The Dynaudio Contour 30i would be worth considering
Best skiinny floorstanders
After 10 years with a pair of Martin Logan Ethos speakers, I'm considering moving back to boxes, box speakers that is. I'd like to avoid big obtrusive box speakers and am considering some skinny ones in the $8-12k range like the:
Devore Fidelity Super Nines
Boenicke w11s
and...
.... other suggestions
The room - is around 18 by 30, parts with a low ceiling, carpeted, and the wall behind the speakers is books. Serves as gym in the early am when my wife pulls out the rowing machine and turns the tunes up loud, play room for the grandkids in the afternoon and listening room for me in the evenings.
Currently running all tubes but I'm open to changing that up too.
Taste in music - eclectic.
Thanks in advance!
Devore Fidelity Super Nines
Boenicke w11s
and...
.... other suggestions
The room - is around 18 by 30, parts with a low ceiling, carpeted, and the wall behind the speakers is books. Serves as gym in the early am when my wife pulls out the rowing machine and turns the tunes up loud, play room for the grandkids in the afternoon and listening room for me in the evenings.
Currently running all tubes but I'm open to changing that up too.
Taste in music - eclectic.
Thanks in advance!
69 responses Add your response
Electrostatic speakers really brings out acoustic, and chamber music type recordings. If this is what you are used to, then to ease your imaging, space and soundstage addiction, I'd recommend a style of speaker which has di-pole (sp?) arrangement where at a minimum, there is a tweeter that fires at the rear of the upper speaker's cabinet. This will add to space and soundstage. When I look for speakers, I look at the mid and tweeter manufacturer they use. I am particularly fond of Focal/JM Lab drivers and speakers for that matter. In my main system, I have Von Schweikert VR6 speakers that use Focal's wonderful tweeter firing forward and from the rear in a di-pole manner. This speaker while not skinny, is an imaging, space, soundstage, air all around champ. When I play Charlotte Chuch's Ave Maria, it almost brings tears to my eyes - hah! In my second system, I have JM Lab Mezzo Utopia speakers; these speakers are fabulous also, they literally disappear and then the ethereal experience begins, but with less air, space and ambiance that my VR6s bring. Focal drivers, especially the mid and tweeter drivers are something real special. Back to "skinny" speakers, I saw on Ebay a seller I think located in South Orange County California who is selling a set of nice looking JM Lab Divas. These are skinny; the pair of 8 inch woofers fire from the side rather than straight ahead like conventional cabinets; bass is non directional so this should not matter much. They are substantially less than the budget you listed; I seem to remember they were close to the $5K mark. I hope my rambling reply helps. Cheers! |
"HOLD" her up there cdc2 ! The root of the problem with your present system lays with the amp you’ve chosen to drive a 4 Ohm electrostatic speaker that’s 92dB efficient. MartinLogan suggest using up to 500 watts of power to drive these speakers, you’re using a 70 watt Tube amp & you’re wondering why your system lacks dynamics in a room that’s 30ft long? Before ditching the Marty’s get a hold of a 200 watt into 8 Ohm/ 400 watt into 4 Ohm SS amp, (borrow it for a week or 2) . A Threshold, a Krell, Sim Moon, Mark Levinson, what ever, just a good quality amp with lots of headroom. That will rectify your dynamics problem and more. As for the sound stage? I heard the Ethos driven by Sim Audio separates in London, my only reaction was - wow ..... I also heard the bigger predecessor of Ethos driven with lower powered Naim separates and with a Krell KAV-400xi integrated amp. Driven by the KAV-400xi the Marty’s were in another league altogether than when played with the Nain stuff. You’ve also got your equipment selection path back to front. If you’re dead set on switching back to speakers with conventional drivers, that’s where your Prima monos will shine, but even then I’d look for a speaker that’s "more" efficient than the 91db Gibbon Super 9’s in a 30ft long room with that amp. (That’s no knock to the Gibbon’s). A caveat in closing, by their nature skinny speakers are hard to drive, so that reduces the elasticity of your Prologue Sevens. Now if you were looking at a pair of Klipsch Horns the Prima’s would be the bee’s knees. Here’s the two solutions I suggest, stick with a Tube pre-amp (if that’s what you have), and ditch the PrimaLuna. It’s a really nice amp, but it just isn’t conducive with the application you seak, either your MartinLogan’s, or a skinny dynamic speaker, or a 18’X30’ foot room. #1: Get a good SS amp as I suggested above to go with a Tube pre-amp and keep your MartinLogan’s. #2: Get a skinny, inefficient conventional speaker, such as a used PMC Fact 12, Focal Electra 1028 Be, Vienna Acoustics, the Gibbon Super 9’s, stick with a Tube pre-amp, and drive your speakers with a 200watt ANTIQUE SOUND LAB HURRICANE amp. Hope this helps & enjoy the music. |
What a lot of great input! I love the way everyone brings their own personal passion to this thread, from detailed descriptions of favorite speakers to one person who took the time to research and provide links to listings of used speakers for sales that matched my criteria. One speaker no one mentioned that has piqued my interest for years is Decware's HR1. Doesn’t meet the skinny criteria but on the smaller side and is yes a bid odd looking with what looks like a hat on top. |
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I think Audiovector R 3 Arreté is worth a look, especially coming from an electrostatic. Extremely fast and clean while being balanced and musical. I would call it neither warm nor lean, but rather quite neutral, which will make it somewhat sensitive to amplification matching - you will really hear which way the amp leans. Plays much bigger than its diminutive size as well, but is easy to integrate (works well close to the back wall). The review in TAS is quite complimentary and it was made an Editor’s Choice, but I think their evaluation only scratches at the surface of the speaker’s capability. (I am admittedly a bit of an Audiovector evangelist given I have made them my reference speakers but have no business interests whatsoever, I bought them from a retailer like everyone else.) |
Spendor A-line, Graham LS5/9f, ProAc, and any of these might work out well: https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649661844-raidho-xt-2-speakers-mint-condition/ https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa975d-marten-design-django-l-speakerhttps://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9jid9-sonus-faber-olympica-iii-full-range https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9fc22-sonus-faber-olympica-iii-walnut-color-full-range |
If you like that immersive experience, I would look seriously as Sansonic. The MB5 B is going to be thin with great bass response. The MB6 B will be taller and you may find it visually less appealing. Both will be in your price range. Another interesting option is the Audiovector R3s. Read Andrew Quint's review in the Absolute Sound. They are tremendous and relatively easy to drive, as are the Scansonics. Full disclosure, I am a Scansonic Raidho dealer and I continue to flirt with Audiovector. They are both awesome lines. |
Not sure if it’s possible but while I love the sound of the Martin Logan’s, sense of being there, they lack punch some box speakers seem to have, and my biggest complaint is that while they sound great if your head is in the perfect spot, move your head up or down a foot or move two feet to the side and the sound collapses. Sit on the floor, stand up or move to the side on the couch and the quality of sound goes down dramatically. cdc2, The Joseph Perspective speakers fit your criteria perfectly. They are very skinny and take up very little space, but cast an enormous soundstage with Big Speaker imaging. They completely disappear, and their excellent polar response and steep crossover means they are particularly good at maintaining the same tonality and "disappearing" act over a wide sweet spot. If you see lots of show reports they often mention "and it didn’t seem to matter where I was in the room, the Joseph’s seemed to soundstage and sound great even off-axis." They are very punchy and powerful too, for kick drums, bass etc.And they use SEAS drivers similar to the Hales Transcendence line (I have owned Hales T5s and still own Hales T1 and TCenter speakers), and there is a similar sound to the Hales - very grain free and pure, only moreso on the Josephs, but with more presence and texture. |
Check this out, i have heard them playing equally well with tubes and ss. https://www.lowbeats.de/test-standbox-bauer-audio-ls-3g/ G |
If I was going to spend that kind of money I would consider these KEF Blade 2s. They look to be nearly perfect condition. I own some 21 yr old KEF reference Model 4.2 and they sound great. I would assume the Blades would sound even better than my Reference 4.2s. I just had the 4.2s at Magnolia, testing amps, and compared them against the B&W 802 D3 ($22k) and Martin Logan ESL 15s and the 21 year old KEFs were very competitive. KEF Blade 2 Floorstanding Speakers; Snow White Pair; Two - The Music Room (tmraudio.com)
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Audio Physic Example: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa2j8f-audio-physic-caldera-mkiii-full-range |
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While I have not heard them, I might also suggest the KEF Blade 2, used. I have owned the original LS50s and currently use the Metas in my stereo rig. The uni-q driver excels at horizontal / vertical dispersion and driver integration, which translates to a large sweet spot and beautiful sound throughout the whole room. Your 2ohm taps might work well with the Blades? There's no shortage of positive reviews, so I'll leave it at that.
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How about the PSB Synchrony One? You can find them used for $2K or so. They
were listed by Stereophile in 2012 as a starred “Class A [Restricted
Extreme LF] Loudspeaker Recommended Component,” along with speakers costing up
to $80,000 in that category, and as a “Recommended Reference Component” by Soundstage
Hi-Fi —again, in competition with vastly more expensive speakers. Summing
up his review in Stereophile, John Atkinson wrote: “the
Synchrony One offers surprisingly deep bass for a relatively small speaker; a
neutral, uncolored midrange; smooth, grain-free highs; and superbly stable and
accurate stereo imaging. It is also superbly finished and looks beautiful.
Highly recommended. And when you consider the price [$4,500 a pair, and $5,500
a pair by the time they were listed as a “Class A Recommended Component"],
very highly recommended.” SoundStage HiFi awarded the Synchrony One
“Reviewer’s Choice” recognition when it was first released in 2008, then
“Recommended Reference Component” status in 2012. The original review found the
Synchrony One “among the most neutral speakers ever reviewed” that “sets a new
standard for tonal accuracy, clarity and detail.” The follow-up review noted
that the Synchrony One is “the least expensive speaker to ever be included in
our list of Recommended Reference Components,” and that it measured (in the
anechoic chamber of Canada’s National Research Council) lower levels of
distortion “than any speaker at any price we’d measured up till then.” The
review concludes “it’s important to realize that the Synchrony One isn’t being
recognized as an RRC for the performance it offers at the price [$5,500 a
pair]; rather, it’s a reference-caliber speaker that compares with top-class
speakers at any price.” You can find these and other glowing reviews yourself
with a simple Google search.
I bought a pair to replace my beloved but ailing Scientific Fidelity Teslas--but then found a guy in PA who was able to repair the Tesla drivers. I'd be willing to sell my PSBs. Got the boxes, manual, spikes and port plugs. PM me if interested. |
Salk Veracity ST RAAL tweeter, Seas Midwoofer, Transmission Line http://https//www.salksound.com/model.php?model=Veracity+ST Ohm Walsh 2000 Walsh Tall | Speakers | Ohm Speakers | Custom Audiophile Speakers for Music & Home Theater |
Sound characteristics I'm looking for? Not sure if it's possible but while I love the sound of the Martin Logan's, sense of being there, they lack punch some box speakers seem to have, and my biggest complaint is that while they sound great if your head is in the perfect spot, move your head up or down a foot or move two feet to the side and the sound collapses. Sit on the floor, stand up or move to the side on the couch and the quality of sound goes down dramatically. Sure I know, I know with most speakers there is a window where they sound best, but even my old Hales Transcendence 1s, still sound good whether I'm sitting on the couch, lying on the floor or walking around v.s. the Martin Logan's only sound great from one very small spot in the room. I'm looking for speakers, which do a good job in the midrange but also with cymbals and kick drums, string bass, have the you are there wow factor and have a large sweet spot AND decent WAF e.g. skinny. If need be I'd change amps, let go of the PrimaLuna Prologue Seven Mono blocks I'm currently using. Thanks for all your suggestions. |
Have a look at PMC ( https://pmc-speakers.com/home-audio ). Their FACT range may be available for the money you are considering. A large percentage of films you have watched and albums you've listened to were recorded, mixed and mastered using PMC monitors in the control room ( https://pmc-speakers.com/studio ) PMC domestic speakers are based on the research done in the studio space. I've had quite a bit of exposure to both formats and the home audio kit has a similar signature to the studio kit. The domestic kit is neutral and transparent, AND they manage to do this without making bad recordings unlistenable! |
