Upgrade from X-LS Encores?

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So I have had these for a good while now. They are essentially sealed Skiing Ninja X-LS Encores. I was just curious if there is anything worth trying that would make a noticeable improvement?

I recently acquired the Infinity R12 for the $180 sale price and just this week scored a Denon AVR X1400H for $100 on ebay. The seller thought the hdmi was broken. It kind of is but I got it to work with a new hdmi cord. It allowed me to at least enter the setup but the monitor displayed part of the setup ends when you select the language. It will not display further or even show anything on the monitor now. I had to set up Audyssey with the remote and receiver display only. Still working with that and getting it online so I can use the APP. It does the audyssey setup and sounds pretty good. Needs tweaking for sure but yeah.

Anyway, just interested in getting more detail and sound stage if possible. Seems like this speaker used to compete at the $1000 price point new. I was thinking more like $300-500 though. I only paid $140 for these and my electrician/speaker wonk friend wired them up akin to the ninja mods for the cost of parts and some beers. I doubt I can match these at the price point I am talking. Hence the post. Room is 20X20 btw. Speakers are 7 ft apart and I did the usual triangle and sub crawl.

I will upgrade anything to get better sound. If the speaker budget is too low. Perhaps another equipment addition or room treatment?

Thanks for any opinions.

 

[ski2xblack]

Speakers are where the rubber meets the road, so focus there, rather than electronics for improvements.

The xls encores were very well executed speakers. To beat them on a budget will demand equal attention to the design, which unfortunately tends to correspond to cost. That might force you into diy at your budget, which you haven't specified. Is that an option? It's hard to recommend commercial products that may be a lateral move or worse, a step backwards.

I have a pair of xls encores, so I know where you're coming from. If you like those, you would probably also like other speakers designed by Danny Richie at GR Research (he did the xls/xls encore design), or any of a number of speakers that Dennis Murphy had a part in the design (Salk and Philharmonic fame).

 

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Budget is up to $1000 thanks for the GR research. I forgot about him. Diy is something I have interest in doing too.

 

[ski2xblack]

You're just looking for a pair of speakers, correct? Given your baseline is already pretty respectable, and that $1k may only be marginal improvement, and that you're willing to diy, you may be a good candidate for the BMR kits. While that would force you to up the budget and perhaps postpone your upgrade plans, it would ensure that you would be taking a significant step up in return for your efforts.

 

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That's fine. I am old enough to be patient and work towards something.

 

[ski2xblack]

You're lucky that what you have to listen to now happen to be pretty good at getting out of the way of the music, which is the hallmark of good design. You don't exactly have to suffer while you wait.

Another cost effective kit that at least a couple of us on the forum have curiosity about are the Bagby designed Solstice from parts express. Availability is a question mark, but cost is near your budget for what I strongly suspect would be a worthy step up for you.

So spin some tunes, dig up the Audioholics review of the BMR, and ponder your options.

 

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Those look fairly easy to build. Just takes some time. Does the Solstice need solder? Looks like it.

 

[ski2xblack]

The kits I've done went together easily, so that's not likely the greatest hurdle. For me, it's finishing work...too impatient for the glossy woodwork, more a duratex and get to the music guy.

But you bring up an important point to consider: the hidden costs of diy. Extra skills, extra tools, or outsourcing that stuff, costs time and/or money. It changes the Salk built BMRs into a more appealing value proposition when you start adding it all up.

 

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Ok. I see. Meniscus. They will build the crossovers. So I would need cabinets.

 

[everettT]

Ok. I see. Meniscus. They will build the crossovers. So I would need cabinets.

About a month out on the cab's

Philharmonic BMR Flat Pack | Speaker Hardware

www.speakerhardware.com

Yes meniscus can build the crossovers if needed.