these on the list even if they are going to be a tough sell)

I too, love to daydream about such upgrades. 
 

As this is a highly personal decision, it isn’t likely to give you the reasoning you’d need to help make your own decision. I know there’s physics involved, but all bets are off once speakers are put into a room, outside the anechoic measuring chamber. 
 

I’d go with the Sabrina X without hesitation. Get your own custom color if that helps them fit into the room better visually. I love my Alexia V loudspeakers and have been amazed at the sound from even the Yvette. 

Just to offer some more depth for your daydreaming: 

You may want to spend a look at the Kroma Atelier Stella Xtreme loudspeaker from the Spanish Kroma brand - which had their 140k upper range "Mercedes" on many Top of the Show lists after this years Munich High End show, I think @The Computer Audiophile pictured these Mercedes speakers  as well in the thread here.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/kroma-atelier-stella-xtreme-loudspeaker
 

The Canadian distributor is https://blissacoustics.com/product/kroma-atelier-stella-extreme/

Enjoy the search!

Thanks @DuckToller sadly the shape makes them a really hard sell, same reason I have removed most "square or box shaped" speakers, but I should add the Rockport Atria II if I am keeping the Usher TDs on my list.

Ahh to dream. I wish there was a way to listen to them side by side. I suspect at this level they all sound good so it's more a room/style/preference issue.  

I should ask is there anyone on here that lives in or near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada? 

Peter,

if square shapes are no-go, you may find salvation with
Vivid Audio (SA)
or
Jern Speaker (DK).
No corner left to be discussed ;-)

From a quality point of view, especially with your subs already in the room,

March Audio from Australia have a winning design with rouded corners for stand mount speakers, and even won't spoil your budget.

if an active setup would do, you may look at the (in my view) slim & attractive KEF LS60 which may fit you needs and allow DRC adjustements.

A few more to consider that are not shaped like your typical box speaker:

avantgarde-acoustic UNO SD (They have many color options)

Focal Sopra N3

Kef Blade

You need speakers with wide directivity.

If you're looking for something more sculptural then the Estelon XB is hard to beat (photo below).

For more conventional boxes I would suggest the Vimberg Tonda / Mino. Vivid Kaya 90s are a bit odd but less boxy.

Seem to perfectly fill the bill : https://vinylsound.ca/products/cabasse-baltic-5-passive-satellite-on-base-each

now from a more general standpoint, considering the wealth of HQ recordings made with RME ADC and monitored on Genelec (see 2L !) on may wonder if it makes sense to spend more

And for something completely different :

https://vaf.com.au/shop/ols/products/vaf-soundwall

I've heard a VAF soundwall at a hi-fi "get together" and was reasonably impressed.