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Classical speakers that do violins well??

All my serious listening is classical.

I hate nothing more than steely shrillness on violins or a glare on a soprano's voice.

I love nothing more than the faithful reproduction of the tone colors of unamplified instruments (the wood body of the violin and cello, the felt pad excting the sinewy strings of a piano).

YET, I hate bloated, indistinct, overly warm, billowy lower mids and upper bass (what I gather some think of as "musical").

Do you have any experience with speakers that might meet these needs for $2K, give or take (new or used)? Can be either floorstander or monitor, but with at least enough bass to perform decently on orchestral music. THANKS.
-Bob
hesson11
hesson11 OP
237 posts
 
Thanks so much to all of you for your thoughtful responses. I will definitely take them into consideration. A few of you have addressed some good points not strictly related to speaker brands, and I have either addressed or considered them. And yes indeed, Jdaniel13, I do love my vinyl (via an Oracle Paris table). Thanks again, I really appreciate it.
-Bob
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Vienna Acoustics' Bach Grand fits your bill. See:
http://www.sumikoaudio.net/va/prod_bach.htm

I've got the Beethoven Baby Grands which are exceptional with strings. I've also heard the Bachs and they have similar mids.

I'm an orchestral trumpet player (hobby, but serious) and I listen to a lot of orchestra and string music. For instance, last night I was listening to Janos Starker and Josef Gingold play the Kodaly Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7. Man-alive that was stunning. Incredible string tones on 180 gram vinyl.

The Bach is going to roll-off around 45 Hz, but I think it's got one of the best midranges in your price range.

Compare to the Sonus Faber, also distributed by Sumiko. Most dealers that carry one carry both. As a musician I think you'll find the VA have more accuracy in the mids. Also, the VAs have great cabinetry. They're not as flashy as the SFs, but the quality of construction is equal.

Dave
naplese
1 posts
 
Consider the Linkwitz Orions. They are full range and excel at revealing the inner detail of complex classical music. You can hear the wood vibrate.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/orion_us.htm
rotarius
431 posts
 
In that price range, try one of the new Focal Chorus speakers if you don't want planars. The new tweeter is great. Strings sound smoother than either Vandy 2 or 3.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
For classical music, ranging from solo, to chamber, vocal, and orchestra, I am extremely partial to the entire Austrian line of Vienna Acoustics, which like the Italian Sonus Faber, is imported by Sumiko Audio. I listen mostly to classical, and I have recently acquired a pair of Vienna Mahlers, which I absolutely adore: deep and tuneful bass, authority, subtlety, rich harmonic content, extended silky highs. The characteristics are shared by the entire family of Vienna products, and I just noticed there are a couple of Vienna Strausses on Audiogon--the Mahlers barely smaller brothers: e.g.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1206981936
This pair is being offered at $2900 (an absolute steal!). Note that Vienna speakers are rather sensitive to placement for optimizing bass control. The relatively generous size of your room would be perfect for the Strausses. My friend and fellow Agoner PSCIALLI fell in love with the Vienna sound at the last RMAF. He rapidly caved in, and replaced his B&W 803s with a pair of Strausses for his 13 x 15 music room. The only caveat is that Vienna speakers like to be driven rather sternly by amps having high damping factors, or they may sound loose in the bass. What is the damping factor of your Aragon 2004?
If you are seeking a set of speakers that make violins sound like emotional instruments with a soul, rather than fizzy/tizzy/stealy creatures, Vienna speakers are definitely worth considering.
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