$40.000 speaker advise. Check out my list

Holy cow Max! That's a lot to ask! I don't believe anyone here has heard all 6 of these speakers. I would be shocked if you found even one person who had. Those are great speaker choices to be sure, but I'm not sure that your speakers are your weak link. From my experiences with ML gear, Nordost cables, and Revel speakers, my ears are bleeding just looking at your set up. I'm to assume that you love detail, but are missing musicality, correct?
I would swap the ML 32 preamp out for a ARC Ref 3, and change cables to Stealth Indra/Dream and then see how you feel. You may be surprised, and feel no need to change speakers.

FWIW, the Sonus Faber and Verity speakers will be smoother and richer than the others on your list, which may or may not be what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying for a smoother, richer sound, the tube preamp and cable change will definitely help. If you are happy with your current sound, why not just try the Revel Ultima Salon?

Happy hunting,

John

08-16-07: Jtgofish
Are $40,000 speakers really any better than a good pair of $15000 speakers?

Are $15,000 speakers really any better than $5,000 speakers? Are $5,000 speakers really any better than $1,500 speakers? Why is everyone so concerned that Max not spend $40K? If he has it, and wants to spend it on speakers, why stop him? If someone wants to spend around $20K on a digital front end, would we all push $8000 cd players on him? Are we uncomfortable with folks playing out of our league? Live and let live.

I say enjoy your new speakers Max! If I were choosing, I would go 2, 4, 1, 6, 5, 3.

John

Jkalman, I'm glad that you enjoy your Wilson's, but understand that others have different musical tastes/values. I would choose the Vandersteen 5A over the Wilsons anyday, but I understand that others will feel differently. I also understand that neither one of these speakers belong in this thread, as they are not considered contenders by the thread originator, Maxx1973. So there really isn't any need to stray down this path. Perhaps you can start a thread of your own about Wilson speakers.

Cheers,
John

Funny, I didn't see the Wilson Maxx 2 on Maxx1973's original list of 6 speakers. I also did not see Max ask for folks to expand on his list.

Are you a Wilson dealer or something Jkalman? Why are you pushing Wilson so hard?
Why enter the thread and try to change it's direction?
Settle down, pour yourself an adult beverage and enjoy your system.

Cheers,
John

Jkalman, you are more than welcome to enjoy your "great" thing, I just don't understand your need to force feed your "great" to others. I am no fan of Wilson speakers, obviously, but I would also encourage demo's to those that are interested. I wouldn't encourage demo's to those that are not interested. 20 of the 84 posts on this thread belong to you, raving ad nasuem about a speaker that is not even in the running. While your youthful enthusiasm is to be lauded, you are starting to sound like the proverbial "used car salesman" here.

I suggest you start your own thread singing the praises of Wilson speakers, then feel free to sing to your hearts content. It's not polite to hijack anothers thread though. Mentioning the Wilson's would have been fine, but 20 replies out of 84 is ram-rodding your unsolicited opinions. It's like watching a train wreck now at this point.

About the only thing Max now got out of this thread is that it's better off NOT to ask questions. Maybe next time Max you need to throw in a legal disclaimer like Meagan02 did on this thread.
"While some may be tempted to throw in a red herring by recommending some other preamp, thanks--but that's not what I'm asking."
FWIW, even that is not 100% effective, but it did help somewhat.

John