I’m in the process of upgrading my Wharfedale 225’s and am looking for recommendations. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Wharfedales but they are bit too small for the room they are currently located in (13 x 20). I overall like their “warmer” sound and the fact that they leave some meat on the bones when they get into the lower hertz. That is especially helpful because I listen to a lot of electronic and techno music.
Price range is $3500 or below.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and recommends. Thanks.
PS> I’ve been curious about Zu Audio speakers. Would really appreciate your thoughts on them and/or experience with them.
Zu speakers are definitely interesting. We had some in the office briefly and they were dynamic and snappy and felt at home at higher dB levels. Definitely the sort of speakers that had me grinning. I will say they didn’t strike me as particularly warm speakers - to my ears they leaned a bit more towards the bright/detailed side of things.
Are you thinking about getting away from bookshelf speakers and going for floorstanders?
Also, do you have a sub or would you be interested/able to add one?
Dynaudio tends to voice their speakers towards a well balanced sound - detail, transparency, and musicality all in roughly equal measure. I think they would fit your listening preference well, even without a sub.
I’d also take a look at Magnepan (you’d want a sub), Kef (you could make it without a sub), and Sonus Faber (also probably okay without a sub).
For floorstanding Kefs, I’d go for the previous gen R900s (on sale now for $1,799 ea down from $2,499 ea on Kef’s site), or the new R5 ($1,399 ea).
Or, you could go Kef LS50s and stereo subs. I’m a bookshelf and sub kinda guy, so that sounds like heaven to me.
For subs, REL is definitely a favorite of mine. They’re musical as all get out and they integrate nicely in just about every system. I’d also give a look at Rhythmik and JL.
How much sub you need comes down to personal preference in a lot of ways. If you go for the LS50s (or other bookshelf speakers), a stereo pair of REL T/7is would be ideal, or T/5is if you want to save some cash. The reason for stereo subs instead of one bigger, more expensive sub is you can position a stereo pair of subs in such a way that you counteract room modes, leading to more even, natural bass through your whole room.
If you go for floorstanders and they put you towards the max of your budget, I would run them sans sub for the first few months to year.
Funny you mention that the Zu’s can learn towards a bit bright/detailed. LS50’s are also known for that.
Keeping in line with the dynamic, snappy Zu’s, you may also want to consider the Klipsch Heritage line. Klipsch has done a good job of really balancing out the overall sound of their speakers these days and still maintain high efficiency, so a few good watts goes a long way. The Forte III’s would be my choice.
An out of production but well reviewed (remarkably full-range) speaker in your price range, if you don’t mind buying used: Anthony Gallo Reference 3.5. Check out the reviews for this speaker and the earlier 3.1 model. I think they will pique your interest.
