the Raidho x-1s do not deliver deep bass. I was quite happy with them paired with my Sunfire Tru SuperJunior which is a 1500w 8” subwoofer. You need a good sub that had tons of power and has an iron grip on the driver. Raidho and JL will be obscenely good together.
These are all about soundstage and delivering a deep and immersive listening experience. They are good with acoustic, instrumental and strings. I listen to a lot of jazz.
Harbeth is amazing with strings. I have found people love Harbeth or are indifferent. If they are to your taste, don’t bother with the rest of your search. If you are indifferent, move on.
There is one retailer on the country for Boenicke and they don’t even have an on-line presence. I visited that retailer a lot before I started my company. I lived like 6 blocks away. It is a good speaker. Like Harbeth, you love them or...meh. It is more of a lifestyle choice. Same shop, different section, I was far more impressed by the Verity Finns. Completely different style of speaker. That being said, during that purchase cycle, I ended up with the Raidho’s.
the Sopra 1s are good sounding speakers. I have heard them driven by Naim gear and they were natural with a good image. I think they would do okay with your musical choice. I find Focals floor-standers more impressive and would lean toward the Kanta 2. That being said, they NEED warm amplification.
I am not a huge Kef fan. The Reference 1 is a heck of a speaker though. I love the 3 way design and aluminum baffle. A little bright for my taste. Should be a good choice with right amp as it delivers a big sound. AVM matches well with them.
I have never heard the Magico A1s. I spent about 40 minutes in the Magico/AVM room at NY Audio Show in 2018 listening to the A3s with AVM flagship gear. They played classical and jazz exclusively while I was there. It was very nice. Not my favorite speaker. I like a more immersive soundstage but very nice. Not sure if the A1 is as good as the A3. Magicos love power. You can’t give them enough and they will open up and sound better the more power you give them.
I have never heard the Spendor As, the Spendor D7.2s are lovely. Very natural sounding. Need refined, neutral amplification. I listened to these after listening to the Tune Tots and was pleased with the experience .
I have not heard the Boressen or the Dutch & Dutch.
I have taken a crack at a Pulsar like speaker from a design perspective. Getting the crossover right is hard and the Pulsars very much do get it right. Superb with classical and jazz. The high mass tweeter does well in an MDF cabinet and you get more detail than you would expect. It is a good speaker for your needs and like the Spendors, needs neutral amplification.
Other notes, front port does not mean that it can necessarily be placed near a wall. The bass won’t get muddy but you may have soundstage issues. The Raidho’s like a little room from the back wall despite being front ported.
Rear port can work better than you would expect, particularly if the port is long. My Pulsar like speaker is good with 18” of space behind it. I believe the JAs are as good in terms of placement.
These are all about soundstage and delivering a deep and immersive listening experience. They are good with acoustic, instrumental and strings. I listen to a lot of jazz.
Harbeth is amazing with strings. I have found people love Harbeth or are indifferent. If they are to your taste, don’t bother with the rest of your search. If you are indifferent, move on.
There is one retailer on the country for Boenicke and they don’t even have an on-line presence. I visited that retailer a lot before I started my company. I lived like 6 blocks away. It is a good speaker. Like Harbeth, you love them or...meh. It is more of a lifestyle choice. Same shop, different section, I was far more impressed by the Verity Finns. Completely different style of speaker. That being said, during that purchase cycle, I ended up with the Raidho’s.
the Sopra 1s are good sounding speakers. I have heard them driven by Naim gear and they were natural with a good image. I think they would do okay with your musical choice. I find Focals floor-standers more impressive and would lean toward the Kanta 2. That being said, they NEED warm amplification.
I am not a huge Kef fan. The Reference 1 is a heck of a speaker though. I love the 3 way design and aluminum baffle. A little bright for my taste. Should be a good choice with right amp as it delivers a big sound. AVM matches well with them.
I have never heard the Magico A1s. I spent about 40 minutes in the Magico/AVM room at NY Audio Show in 2018 listening to the A3s with AVM flagship gear. They played classical and jazz exclusively while I was there. It was very nice. Not my favorite speaker. I like a more immersive soundstage but very nice. Not sure if the A1 is as good as the A3. Magicos love power. You can’t give them enough and they will open up and sound better the more power you give them.
I have never heard the Spendor As, the Spendor D7.2s are lovely. Very natural sounding. Need refined, neutral amplification. I listened to these after listening to the Tune Tots and was pleased with the experience .
I have not heard the Boressen or the Dutch & Dutch.
I have taken a crack at a Pulsar like speaker from a design perspective. Getting the crossover right is hard and the Pulsars very much do get it right. Superb with classical and jazz. The high mass tweeter does well in an MDF cabinet and you get more detail than you would expect. It is a good speaker for your needs and like the Spendors, needs neutral amplification.
Other notes, front port does not mean that it can necessarily be placed near a wall. The bass won’t get muddy but you may have soundstage issues. The Raidho’s like a little room from the back wall despite being front ported.
Rear port can work better than you would expect, particularly if the port is long. My Pulsar like speaker is good with 18” of space behind it. I believe the JAs are as good in terms of placement.