Recommended Speaker Specs for XPA-2

[hart50]

I'm in the market for some new speakers to match up with my XPA-2 and I was wondering if anyone can provide me with a list of general speaker specs I should use as a starting point for my search? I appreciate I'm going to have to audition various speakers along the way but I want to make sure the speakers I'm test driving are in fact compatible with the XPA-2. As an example, I recently listened to some Monitor Audio GX300 speakers at a local shop and although they sounded pretty good, my online research of reviews suggest the XPA-2 may be too much power for them.
Thanks Hart.

[Deleted]

Any speaker ever made will work just fine with the XPA-2.

Speaker wattage ratings are 100% useless.

Listen to the speaker when you reach high volume levels, if they sound unhappy, you need to turn them down.

[brubacca]

How much money do you want to spend?

Is it for music, home theater? Preference? Do you like metal tweeters? Soft dome? Other??

Really any speaker would work, but you want something with high power handling capability.

I love Dynaudio speakers. I would look at floor standing multi driver speakers. Something like Paradigm Ref Studio 100 or S8. Magnepans would soak up that power as would Martin Logans.

[garbulky]

Any of them. Some electrostat speakers may benefit from more power, and some very efficient speakers may not be the most ideal choice. But it really can do just about anything

[roadrunner]

Have you already purchased the XPA-2? If you have, just relax and don't worry that it may be too powerful. That is really not an issue. Rest assured it will be an excellent amp for almost any speaker on the market. You really should be focusing most of your efforts in auditioning speakers to find out what you like/dislike about the various speakers you will be auditioning. Selecting speakers is the most subjective task you will have in building your A/V system.

Select source material that you are intimately familiar with that is well mastered to use in listening to all the speakers you decide to audition. Take copious notes about what you like or dislike about each speaker you listen to. This will help you find the qualities in a speaker's performance that are most meaningful to your enjoyment. Now you will have a basis for compiling your short list of candidates. You will then want to arrange for audtioning all the speakers on your short list, in your home if possible.

The two most important factors in what will have the most impact on the sound quality of your system are the speakers and the room's acoustic properties. Give as much attention to improving your room as you do in selecting your speakers.

There are dozens of threads on the Lounge dealing with other Lounge members asking the same question you have just asked. Have you read some of those threads? That may be something you want to do as you may not get a lot of responses to your inquiry. This question is asked so frequently that many Lounge members no longer respond to such inquiries.

What have you budgeted for the purchase of speakers? Are you looking at buying only new product or are you willing to buy "gently used" speakers? Are you looking for just a 2-channel music set-up, a multi-channel Home Theater, or both? What genre of music/movies do you enjoy? What are the dimentsions of your listening room? What is the floor plan like? These are just a few of the things that will impact your choices. The more detail you can share with us the more focused our responses will be. Good luck.

[Deleted]

RoadRunner, otherwise known as Master RR, wrote:

>> Give as much attention to improving your room as you do in selecting your speakers. <<

No need for further calls, folks, we have our winner! This is sound (pun intended), sage advice.

>> Are you looking at buying only new product or are you willing to buy "gently used" speakers? <<

This is the single best way to get speakers that were heretofore out of your budget.

Most "gently used" speakers sell for 40-50% of retail. And all decently-built speakers are good for 15 years or more. I got my Gallo Ref.3.1s for about 50% of retail, and they were all of 4 months old when I bought them! Additionally, they still sell on Audiogon for about what I paid. That's like having money in the bank that you can listen to daily!! Very cool.

Let the 1st guy pay for the depreciation, you're too smart to do that...

-RW-

[hart50]

Thanks everyone!
A bit more info. I'm looking for speakers under $10K for my 2CH system the specifics of which I have just outlined in my signature. They will be located in a 500 Sq Ft living room that is not dedicated to music listening and although my music tastes are fairly eclectic, I tend to listen mostly to rock, blues, alternative and country rock.
I've had a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 100v.2 for about 10 years and they have served me well. I've recently upgraded everything but my speakers and so righly or wrongly I now have an itch to get new speakers.
Thanks Hart

[ocezam]

Mar 17, 2013 14:25:20 GMT -5 @kraemerkid2119 said:

Any speaker ever made will work just fine with the XPA-2. Speaker wattage ratings are 100% useless.
Listen to the speaker when you reach high volume levels, if they sound unhappy, you need to turn them down.

Yeah, what he said.

Mar 17, 2013 17:23:19 GMT -5 hart50 said:

Thanks everyone!
A bit more info. I'm looking for speakers under $10K for my 2CH system the specifics of which I have just outlined in my signature. They will be located in a 500 Sq Ft living room that is not dedicated to music listening and although my music tastes are fairly eclectic, I tend to listen mostly to rock, blues, alternative and country rock.
I've had a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 100v.2 for about 10 years and they have served me well. I've recently upgraded everything but my speakers and so righly or wrongly I now have an itch to get new speakers.
Thanks Hart

OK. It really seems as if you have upgraditis. There's really nothing wrong with what you've got. You just want to spend some money, experiment and have fun? Cool, that's what this hobby is all about!

I agree with rlw that used speakers can really stretch your budget. And with your budget you'll be looking at speakers that probably haven't been owned by a teenager so probably they haven't been abused.

You like a lot of Rock and Blues (me too) so I'd advise against planers or electrostats. You have them in a multipurpose room, so you don't want them too big.

I'd say look real close at some B&W 802's or some Vandersteen 5's.

You really have to get to this level before I get very interested in upgrading speakers, but someday...

[rohrej]

If you like the MA GX300's then you'll love the PL300's. Another incredible ribbon-tweeter option in your price range are the Salk SoundScape 8's. I was set on the GX300s for a while, but ended up going with Salk Supercharged SongTowers.

[yves]

At $10,000 a pair, I recommend the Canton Reference 5.2 DC and a pair of XPA-1 monoblocks.

Review here.
www.hometheaterhifi.com/floor-standing-speakers/floor-standing-speakers-reviews/canton-reference-52-dc.html

P.S. - The specs in the review are saying the tweeter is aluminum. However, that is incorrect... it is a ceramic (aluminum oxide) tweeter.

[garbulky]

I would look at the lx521 orion. I doubt you could get much better. It probably needs space though and different amps that are recommended by linkwitz. They look like they have an amp per speaker.
www.linkwitzlab.com/

[leadliner]

i would be careful . i had a xpa-2 with paradigm studio 60s an even tho, its an amazing amp,i couldent help the fact that for the highs i preferred a marantz amp. mind you i have tinnitus. also keep in mind that the speakers emotiva sells, have silk dome tweeters. hope this helps.

[roadrunner]

Some of the speaker brands you might want to audition would include the following: **Very High Performance/Dollar

**Usher (Dancer Series, Dancer Mini 2 and up)
**Zu (nearly the whole line)
**Gallo (both the Reference and CL lines)
**Thiel
Earthquake Titan Tigris
Legacy
Focus
B & W 800 series

These are all full range towers and should be a good match for the genre of music you listen to. If you like Electrostat/Planar speakers, Maggies 1.7 and higher would be candidates if your room will accommodate the placement requirements, but I am "feeling" they are not your cup of tea.

These are all speakers I have listened to enough to say most anyone would be extremely happy to listen to these. There are many excellent speakers on the market, listen to as many as you can.

[hart50]

Thanks everyone!!