My new listening space... 16d x 12w, open on the right to the rest of the house. Listening spot is 12-13ft from speakers and speakers are 7-8ft apart. Not as holographic as mid-field listening, but great sound nonetheless. Loved those Lintons... Love even more the Stirling LS3/6.
My past listening space... 12x12 with wide opening on the right and in the back. Listening spot and speakers form an equilateral triangle, about 6ft1/2 each side. Currently listening to the Wharfedale Linton Heritage! The Totem Hawks and the Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary are taking a break.
Other speakers that I have owned in this space: Klipsch RP600M, ELAC UB5, KEF LS50, Q100, Magnepan MG12, MMG, Paradigm Studio 40 v5, Vandersteen 2CE Signature, Rega RS5, PSB T5 image...
Really a big step up from the marantz pm8004 integrated I have had.
Very clear, dynamic, powerful. Great soundstage/imaging.
SVS SB-1000
12inch woofer in a sealed box, always cut at 50-60hz to complement my sets of speakers with sub-bass.
Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary
Great little bookshelf speakers, they are not monsters of details and transparency, but they are so musical and so pleasant to listen to that their shortcomings are forgetable. Uniquely voiced to sound like the 60-70s original Dentons, they are warm, laid-back, never bright, and they make old recordings sound really good. The quality of the cabinets is unbelievable for the money.
Totem Acoustic Hawk
Fantastic small-footprint full range speaker, great soundstage & imaging, dynamic, musical, I would say neutral, they sound much bigger that they look.
Yamaha BD-S677
Best bang for the buck universal player, with a DAC and analog outputs far better than my old MSB Link III.
Wharfedale Linton Heritage
3-way, big stand-mount being evaluated right now...Big sound, solid bass, warm tones, good details, great imaging and soundstage. Very likeable speaker if you like sound strong in upper bass / lower midrange. Compared to pricier speaker, they lack "air".
I really enjoyed the tour of your stereo. Nice functioning space and I'm sure it's quite musical. I've got a pair of the Dentons too, in a bar. You may enjoy some pics in the system Village Baker Madness.
Appreciate you sharing your experience with the LS50s. I've demoed them in the past and really enjoyed how well they sounded with jazz music (which is the genre I mostly listen too). I have a 2 year old that shares the same common space as my stereo though, and am nervous about the high gloss finish, and exposed uni-q drivers with him moseying around.
I've read somewhere that the Kef R100s are similarly spec'd to the LS50s. I've also considered them for awhile since they do have grilles. Glad to hear your LS50s are playing well with the Marantz though!
Currently I'm rocking a pair of the German-made Kirksaeter Silverline 60s. They are very musical and have excellent controlled base for their size. The cabinets are MDF so I'm not concerned with my little one playing around the speakers. Perhaps when he's a little older I will get more serious about upgrading to Kef's or Totems.
bomd, I just got the KEF LS50 a few days ago (pics soon). Some have found these speakers a little too metallic and bright with solid state amplifiers... Not here, not with the Marantz. It actually plays them very nicely with all the speed, imaging, transparency and detail that the KEFs are known for, but with some delicacy. This is probably a great combo. I have noticed with these speakers that the 8400 "wakes up" when the volume knob is reaching 10 o'clock. Bass impact all the sudden becomes stronger. maybe that's because the LS50s are not broken-in yet... time will tell. Also, in terms of quality, I would say the KEFs are at the level of the Totems hawks, the hawks provide a fuller, more balanced sound whereas the KEFs give a lot more pinpoint imaging and depth, and details (they are actually merciless, clearly showing clipping in recordings) like a real studio monitor. The Hawks let you in deep into the recording that way but not as boldly.
Thanks for commenting... I really like the 8004. It probably works best with the more dynamic and neutral totem than it does with the wharfedale, as it is a laidback integrated. I have not tried any other integrated with these speakers, so I don't know whether or not it's a good match. I am sure there's better. All i know is i can ear what the speakers are known for. I just wished it had more oomph at low volumes.
