John Van has a new floor stander coming out very soon. http://www.vanlspeakerworks.com is about as boutique as you can get. He employs an ambient recovery system in his designs that allows the left and right speaker to pass information back and forth, resulting in an unbelievable soundstage. Give him a call and he’ll tell you all about them, 708-695-5769. One of the coolest and wisest dudes that has been making incredible speakers for a long time.
Boutique or Big Brand?
Good evening everyone! I am looking at new speakers in the $5k, maybe $6k range. My electronics and room dimensions are on "my system" posted on my profile so I won't repeat them here. I currently have Tekton Impact Monitors, but feel they do not have a good low end (I posted my review on another post so won't bore everyone here). That said, they were the best I could afford at the time and above 40Hz sound good to me.
Now I am ready to upgrade and am faced with a decision... Do I go boutique with a bigger pair of Tektons, or maybe the Salk Song3 A or BeAts; or something from Zu or Devore? Or do I go with a Big Brand like the Sonus faber Sonetto V, B&W 702, or Focal Arias?
I have heard the Tekton, Sonetto V, and B&W 8-series (not the 7 in my price range). I want a slim tower because I feel a lot of them have the same footprint as a pair of standmounters and have better bass extension.
So, what are the benefits of boutique over big brand and vice-versa? It seems in my price range boutique may be the way to go? Thoughts? Any other recommendations?
Because of the pandemic I had to move to a place that doesn't have the audio stores that N.Y.C. and Columbus, Oh. did when I lived there, so I am asking your opinions. Please keep it positive and constructive, thank you.