So its that time of year where I get to combine my tax return and annual bonus. I am looking at stepping into the world of hi-fi and the more I research the more questions I have. I am mainly looking at creating a 3.2 soundstage for 50/50 home theater and music listening. I originally started out with a budget of 5k but after listening to step ups I am open to increasing my budget to ~10k. I have listened to the B&W 702's, 804's, 803's the GoldenEar Reference, the Focal Kanta 2's, and Martin Logan 60t's. After listening I was quickly able to eliminate the ribbon style of the Martin Logan, as for the GoldenEar's and the lower B&W's I was impressed with the accuracy and composure of both speakers and could have otherwise been quite content but it all changed once I heard the Focal's and 803's. I truly felt them, they gave me that indescribable goosebump feeling and I dont know if I can go back. So far if I had to pick one, I would hands down go with the Focals, but since I am starting from the ground up I want a speaker that can grow with my setup. Initially I will be using a Marantz 7012 AVR but will eventually add either 2 channel or dual mono block amplification. At any rate I was curious what other speakers in this range give that feeling of experience and presence, the goosebumps. Ideally I would like to be able to incorporate a center channel and dual subs but at this point I put more priority on the quality and clarity of the towers as they are the stars of the show. Anyway I appreciate and thank you for any feedback and ideas.
@mofojo beat me to it. He posted while I was finishing this up:
A few years back I heard some Legacy’s at the California
Audio Show. They were my favorite among many other high-end speakers on hand. As
a result of that experience, the Legacy Audio Focus SE got on my wish list … money
being the only thing standing between me and them.
That said, if you can get past the looks, you might consider
the Tekton Design Double Impacts (DI). There has been lots of buzz about them
here on A-gon, and there are quite a few testimonials on the Tekton website. In
fact, one happy owner traded in his Legacy Focus to pick up a pair. There have
also been very favorable comparisons to Golden Ears as well as the DI’s holding
their own against the likes of Dadelus. The DI’s go down to 20 (not quite as
low as Legacy), but should work equally as well in a 3.0 configuration - like @mtrot suggested.
Now before anybody jumps on me with name calling such as “fan
boy”, all I’m suggesting is the OP take a bit more time and do the research.
The other great thing about the DI’s: they are efficient enough to be driven by
low powered tube gear. That means one has much more flexibility in power
selection. You can truly grow into
something of your liking. For example with all the options available with
something like the Jolida 3502 el34/6550 tube integrated [which includes HT
bypass], there would be enough budget left over for a nice front-end – digital or
analog. I’ve been involved in this hobby for a while and knowing what I know
now … with a $10K budget that is exactly what I would do. Just my 2 cents.
@kalili Good advice to OP. Probably need to start with speakers as their power needs will inform other system decisions. It’s a nice budget, but to maximize that money it would be good to consider speakers of reasonable efficiency. Once this is accomplished, you can focus on a high quality integrated amp and good sources and wires. Willingness to go used will help a good deal. As ws mentioned previously, I would recommend focusing on quality main speakers. Maybe next year’s tax refund and bonus could be used for the theater gear.
At $5K, the Revel F208 is highly regarded as excellent sounding and apparently measures about as well as a speaker can. At $7K, it's hard to beat the Legacy Audio Signature SE. At $10K, well.... the number of outstanding options is just dizzying.
You've got me interested in this Kanta no. 2, but Focal doesn't seem to have a lot of dealers in the US. The early reports are highly positive, but I didn't find a lot of full reviews with measurements.
I know there is at least one person here, who shall remain unnamed, that will disagree with this statement, but same speakers sound different when paired with different amplifiers. If it were me with that sort of budget, I would look at my search as a "system " and try to approach my options in that manner. Just my 2 cents.
Sorry guys I've been at a work conference all day, thanks for all the comments and feedback. Once I have some time tonight I will write up my thoughts on the various speakers I've heard to give an understanding of how I perceive their sound. I'm a firm believer that like food we all have our own pallets and thus our own preferences, some like milk chocolate, other prefer dark, it doesn't make one more right than the other.
This is interesting since I am looking into the same price range of products. Originally I was going to start with the amp and work my way back to the speakers but was told that is not the "best" way to do it. It seems that I have listened to same speakers that you have mentioned with the exception of the Focal's but have heard the paradigm personas. My goal is to listen to the Focals and Revel since I have never listened to either. So far the personas are the only speakers that struck me as special after listening to each. Having said that i do feel they do not have the bottom end I am looking for but is this a trade off at the given price point? I look forward to reading about your impression of each speaker you demo!
As a Legacy dealer we couldn't agree more. The Focus SE are flat out amazing, we heard a current set with the self amplified bass option being used with the Wavelet Dac/Preamp/Room Correction processor with a set of Raven tube amps athe the last New York audio show.
When driven correctly the Focus sound like a way more expensive set of speakers. In terms of image size, deep bass, richness in the midrange, absolutely wonderful.
Not quite as detailed or quite as holographic as the Personas or the Sopras, but in terms of sheer room filling totally engaging sound very hard to beat.
If you are on the East Coast we have numerous Legacy models on display.
I completely agree with your idea of prioritizing the front L/R speakers. And if you are expanding your search into the ~$10K range, I wouldn't buy anything without auditioning a set of Legacy Audio Focus SE, which offers AMT tweeters, dual mid woofers, and two twelve inch woofers. Focus SE is a true full range speaker, with bass extension to 18Hz. With the Focus SE, you are certainly getting into your goosebumps inducing level of speaker.
And the Focus SE are equally good for both music and home theater.
It's obviously just personal preference, but I'd rather do a 2.0 setup
with Focus SE than a 3.2 system with "smallish" front L/R speakers, especially with a 50/50 usage mix between music/movies. Similarly, I'd rather do a 3.0 system with Focus SE for L/R and a Legacy Audio Marquis or Silver Screen center channel speaker than a 3.2 system with lesser speakers across the front. Sure, subs are great if room rattling bass is a top priority, but that has lost some appeal for me, as I now value other aspects of audio more highly.
Contuzzi, Focals are not laid back in the treble, never said they are bright either I said they tend to sound forward, that means they have a very clean treble and are quite detailed.
Beryilium tweeters tend to go towards the detailed side same on the Personas, they do show you everything in the chain.
Just like soft dome tweeters tend to sound warmer then metals.
Focal speakers are not bright or forward. Anyone who says that is clinging onto old focal sound. Aria and Kanta are the LEAST bright or forward speakers they have ever made, and are considerably more laid back than a lot of popular speakers mentioned on audiogon.
I feel bad for Focal — likely the most misrepresented brand online due to people who just repeat things they heard years and years ago with little to no actual experience.
If someone says Sopras are bright — they heard a bad setup. Kanta even more so — in fact, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to make the Kantas sound bright. Let’s make sure we are contributing accurate information to the mess of misinformation in high end audio forums.
Lowspark, you need to look at the possible choices and try to figure out what you like about each speaker and what your ear likes.
The Martin Logan and the Golden Ear both use Heil tweeters, you may like the voicing of the Golden Ear which tends to favor more midrange and bass and less treble than the Martin Logans.
The Focals are exciting and visceral speakers and are a bit forward in the treble, you may like the new Paradigm Persona 3F which uses a Beryilium midrange and tweeter so the clarity is really impressive so is the imaging which is spooky, they have greater detail in the midrange then the Focals but are voicing with less sense of punch then the Focals.
Be careful in how you demo, make sure if possible that the demo is being carried out in the same room on the same gear, or you may skew your results.
Another amazing speaker at a fantastic price is Legacy Audio the Signature, a large tower with the bass of the Golden Ear with a smooth midrange and a very detailed yet sweet top end. at $7k they are a bargain for the sound quality and price.
The Kef Ref 3 are amazing for theater but are a bit more expensive, at $14k.
Any of these uber speakers will eventurally necessitate and even better receiver and set of amps and cables so be advised that you are not going to be getting 110% out of your new speakers when they are in this class.
You are in for an exciting journey. Good luck in your search.
Thanks for the response Beetle, I've seen the Vandersteens pop up on a number of these types of threads but I haven't been able to find a dealer locally to demo them. As for the philosophy I am completely with you, I would rather start with the towers I can afford, building around and up to them as time and budget allow.
My very short list at that price range, new, would surely include the Vandersteen Treo CT. But maybe I shouldn't weigh in as my very strong preference is to get the very best two-channel performance my budget will allow. I'd far rather have a a pair of $10K speakers than five $2K speakers!
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