Need help with 2.0 system, budget ~20k

[Maan]

Hi everybody!
The high-end audio world is very new to me but I have tried to consume hi-fi knowledge for past few weeks yet I still feel baffled with all different amps, preamps, dacs and all the gadgets I might need.
I've been using Q acoustics 2000i series 5.1 home theater system with Yamaha AV-receiver in my mancave for some years now, also I use Sennheisers momentum 2.0 headphones when on the go (really like the sound of the Senns). When I seldom listen music from my home theater system the sound is flat and often too bassy or lacks resolution. So I decided to get a premission from my wife to buy proper speakers into our living room!

I could really need your help to figure out what components I actually need for my living room set and how much should I roughly spend on each of the components! Also I really wish I could avoid the snake oils and pitfalls of the audiophile world.

Specs of the livingroom: 6mx8mx4.5m, large windows on the 8m wall (if this matters).
I would be using computer as the source of music (Tidal and FLACs). I don't own CDs nor LPs so no need for turntable or CD player.
Do I possibly need 2.1 system? and is there any benefits over 2.0 (I think my wife would prefer 2.0 because then there would be less ugly speakers in the living room upsetting the feng shui).
Total budget ~20k$.
secondhand products are totally okay.

All hints & tips are appreciated !

Ps. sorry for the grammar, english is not my native language.

 

[lovinthehd]

Are you in the US? Your english is fine, but makes me wonder where you are. Just how large can the speakers be if WAF is a concern (wife acceptance factor)?

 

[Maan]

I live in scandinavia so ordering from europe is the easiest way and I got an agreement that the speakers can be as big as they need to be

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Let's get the easy thing out of the way:
Subs: Your best option is to purchase subs from UK's BKElec - http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers.htm

If I were, I'd check out http://www.xtzsound.eu/

From US products, I'd highly recommend both http://philharmonicaudio.com/ and Salksound.com - Dennis Murphy - owner of Philharmonic Audio helped to designed many (if not most) of Salk speakers and uses Salk to source cabinetry for his upscale models.

I personally consider Salk's SoundScape-8 to be the best speaker I've ever heard at any price point. (that Includes things like $200,000 Wilson Audio towers) and I've been told that Philharmonic 3 has a quite similar sound to SS-8's.

Going with such hi-end towers, you won't necessarily need a sub, but it may be prudent to invest in a separates pre-amp and amp. I'd suggest getting electronics from European stores since
a) Not all US components would support 220v
b) EU's FM radio tuning is very different from US.

 

[rojo]

I live in scandinavia so ordering from europe is the easiest way and I got an agreement that the speakers can be as big as they need to be

Scandinavia, huh? There's a speaker maker in Sweden called XTZ that makes some pretty impressive offerings. The XTZ Divine Alphas would be worth an audition. Looks like they use a similar midrange to these Salk SoundScape 8 speakers, which are themselves typically described as the best ever heard in any price range by those who have heard them. Looks like the Divine Alphas have an F3 in the mid-20's, so you can probably get by without a subwoofer depending on the type of music you enjoy.

 

[shadyJ]

Lots of good speaker manufacturers in your neck of the woods. Dali, Dynaudio, XTZ, Genelec, Adam, Tannoy, KEF. There will be some good American and Canadian brands available in your neck of the woods as well, like Revel, and Paradigm Persona. See if the new JBL 4367 is available in your neck of the woods, that is an outstanding speaker. A 20K setup from any of those manufacturers will be solid.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

It's such an easy job to recommend hi-end speakers to someone with healthy budget, unlike many of our typical visitors

 

[lovinthehd]

Also you should determine speakers first, then the appropriate electronics....particularly if a sub is included or not.

 

[ski2xblack]

I would add PMC (England) and Amphion (Finland) to Shady's list of nearby makes to check out.

 

[lovinthehd]

I live in scandinavia so ordering from europe is the easiest way and I got an agreement that the speakers can be as big as they need to be

LOL This big?

 

[Pogre]

So nice to see a thread with little WAF and lots of budget!

 

[Bucknekked]

So nice to see a thread with little WAF and lots of budget!

It is refreshing to see a healthy budget, an open mind, and no lectures from the OP defending some rotten choice he already made. What a great thing a blank sheet of paper and $20,000 is for a system.

I don't have anything meaningful to add since most of the posts so far are about speakers I can only dream about and have no actual knowledge about. I think the OP is in good hands. I think after the OP purchases and installs the system we should get an invitation to listen to it via a YouTube video so we can judge the system.

 

[speakerman39]

LOL This big?
View attachment 21059

Holy smokes that has to be loud! Not to mention a lot of fun.....LOL!!!!!


Phil

 

[Maan]

Thank you so much for your quick response and recommendations! Knew I would get some proper info from these forums !
I'll start doing some research on the speakers you suggested and I let you know wich ones got highest WAF scores
Now I already know that subwoofer is "definitely too ugly" so 2.0 it is.
let's say that I would pick divine alphas or soundscape 8 speakers, so how about electronics?
computer->DAC->preamp->amp->speakers? or do I need streamer?
what is the benefit of using preamp and solid state vs. tube amp?

sorry for the question barrage!

 

[lovinthehd]

There was a member in Paris who thought this digital integrated amp was awesome, and the price I believe is quite a bit better over there than here in the US, the Lyngdorf TDAI-2170. All in one box, good specs and good looks for the WAF. I believe it would drive either set of speakers well to modest to loud volumes in most rooms but really just glaced at nominal impedance/sensitivity ratings. It also somewhat depends on your desired listening levels with how much allowance for transient peaks you want in amplification...

Parasound makes some well regarded integrated amps widely available here, don't know about European distribution nor about local brands otherwise...haven't really followed the 2ch stuff for a while. Some like the tube harmonic distortion characteristics, but that varies with make/model to an extent; personally I don't want to fuss with tubes, solid state stuff is excellent and less trouble.

Does Salk ship overseas or do they have European distribution now?