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I bet you end up with the Wilson speakers.

Like you, I still have my VAC tube amp and ARC LS15 tube preamp that I bought back in 1996 My tower speakers have built-in powered subs along with two SVS Ultra 13 subs I just love the way they truly energize my listening room I've heard really good reviews about the Goldenear T66 speakers, maybe something to consider?

Thanks, Mike for your thoughtful and inciteful review. Just bought the great album but have yet to hear it. However, I'm sure I'll have the same response as you. Keep up your fine work.

Mike, I’d say buy only the speakers now. Let your ears settle then decide on the amp or pre-amp. I would also buy a phone pre-amp. That will allow you more options when shopping for an integrated or amp/pre amp combo. Highly suggest the Sutherland 20/20 MK2 for your phono pre-amp. Sutherland was the founder of Martin Logan and now only makes his passion, phono pre-amps all make in Kansas City KS.

I know all speakers you mentioned and audioned all of them, too. Not a big fan of the focals (none of them) but if you like hights that show off (just like old BW speakers did also) … The new 800 d4 Series is a great improvemt for BW and the First time everr that i would recommend them. Amat G4 is very different again. Not the Most neutral or fastest speakers but voices come to live like few other speakers can do. Borresen you cant go wrong but if you want full range they are extremly expensive.. i don’t know. Very good but maybe overpriced. If you can get a good deal maybe ok. Not heard the 50th Watt puppies but the Sasha V and i love the Sasha V. Probably the Speaker i would recommend. Your description of different Sound Signatures is Spot on i would say. You definetly have a history in HiFi. If you can listen to the TAD GE the floorstand Version of the latent CE1 tx.

I just played both of these and I thought they were absolutely dreadful. Way too thin and bright. Surely originals are much better. I will confirm once I find my originals. These latest Atlantic 75 series are being mastered in the same manner as the Rhino HiFis (except The Yes Album). They are being mastered with too much hyper detail but severely lacking in warmth and musicality. They must be catering to people with mid systems and/or those severe HF hearing loss. These are unacceptably bright.

Bit the bullet with WA a few years back. Crossed over from KEF and B&W "British" sound. Started with Sabrina, then Sasha DAW, now Alexia V. Not looked back. If you can go the new Watt Puppy, then do and think about electronics in due course. You won't regret it. As my son says, YOLO :)

Sorry , but your wife "Allowed" you to buy a new turntable ? What's that about ?

Best to your journey. Two comments: Your Hana Cartridge is not up to the level of your new purchases. & Would definitely do some serious room acoustics 1st. before any new purchases. That way when you move up in your upgrades, you will get the most from those various components.

Try an open baffle set of speakers as well, with a pair subs. Also the Qualio speakers sound great

Wow, never knew of The Warning. Thanks for turning me on to them! If I might return the recommendation … I saw an L.A. based band about ten years ago, so same time frame The Warnings 1st album came out; called Stars in Stereo. I spoke with the young lady Bec, the lead singer after the show. What a gracious, down to earth young woman she was. Tiny thing, maybe 5’ 0”, you can’t even believe the powerful voice that came out of that stick of dynamite. Check out their album *Leave Your Mark* 👍 Thanks again, great vid!

Rob a bank bro. YOLO!

The Pablo series is wonderful (so far). I bought the subscription up front and just received the 6th & 7th of the series today. 👍

I think if you like neutral, natural sound, you would do yourself a disservice by not listening to Egglestonworks speakers.

before u pull the trigger on a new speaker, listen to a old Altec VOTT

Your present system would be "end game" for many audiophiles.

Hi, have you picked up the new UHQR Village Vanguard to compare to the MOFI One Step?

Hi Mike, we seem to share much in this journey (and age). I notice your room has a size that doesn't rule out stand mount speakers, so you could also consider them as many can outperform floor standers these days. A few that come to mind would be Gershman Studio II or XdB, Wilson Benesch Endeavor 3Zero, Alta Audio Alyssa or the Totem Element Fire V2 or Wilson's TuneTot even. I think you should check these out first. I think one of these will make you decide and what you save you can pass on to the other components. I belong to the tube preamp - solid state amp, hybrid camp, so many good recommendations there as well. All the best to your plans. Keep us posted.

Look forward to see what you finally buy 😊

Very interesting , thanks man ! wilson sasha / watt pupoy speaker , laiV dac , rose r130 streamer , mcintosh pre c2800, electrocompaniet aw300 power amp , take care

Nice setup

Have you considered point source speakers such as Tannoy’s, KEF, and Mofi floor standers?

Nice analog vinyl. I am not a pro but I say absolutely forget about BW and the Sabrina is probably nice with a Class A poweramp but very expensive. Yamaha NS3000 or the bigger NS5000 speakers have probably much more resolution or are more clear than BW but absolutely not warm. You can choose smaller speakers and always add a sub or two which have their own amp so you can tune lows like it is a tone control. But a sub takes extra cabling. Some like JMR or Audiovector or Goldenear or Fisher and Fisher or Qualio IQ which have AMT 🤔 Maybe Magnepan or ESL speakers are a must try 🤔 I would choose a Class A poweramp such as the Coda S5.5 or even the cheaper Galion TS A 20 but also want a SE Tube amp such as the NAT amp to name some but they get very warm 🤔 The TA dac 200 and AAdac are nice and have a pre volume control and dac function and come with remote but I can not say if they handle the one analog input completely analog in pure setting especially if using the sub outs but I prefer to use the hi level sub cable so the front speakers always stay full range without using a filter on the pre amp. The Mola Mola dac is slightly better.

try Canton reference series made in Germany

You already have good equipment and all the equipment and speakers you are considering are very good. However, it appears to me that your room could be the weakest link. Its proportions do not appear to accord with those recommended for ideal listening rooms, so it is possible that the finest equipment will still sound compromised. Many experts in the audio community regard the room as the most important component and I would therefore recommend that you first invest in getting your room checked out. As far as potential room treatment goes, be aware that some "experts" tend to prepare over the top solutions. Whatever you choose, make sure that you are satisfied with the performance in your room before irrevocable commitment.

I think your community is giving you a lot of good advice about taking it slow. Kudos to you for trying to do this the right way. All of the gear you mentioned is AMAZING. I would only add that the Vandersteen Kentos are in that price range. I’ve found Vandys to be the most natural sounding speakers and a relative value. Especially with Ayre Acoustics electronics. Anyway - Best of Luck!

Having heard all of these (not the borresen) in some way shape or form i always tend to like Wilsons better. B&W has more detail (bright) in the highs, focals mids are more transparent but wilson gets that bass right and that is what holds everything together. I use horns personally (JBL 4367) but if I ever go back to boxes (probably not) wilson and borresen are at the top for auditions. I own a McIntosh MC462. It is nice but get the speakers you want first and take the money out of the electric budget if needed.

I see you have no room treatment… neither do I, for many reasons. This led me to insist on listening to speakers in my space as even great speakers can sound terrible in bad rooms. And led ultimately to the Focal Utopia Scala Evo’s. I had discovered earlier in my journey that downward firing ported enclosures worked well (Proac). Then onto a used pair of mk1 Scala’s and eventually the Evo’s. Many amps have also passed through from integrated to separates, prices ranging from £6k - £50k. Magic arrived with the Esoteric S-02 power amp, and was taken to another level with the addition of a Weiss Dac 502 Mkii, fed from a Auralic Aries G2.1 digital transport. Although the system can rock, it also sounds fantastic at relatively low volume also. It is always engaging, but most of all truthful. By that I mean when I’m listening I know I am hearing what I am supposed to hear. It is a strange effect to feel that you are listening to the truth, but it is what I feel. Instruments sound real and vocals are alive. Synergy is everything… All I can say is try as many combos as your dealer will allow, find that speaker you love and start from there. Try as many amps as you can and something will hopefully click. Good luck.

I have bordeasen x6 and love them to death!!!!

Look for quality pre owned or demo gear. I love Chord electronics- stereo amps with B&W

I would recommend that you change one thing at a time. As someone who had a pretty nice system and then changed a few things which resulted in completely losing the magic in my system... I stopped listening for a while. :-{ Be careful! It took me a few months and many changes to get back to enjoying my system. Synergy is key!!! The loss of time and monies really sux. Synergy, synergy, synergy!

I would highly suggest auditioning some Bel Canto, Michi and Benchmark separates. Any of these will provide more transparency than the Mac stuff. For speakers, I encourage an audition of the Borresen X series. They might surprise you and save you money relative to the Wilsons and B&Ws. Borresen X3s are an incredible bargain if setup well. I would imagine the smaller X2s are similar. The X Series have probably the best tweeters I’ve heard regardless of price, which is crazy to me considering they’re in Borresen’s “entry level” models.

I'm invested in your journey as I've always struggled in choosing big ticket items like the speakers as you want to make the decision so there are no regrets.

Digital to analog my friend not audio😊

Bello/Magnifico.🌡️✡️✡️✡️✡️✡️✡️

“My wife allowed me”, lol.

No mention of cabling. While it's not as exciting as getting new speakers and electronics. The single biggest advancement I've ever had in my system was finding a single preamp to amp interconnect that worked so well synergystically with the rest of my system and it was an inexpensive clone to boot. It's a big mistake to overlook cable matching as cables essentially are components.

Great update on the speaker journey! I went through a similar process and still advocate you auditioning the KEF Reference 3 Meta floor standing. I almost pulled the trigger on a pair of Sonus Farber until I gave them a play. 😉

The rule of thumb in hifi upgrades is to focus first on improving your sources then if monies permit go upgrade the speakers. As such I would suggest that if you are listening mostly through vinyl to go invest in a dedicated phono stage with its own power supply. This will take your reliance away from your Classe pre-amp phono stage doing the job. If you are listening to music via streaming then perhaps next invest in a new DAC to freshen the sound. In this case I would suggest you check out the LAIV Harmony DAC which is not too pricey yet have received pretty good reviews off late. As for the amps and rest of your system, leave it alone for now. Once the above 2 areas are done, sit back, relax, listen to music coming out of your speakers and hopefully you are more satisfied than before and no further investments are needed other than to buy new vinyl.

You should have a listen to the Diptyque DP160. These are the best speakers that I’ve heard at a show

I heard the moon with the Sabrina at a dealer months ago and was amazed that I like that combo the most out of anything else I heard at the store.

I wish you luck on your quest to upgrade your listing room but I do hope you have money in your budget to acoustically treat your room. That can do more to improve the sound quality sometimes than upgrading your actual components.

follow up comment (since you mentioned listening to more expensive speaker (Wilson Watt Puppy), why not allocate your monies towards the speakers that you might otherwise have put towards electronics? In general speakers matter most!

Mike - I agree with RonKindel9734: upgrade the speakers while keeping your existing electronics. You'll then get a full sense of what the new speakers bring to your rig. If you then want to upgrade the electronics try to borrow equipment from a dealer. It is far better to evaluate new pieces in your home listening environment than in a dealer's room. Plus, dealers carry different brands so you'd never be able to compare potential candidates all in one dealer's store.

I’ve upgraded significantly regularly over the last 20 years. 3 comments You will love the Sonus Faber Serafinos, same money but works of art, and in testing impressed me more. Try Devialet amp, I’ve upgraded 4 times within the brand. Top end pre-amp integrated Finally, don’t underestimate the improvement cables can make, dont stint, I was fortunate to get a day with Chord in my home, every upgrade they added significantly improved the sound quality

Wow Mike, those are all with a complete different sound signature. I'm wondering, because B&W Owners I know, stick with those kind of signature 😊 So I think you would love Sonus Faber, Focal I doubt. Borresen I dont like, than I'd would rather go for Raidho or TAD speakers. Amp/Preamp, as a German I stick with our awesome brands Brinkmann Audio, LinnenbergG and Preamp Soulution (Swiss). Good luck! BTW: i also thought to buy new speaker, than I did a major upgrade on my electronics (Pre: Soulution 725, Amp: LinnenbergG G.F. Händels ClassA Monos, Grimm Audio MU2) ...soooo much better my speakers, they stay ;-) so my advise is exactly the opposite: its not always the speaker which is the wekaest link!!

I also grew up listening to VH but would not forget Michael Anthony as this gentlemen apparently did.

Very nice listening room 👌

HEY now !! Nice shirt !!

Congratulations, but ................................................ 1. You've successfully resisted the urge to arrange all the gear between the loudspeakers. Bravo. 2. Now to convince you putting amplifiers on the ground (or 2 inches of it) isn't the way to go. 3. Judging from your new speaker deliberations, it's obvious you were a home theater enthusiast. Except for the Wilson's, these are all not 2-channel hifi speakers. Acid Jazz. Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊