So, I took the advice from here, and grab my reference music, and went to a few spots and listened to a few things. Please note, this room was super wide open, and probably not the best listening environment, and the sales person definitely went out of his way to mention that, and that most of the time, if I loved the speaker in that store, i would definitely love them more at my house.....so that said....
First off, here is what I had at my disposal:
Speakers:
B&W - several series, including the 805 and 803 D3's
Paradigm
Kef
SVS - Subs and bookshelf
AV/Pre/pro/amp
Bryston
Anthem
Rotel
So to start off, I discussed my room, tastes in music, split between music and HT/TV, and we started on a cool path. Basically, the sales guy wanted to gauge what was pleasant to my ears.
Sat me up with an Integrated Rotel RA 1570 and I demo'd the following book shelf speakers
KEF LS50
Paradigm Prestige 15B
B&W CM5 S2
Played some reference tracks for me, as I am super familiar with them, and went through all of these. The KEF's were very cool. Super flat in terms that man, these are reference quality studio monitors. I really liked them, but I wanted just a bit more of high end definition to my ears. Perhaps I was taken back by their appearance, and can definitely see these growing on me.
The paradigms were next up. They were definitely brighter than the Kef's I got the sense that for me, I could really see loving these, but i felt they really shined at louder volumes, and the upper highs were so forward that I might see getting some ear fatigue.
The B&ws were definitely warmer than all three. Had their own signature vs the others, and definitely had a huge edge for lower cvolume listening. I asked if that additional warmth (read lack of definiteion or presence in the treble) could lead to some more muffled listening if I was using vinyl. Might be showing my ignorance here as I am just getting into vinyl. All and all, Id have to flip a coin between the Paradigm and BW's, and didnt like the KEF ones. On to the towers, we demod these
KEF R500's
B&W CM10's (S2)
Paradigm 85F
We ran this set up with an Anthem AVM60 and an A5 amp.
Ill make this short: Big step up, even when plugging in with an SVS Sub (SB16). Obviously the towers felt more alive and fuller, but then adding the sub, there is no contest where I'd like to be. Slim towers with a sub.
The KEFs were very, very nice. I really liked how present they were, so i was preparing to get blown away. I liked them better than everything so far...Even the 805D3's that we fired up before every books shelf so I could get a familiar starting point. Oh yeah, the 805D3's beat all the other book shelf ones with its balanced and more bass response.
The paradigms were very nice. Not as full as the KEF and to me, had too much treble. I heard more in the music that Ive ever heard vs my Klipsch RF15s, noting that I pulled out a guitar track that Ive never really noticed before. Very nice speaker, too bright for me.
The CM10s were my favorites. Very nice, I felt it more rounded than the rest.Wished it has a bit more presence in the treble . Wished it had the perfect balance of the KEF and the Paradigms....if it did, i would have walked out with those. If you made me choose, I might go with the KEFs here, but in my 90 mins, the CM10s were nice. But not $1500 nicer than the KEF ( $2600/pr vs $4000)
Then, yes, I stepped over to run these with the Rotel RSP1572 powered by the RMB1585. I immediately noticed more oomph from that set up. Perhaps the added power?? The Anthem definitely would be the better AV for HT, but I think I might lean to the Rotel. I wish they had Mc Intosh to help put my suspicion to bed....Id like to see if I could get there without the huge price tag....sigh....
Then yes, I ran the 803D3's and for giggles the KEF Blades. The blades were fun. Go try them if you can. Will never own them, and this store was trying to sell the floor models. Bright white in color. Sound truly awesome. Ill stop there since that won't ever happen. BUT the 803's, holy smokes. They had that mixi was looking for. DAMMIT!!!! I knew it. The most expensive item was going to be my favorite. it had all the clarity and warmth that I liked from the B&Ws that I demod, and just he right amount of highs that wouldn't probably fatigue my ears after listening for 2 hours. Oh well. So, I think I am gonna have to go listen to the 803's vs the 804s, which are in my budget range....or maybe seek out some used 803s??? Dunno. I am going to see if I can find that same Rotel and compare it to a Mc Intosh. Fun so far. I fell L can get either the Rotel or Anthem set up and be super happy for a long time. The sales guy was definitely giving his pinion to put most of my budget into the speakers. Basically, buy what sounds great to you in your budget, and weigh it if something matters....in other words, we were having the philosophical opportunity cost vs diminishing returns conversation. Yes, the 803's might sound better, but are they $11k better for an "X" % improvement? Only I can answer that question, but I am sure that whichever way I go, even with the CM10's, Id learn to love them. He also said to make sure to power what ever I ended up with appropriately. His example being, I wouldn't want you powering the 803's with a Denon AVR. using his words "Denon makes great stuff, but I would want those speakers to breathe with the appropriate power." So, down the rabbit hole again tomorrow for lunch hour!!
How'd I do my first real go at this???