I've heard two of the speakers on your list fairly recently. Probably heard the Nola Boxers but don't remember. I don't know which you prefer, but I thought the LS50 and CM5 both sounded pretty amazing for small box speakers. Since there are no perfect speakers, you might be at this a while. haha
I live in an area where there is travel involved to hear audio equipment. 3 of 4 pairs were ordered with a home trial period. I do not want to do that anymore. The three listed I was thinking about ordering a pair for trial. I need to just listen to what I have until I have the time to shop properly.
Until then I will be using the JBL Studio 530's. They work well in my room and sound good. Actually now that I found their sweetspot in my room they may be my long term reference.
When you say "need more space', I am assuming that you mean that you need to have them fairly near the rear wall.
The CM5 is rear-ported, and what you probably should do is limit your choices to either front-ported or unported speakers.
I suggest the NHT Classic 2 speakers. They are sealed acoustic-suspension speakers and can therefore be placed quite close to the rear wall. They are excellent speakers.
The KEF Q300 would also be an excellent choice. It is a front-ported speaker.
I think either of those should perform quite well in that size room.
It would be cheaper to get a good tube amp and invest in some red wine and marijuana.
Guaranteed results, more money left over to buy music. Seriously. Far better than the best solid state amp/beer combination.
Or just pull your speakers out off the wall a little. Or both and all of the above!
Speakers are by far the worse components in even very good stereos. They are all full of compromise. My rule of thumb is focus on getting midrange clarity and coherence correct and get the bass as correct as possible using setup. There are lots of options, up to and including removing the LF driver in a 3 way speaker and covering the opening, pulling the units off the wall, driving them with push pull amps, bi-amping, bi-wiring, etc. The amp/speaker interface is most often the most difficult to get right. Your ears can hear around soft bass, for example, so long as it's not slow, muddy, or one note in a way that takes away from the music. It CANNOT listen around a bad midrange. The BODY knows better to an extent that the BODY will ask you to make a change.
The softer bass of a good tube amp for example is often disliked by some SS amp lovers, when really it's more natural, NEUTRAL, and more coherent than the one note thump and bump (sometimes called tightness) of many many solid state amps. Listen to a non-amplified acoustic bass, then a live amplified electric bass, then your stereo.
Seriously, if you are having this much trouble finding a speaker you like, it's time to move back stream,
To clarify a few issues. All my speakers are placed at least two feet from the rear wall. I mentioned the room may not be big enough for the Monitor Audio RS6's since my system is set up in front of the 12 foot wall. My stand mount speakers are less trouble in my room. I like my Krell S-300i integrated amp so I am not in the market for a tube amp.
My main issue is the lack of close shops to audition speakers. In the past I would listen to a speaker several times. Today with drive time and little time to shop I was thinking about a short list of speakers no further away than a two hour drive. Since my initial post I have decided to enjoy the JBL Studio 530's. They work well in my room and I am pleased with their sound.
Sorry, I hate to be critical or Debby Downer. But they make amps (especially integrated) that are good but rarely great and with most speakers pretty so-so. I've only heard a Krell 300 shine in one system in my life, and that was in a fairly well damped live end dead end setup with Martin Logan speakers. That same set-up in a less good room suddenly sucked the life out of music.
It can be a bit sacrilegious in the land of make believe that is American Hi-Fi Marketing, but Krell didn't actually hang the solid state Hi-Fi moon. Open up a mid 70's Pioneer or Sansui or Marantz amp or receiver and see it filled with the same quality Japanese and American components, built better, and often including a good tuner AND a pretty good phono stage, and you suddenly understand why so few well learned audio technicians and electrical engineers own American "High End" gear. It's not because they are tin-eared knuckle draggers. What many American Audiophiles call arrogantly call "mid fi" is actually quite good.
That's not to crap on Krell specifically, it's that the American Hi-End market should be a little more David Hafler and Allen Wright and a little less Dan D'Augustino and Mark Levinson. No matter what they'd have you believe, the reason the British Hi-Fi market is always booming, is because they kind of just get that you can't make things sound better by just making them bigger and shinier.
You keep swapping out speakers over and over. You've heard Einstein's opinion on insanity, right?
I ended up listening to the B&W CM5 and the Paradigm Studuo 20. I did not like either. Did not have time to travel to another state to hear the Boxers. When I saw the Focal's highly discounted at Music Direct I decided to try a pair. They work well with the Krell S-300i and give the kind of detail and instrumental textures I was missing with my other speakers. The detail is not from brightness but the speed of the drivers. Imaging is precise and sound staging quite good. I am sure they are still breaking in but I love what I am hearing to date.
I wish you better luck in your speaker quest than you seem to have had in the past.
I've heard two of the speakers on your list fairly recently. Probably heard the Nola Boxers but don't remember. I don't know which you prefer, but I thought the LS50 and CM5 both sounded pretty amazing for small box speakers. Since there are no perfect speakers, you might be at this a while. haha
I live in an area where there is travel involved to hear audio equipment. 3 of 4 pairs were ordered with a home trial period. I do not want to do that anymore. The three listed I was thinking about ordering a pair for trial. I need to just listen to what I have until I have the time to shop properly.
Until then I will be using the JBL Studio 530's. They work well in my room and sound good. Actually now that I found their sweetspot in my room they may be my long term reference.
When you say "need more space', I am assuming that you mean that you need to have them fairly near the rear wall.
The CM5 is rear-ported, and what you probably should do is limit your choices to either front-ported or unported speakers.
I suggest the NHT Classic 2 speakers. They are sealed acoustic-suspension speakers and can therefore be placed quite close to the rear wall. They are excellent speakers.
The KEF Q300 would also be an excellent choice. It is a front-ported speaker.
I think either of those should perform quite well in that size room.
It would be cheaper to get a good tube amp and invest in some red wine and marijuana.
Guaranteed results, more money left over to buy music. Seriously. Far better than the best solid state amp/beer combination.
Or just pull your speakers out off the wall a little. Or both and all of the above!
Speakers are by far the worse components in even very good stereos. They are all full of compromise. My rule of thumb is focus on getting midrange clarity and coherence correct and get the bass as correct as possible using setup. There are lots of options, up to and including removing the LF driver in a 3 way speaker and covering the opening, pulling the units off the wall, driving them with push pull amps, bi-amping, bi-wiring, etc. The amp/speaker interface is most often the most difficult to get right. Your ears can hear around soft bass, for example, so long as it's not slow, muddy, or one note in a way that takes away from the music. It CANNOT listen around a bad midrange. The BODY knows better to an extent that the BODY will ask you to make a change.
The softer bass of a good tube amp for example is often disliked by some SS amp lovers, when really it's more natural, NEUTRAL, and more coherent than the one note thump and bump (sometimes called tightness) of many many solid state amps. Listen to a non-amplified acoustic bass, then a live amplified electric bass, then your stereo.
Seriously, if you are having this much trouble finding a speaker you like, it's time to move back stream,
To clarify a few issues. All my speakers are placed at least two feet from the rear wall. I mentioned the room may not be big enough for the Monitor Audio RS6's since my system is set up in front of the 12 foot wall. My stand mount speakers are less trouble in my room. I like my Krell S-300i integrated amp so I am not in the market for a tube amp.
My main issue is the lack of close shops to audition speakers. In the past I would listen to a speaker several times. Today with drive time and little time to shop I was thinking about a short list of speakers no further away than a two hour drive. Since my initial post I have decided to enjoy the JBL Studio 530's. They work well in my room and I am pleased with their sound.
Krell is your problem.
Sorry, I hate to be critical or Debby Downer. But they make amps (especially integrated) that are good but rarely great and with most speakers pretty so-so. I've only heard a Krell 300 shine in one system in my life, and that was in a fairly well damped live end dead end setup with Martin Logan speakers. That same set-up in a less good room suddenly sucked the life out of music.
It can be a bit sacrilegious in the land of make believe that is American Hi-Fi Marketing, but Krell didn't actually hang the solid state Hi-Fi moon. Open up a mid 70's Pioneer or Sansui or Marantz amp or receiver and see it filled with the same quality Japanese and American components, built better, and often including a good tuner AND a pretty good phono stage, and you suddenly understand why so few well learned audio technicians and electrical engineers own American "High End" gear. It's not because they are tin-eared knuckle draggers. What many American Audiophiles call arrogantly call "mid fi" is actually quite good.
That's not to crap on Krell specifically, it's that the American Hi-End market should be a little more David Hafler and Allen Wright and a little less Dan D'Augustino and Mark Levinson. No matter what they'd have you believe, the reason the British Hi-Fi market is always booming, is because they kind of just get that you can't make things sound better by just making them bigger and shinier.
You keep swapping out speakers over and over. You've heard Einstein's opinion on insanity, right?
Wow Debby a lot of criticism with little advice.
Seriously I like my Krell S-300i and plan to use it for years.
I ended up listening to the B&W CM5 and the Paradigm Studuo 20. I did not like either. Did not have time to travel to another state to hear the Boxers. When I saw the Focal's highly discounted at Music Direct I decided to try a pair. They work well with the Krell S-300i and give the kind of detail and instrumental textures I was missing with my other speakers. The detail is not from brightness but the speed of the drivers. Imaging is precise and sound staging quite good. I am sure they are still breaking in but I love what I am hearing to date.