Hi there, I am interested in everyones opinion as to what is the best speaker between 15-35K. I know is is a big range but I can afford up to 35K. Mark Levinson 432 is probably the amp and AR tube Reference 2MKII is the preamp (their top of the line) Tri Vista is the SACD. PLEASE HELP. I was thinkiing about Vandys 5As, Watt/puppys 7, Salons Avalons whatever you guys think. Thanks in advance to all the great minds.
Nmurro, You are truly fortunate to have that much disposable income for this hobby. It is my personal opinion that many of the super speakers out there sound worse than some of the smaller speakers in the same product line. For example I thought the Wilson Watt Puppys sounded better than the Grand Slamms. Each and every design has some tradeoffs that we end up living with. In my opinion, given enough space, it would be better to have two or three systems available depending on the music of choice. For rock maybe I would have some real big horn speakers like the Classic Audio Reproductions Hartsfields. For vocals and acoustic material I would have a pair of electrostats like Soundlab Ultimate 1's or the Quad 988's. For pop music I'd have the Watt Puppy 7's with the Whow subwoofer. I haven't heard the Vandy 5's but have read enough to know it is one of the best regardless of price. I'm sure you would do well to audition a pair. If low level listening and stunningly real vocals is a priority I'm sure you'd love the Soundlabs or Quads. If you like chest thumping bass then avoid the Quad or Soundlab. The speaker that comes darn close to bringing all the above requirements together is the Shahinian Diapason. They will play very loud but not as loud as a big horn. They have stunning vocals but not quite as breathtaking as a Soundlab. They have powerful deep bass but probably not quite as chest thumping as some of the real big dynamic speakers. I am in the camp with Duke LeJeune of Audiokinesis. He believes the most realistic sounding speakers get the reverberant field right. Most of the speakers that do this are omnidirectional speakers or planars. Plain box speakers don't do it for me but this is a subjective arena we are in so let your ears decide. With your resources, I would be out listening to the following. (in no particular order) Soundlab Ultimate 1's Classic Audio Reproductions Hartsfields Verity Audio Parsifals Wilson Audio Watt Puppy 7's Nearfield Acoustics Pipe Dreams Shahinian Diapasons Avalon Eidolons and Diamonds Vandersteen 5's German Physiks MBL Magnepan MG-20's Quad 988/989 Genesis Aerial I suspect that if you take the time to hear most of these, in the end you will select a loudspeaker closer to $15000 than $35,000. Your budget affords you some travel money to seek out several of the above. It pays to take enough time to find a speaker you really love. The megabuck speakers are usually hard to sell if you don't like them.
Nice post, Holz. I too was overwhelmed by too-big and sometimes incoherent in the nearfield portrayals of larger great systems, and am happy with the room-friendly compactness and phenomenal performance of my Parsifal Encores (as I relate perhaps way too often!). Matching transducers TO YOUR ROOM is clearly the most critical element in selecting among the behemoths in the top end.
Ecxellent post Holz; we appreciate the info in doing research on speakers. I have a small room 13ftx14ft by 13 feet high, and require a smaller speaker. I would lean towards the Quad, based on reviews, but think it is just too big for my room. The Parsifal is an interesting choice which I had not thought about. I am also considering the Kharma 3.2; any thoughts on this, or any of the other speakers listed above? Thanks.
I would consider the Von Schweikert Vr 5 or Vr 7 --- I would also seriously consider Aerial Acoustics Model 9. Personally, depending on the size of your room, I don't believe you need to spend 20k on speakers to achieve the performance level you seek.
Room size will play a major role. I have not listened to all the speakers on Holz list but I can second the WP 7's with the appropriate sub. I have not heard them with the Whow sub but I have with the Watchdog sub. It would be a match in audio heaven with your ARC pre.
Tvad, a sub is not necessary with the W/P 7's. The bass is lightening fast, smooth, deep, and as tonally accurate as any speaker I have ever listened to. The addition of a properly set up sub, the watchdog in my case, appears to augment the entire range of sound, not only the bass. It is a subtle difference but one that can be heard and felt. It is not necessarily more bottom end, but the sub captures the ambient bass line in singers voices, strings, instruments, etc. for a fuller smoother all around presentation. It is not that the W/P 7 in particular is missing anything, any speaker system will benefit from this. I auditioned this set up in the same room with the mega dollar X-1's and I preferred the WP 7, watchdog combo. The X1's needed a larger room to sound their best.
..i would also include the piega c-40s' and their little brother c-10 ltds.i have heard the majority of the speakers mentioned so far and think the piegas' are superior....but that's just to my ears. if you are indeed going to listen to all the speakers you are interested in you owe it to yourself to find a dealer and listen to these great speakers.
Adding a sub to ANY great speaker is more about ironing out room-rez bumps, right? I remember hearing the W/P 6 just before getting my Parsifal Encores. The dealer (who sold both) was puzzled that the W/Ps were coming back from a customer who preferred the Encores. But we also noticed that the Wilsons prodigious bass was overpowering the room, requiring more careful placement than the friendlier Encores. Certainly a fine sub, well-positioned, can allow for speaker-positioning with staging in mind rather than best bass smoothness. The W/Ps clearly need a bigger room than the Encores.... Smoothjazz, your near-cubical room is REALLY challenging! You may have to set up a non-symmetrical placement, probably a nearfield triangle, to eliminate those huge primary bumps. Good luck.
If you like the transparency and realism of electrostatic speakers, but you are interested in dynamics it's now possible to have your cake and it it too. From everything I've heard from Green Mountain Audio C-3's owners they have Quad/Sound Lab/Maggie type transparency and realism through the mid range and ultra fast/tight bass that adroitly presents all types of music.
IMHO, try discontinued Cello Stradivari Master (used runs about $12K) or Grand Stradivari Master (used $24K) (Dynaudio driver version) and we will be surprised by them.
BTW, FYI my system is Pass X-600 + ARC Ref. 2 MKI + Cello Strad Master.
As appealing as it is to weigh in on this convo, I gotta agree with all those who mention the room environment and the listener’s expectations as a key to finding the right speaker. Do you want or require high volume “live concert” SPLs? Are we talking symphony or hip hop? The budget is enough to get great results any number of ways. Know the target before choosing the weapon!
Sounds like you are not set on the Amp or preamps yet also. You may want to take a VERY serious look at the Atma-Sphere MP-1 pre amp and a set of MA-1 amps. Very very nice stuff. JMHO
Keith! 2004, I wonder how many speakers made in 04 are still in production today? When you think about it speakers from then to now have only changed in more metal drivers being used and that while having a higher ceiling is also more difficult to find the best components to get the best out of them.
I had expected more progress in room integration to have been made, not in wall, but actual room friendly speakers.
I would look seriously at Raidho. Unbelievable imaging and soundstage. I would have to know a bit about your listening space to make a recommendation on the best model but there are multiple speakers in the X/XT,C and D lines that would fall in your price range. The key is, what do you want the speaker to do in terms of frequency range and can and how do you want it to look aesthetically.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
