Looking for a good 2 channel match for Focal 707s

[ski2xblack]

The Focals will sing sweetly. They'll lack the ear ripping dynamics of your old Klipsch, but they're far better in every other way. Just keep in mind the spl restrictions imposed by their sensitivity and power handling limits.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm looking for a more detail and a larger soundstage with new equipment. The Pioneer isn't bad, but it'd pretty dated

Your not going to get a large sound stage from small bookshelf speakers. Puny speakers gets you puny sound.

A big sound requires much bigger and very well designed and crafted speakers, and a decent room to top it off.

There really is little difference in phono stages as a rule. The RIAA correction circuit is a pretty simple circuit, and there are a lot of over priced con jobs concerning phono preamps.

I think you will not get significant improvement changing your amplification.

When you do get bigger speakers, then the issue is buying a reliable quality amp, that has enough power reserve to power your speakers.

When all is said and done, your speakers and room will at least determine 99% of the quality you get from your rig.

Very few integrated amps, have the power to produce realistic concert hall sound levels. Creek would essentially be the one exception in that regard.

In most cases a separate power amp, or amps are required to get realistic concert hall sound pressure levels of large musical forces..

Good bookshelf speakers can do a good job of chamber/recital concerts and that is about their limit.

 

[Fosmosis]

It seems that my dream of a large/detailed sounding bookshelf system are not a reality huh

 

[lovinthehd]

How big is your room, how far away from the speakers do you sit? Bookshelf/standmount speakers tend to be small, but some are larger models with more capability, but is there some reason you're not looking at larger speakers otherwise?

 

[Fosmosis]

Room is 12 x 8. I am about 4 ft in the listening position. A general lack of space is my reason for the bookshelf system

 

[lovinthehd]

Can you provide more detail about speaker placement, perhaps a pic?

 

[KNOTSCOTT]

Since you already have the Pioneer, I'd definitely give it a go to get started. If you wanted to try a low cost phono stage, the ART DJ Pre II or Schiit Mani get good marks. A phono cart change is likely to have the most influence on sound, next to the speakers. The Focals should give good detail, but tend to be a tad forward in the treble. The 2M Red is fairly bright itself, plus can have a tendency to be a bit shrill and brittle if all is not matched and setup perfectly. It's all very subjective and personal, but I'd think a Grado or Nagaoka cart would give more open and warmer midrange.

 

[Fosmosis]

Can you provide more detail about speaker placement, perhaps a pic?

Unfortunately I'm having difficulty uploading a picture. The are about a foot each from the back wall, 3 ft from each other on vinyl shelving unit on the 8ft wall, with turntable and pioneer between them. The sub in on the floor next to the shelving unit

 

[lovinthehd]

Most photos will need to be resized to post, if you use Windows the Paint program has a resizing feature (if you right click on the file use the edit option and it'll take it to Paint for you). For phone photos the Tapatalk app to access the forum works, or you can use a photo hosting site and link to your pics.

 

[Fosmosis]

Well I decided to pair the focal with an arcam fmj a19. I'll do an a/b test when it arrives and work on speaker placement.

 

[lovinthehd]

Well I decided to pair the focal with an arcam fmj a19. I'll do an a/b test when it arrives and work on speaker placement.

Be sure to do that level matched and blinded to have any meaning. That Arcam has a little more power than your Pioneer (about 1.5 dB worth), but also has pre-outs should you want to add a power amp.

 

[Fosmosis]

Be sure to do that level matched and blinded to have any meaning. That Arcam has a little more power than your Pioneer (about 1.5 dB worth), but also has pre-outs should you want to add a power amp.

Will do! Thanks for your help and knowledge

 

[lovinthehd]

Will do! Thanks for your help and knowledge

Hope you find your happy place. You might try spreading the speakers out more than 3 ft, too (are they positioned to avoid reflections from the shelf, and are the tweeters at ear-height?).

 

[ski2xblack]

It seems that my dream of a large/detailed sounding bookshelf system are not a reality huh

Don't despair.

While everything TLS said is true, the fact that you essentially have a near field setup means that the threshold for "large" sound occurs at lower absolute spls than it would if greater listening distances and a larger room were the case. Amplifier power is a non-issue, as near-field simply doesn't demand a ton of power. Plus, if you really like diving deep into the recording, peeling apart the layers in the mix, near-field listening is hard to beat.