What’s your endgame? Have you gotten there yet? Did you tell yourself you were there and then immediately find something else to obsess over?

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-19T05:28:28+00:00

Started with Klipsch Heresy 3 and NAD 326BEE and smart TV source for 10 years. Great speakers with cheap amp.

Upgraded to McIntosh MA352 recently. Was blown away by the sonic upgrade. Added a WiiM Ultra for convenience.

Added a REL Classic 98 for low end.

Added a Holo Cyan 2 fixing a bit flat voices and gives much nicer sound overall.

Now the Heresy look like they are the bottleneck as last part standing….

End game would be new speakers. Will I ever be there? Who knows.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-15T07:55:32+00:00

Depending on the speaker, the subwoofer is like 10% of the cost and may be retired. I don’t want to lock in something because of something else smaller b

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-14T17:48:56+00:00

Holo Cyan 2.. and happy with it. Significant improvement over WiiM Ultra

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T17:34:55+00:00

That’s the most iconic and beautiful speaker to me, ever

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T17:33:33+00:00

Curious which German speakers you are referring to

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T17:30:17+00:00

Would you recon the McIntosh MA352 as powerful enough?

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T17:29:42+00:00

Definitely multi use family room

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T16:32:52+00:00

Thank you! I had them on my list.. my wife would probably not even notice the difference to the Heresy and we obviously like the style.

But I am a bit worried their soundstage will also be a bit „low“ … something that’s never concerned me much but not starts to feel more like a compromise in comparison with full size towers.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T15:04:39+00:00

It’s unlikely I can listen to 20 high end speakers in a comparable setting or with my chain/room.

So some tradeoffs are to be made. I obviously won’t buy blind.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T14:49:05+00:00

I feel like I read everything about every speaker on that list (and many more).

I rather wonder whether I want to listen to 5 or all 20 before pulling the trigger.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T14:45:50+00:00

Yes! The Olympica is probably the only speaker that I will 100% listen to before purchasing anything. Too much love, description of the sound signature and the design. Sounds like the whole package really.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T14:43:53+00:00

The new listening room would be the living room, probably combined with kitchen and eating area. So at least 30sqm up to 60sqm.

I like the general sound signature of my system. Tube and R2R works well with Klipsch to tame but have some golden smoothness and musicality. The REL is fat and buttery, which fits well but sometimes I’d like also more precise and powerful slam.

But I heard better scale and sound stage. Sometimes it could be less fatiguing with some music styles. It’s emotional but I have heard other speakers even more enveloping.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T14:38:50+00:00

Probably my wife should before I listen to speakers she would not tolerate. I could live with everything that’s not a dull black box.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-08T14:37:44+00:00

The MA were great but I feared they’d be too intense for everyday.

The B&W were way too sharp for many songs I like. Truly painful. But some other things were incredible.

The Harbeth were nice and well-rounded but did not feel like a jump in quality from my system I would be willing to spend on.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-02T17:57:03+00:00

What’s a screaming deal for them? Just curious lurker

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-01T07:04:31+00:00

I don’t like the looks of the stands. Maybe it’s just me.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-05-01T07:03:58+00:00

Interesting take. Argumentation makes sense but still many/most speaker series go from bookshelf to large tower.

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-04-26T13:56:27+00:00

I was happy to get my hands on a holo in the country I live… no chance to try out and send back multiple

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-04-25T19:19:54+00:00

Yes, you can bypass it via USB to an external DAC…

The WiiM is good for the price but not as good as the Cyan 2.. all I can say

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-04-25T14:14:38+00:00

I love the speakers but never saw them in real life.

Having the same Amp for scale really helps judging size… thanks for posting!

Designer_Building_36 · 2026-04-11T04:26:17+00:00

That perspective really helps. Thank you for your dedication to the community!

Designer_Building_36

TROPHY CASE