I can't say I can as I have only heard them at dealerships...and not been able to AB or anything...commenting from memory between the two would be quite misleading in my case |
Thanks Mike...I do like my speakers though with development of new tweeters incl Kharma's own diamond, I am intrigued. But the basic sound, definitely yes. I probably will first try my existing speakers but wonder if they will over power the room. After speaker set up and chair we are talking about say 10-12 ft btwn the two positions. I was thinking of the Mini Exquisites, Coltranes (same accuton driver+ diamond tweeter approach) or the Magico Minis....all with possibly a subwoofer though that would over power the room as well |
Larryi, very good pt on auditioning.
Roypan, yes several times. The Magico minis so are the front runners on wish list so far. I love the way they resolve yet retain warmth and beauty of tone like my Kharmas yet also sound more alive and dynamic. |
Wow...lots of suggestions and very much appreciated. Overall it seems all these speakers, some of which I am familiar with, you all are saying it would not dominate the room with some proper treatment...certainly hope so. perhaps I could just try my existing speakers to get a feel then think about a possible upgrade path.
On some of the recommendations
Merlins: heard a lot about them and do want to hear for myself but note sure they have any distribution where I live, which is Hong Kong
Evolution: same as above but even more so!
Wilson: familiar and simply put, not my cup of tea: I respect them but can;t fall in luv with them, though I do wish to try the Duettes given they can be placed close to the wall which would increase distance etc
Talon: perhaps and certainly worth investigating...but the PARC gets inserted btwn the pre and prw amps correct? If so I wonder what it means for my Dart 50 ohm Zeel connections....
Verity: Actually audtioned them today...at a dealership and it was the Parsfail..driven by Mcintosh solid state. Impressions: very neuiral, accurate, and delineated instruments incredibly, pin point location/imaging...but they lacked oompth, and they seem to not do instrumental colors, the body of sound as much as I like or search for...perhaps with the Darts this will all chg but food for thought anyway.
Auditorim: I do not these and will try to check them out
Wilson Benesch: on my list
In general, in small rooms, I would think rear ported speakers may something to avoid? |
Elipsa Haven't thought about it but in hindsight defintely should check them out though I think given its so new it will take several months to for the first demo model to reach Hong Kong..hopefully not. As i understand they are not rear ported as well |
I dropped by a dealer whom I know very well...and listened to the Magico Minis again....very nice indeed, very nice.
But I also got to listen to the Model 6....WOW...obviously far to big for my room, but holy crap they are good. They were being driven by an all Audio Research system of Ref CD, Ref 3 and the ref 610 (I think? the top of the range) mono blocks...staggeringly natural
Oh and the Elipsa are in HK I found out so will arrange a visit.
Unfortunately over here, home demos are not provided |
I guess so James, but its just too hard for me. |
not sure why tubes vs solid state enters as a facto re room size? |
Thanks James...I hear great things about the OBX2...but they need space don't they? |
thanks James. I do find them very interesting as I do the whole efficient speaker, lower power SET thing...but I do think bass reflex, rear ported designs may not be optimal for my room...would love to try them out but I aint a reviewer so in home demo over a cple of days ain't gonna happen. sigh. |
Thx Pubul...Merlin does interest me but not sure if they have distrubutor here in Hong Kong...did try the Parsifals and while the soundstaging...no the location of instruments within the soundstage was incredibly precise, and overall resolution was very impressive I did not find them to be my cup of tea. They lacked that body of tone, tonal color when called for ,..at least to me. Tubes may do the trick and perhaps my Darts which excel at this will help as well, but ceteris paribus I think some others that I have tried so far like the Magico Minis or Kharma Mini-Exquisties are more along my tastes.
James, you are the first one to comment on the V3s i've seen. Can u elaborate a bit more in relation to the Minis? |
Mike earlier at the beg of this thread suggested the Coltranes which after some thought would be just too big. Has anyone tried the Marten design Altos or Miles 3? |
Frank ....most definitely. I am currently constructing the room to reflect this, real traps, corner taps etc.
Lightminer: yes indeed...i saw similiar comments from reviews...nice to hear a fellow audiogoner to confirm. will check them out! |
Thanks James. I listened to the Minis a cple of times and really liked them but concerned my Darts will not be enuff for them...and don't want to chg my amps again. A fellow goner did say he has such a set up (Dart-Mini) and said the match was very good, so a bit confused actually. Over here, they don;t allow home auditions so I wld have to drag my amp to the dealership...yuk. The Minis at the dealership were driven by Spectral and Audio Rsch 210s, the latter sounding particularly good w/ the Minis. |
Yes it was all ARC. I can't really compare them vs Darts as it was two different systems, two different rooms and again I have not had the opp to hook my Dart gear with the Minis. But suffice to say ARC was incredibly impressive and I do love my Darts. |
James, no I have not. Too scared to do that. Too uncertain, don;t know whom to go to, and resale value would be circumspect I would imagine. |
Rives: Actually I saw the report awhile ago and actually did investigate prior that whether Talon had dealers in Hong Kong: did find one who said they were so previous to your acquisition but still not yet representing the new product line etc.? |
Finally moved now. Still in unpacking mode and haven't even set up my 2 channel system in the study yet...too many boxes to clear! However I can already see without even listening that my current Kharma 2.3Fs are too large in physical size. So the search should soon begin. Here are the ones I have so far identified that I am considering after some research. Things to consider are footprint size (but height less of an issue), somewhat but not complete nearfield situation, needs to be driven by my Darts, even if not large should not be designed so that must be needs to be placed far away from backwall (like the Parsfails), etc.
Wilson Duette: didn;t like Wattpuppy 7s when driven Spectral but perhaps different given different tweeter: the fact they are designed so that placing near the back wall is fine is interesting to me
Sonus Faber Guaneri Homage
Magic Mini 2 (about as big as it can get in terms front to back 18 inches): Can the Darts drive these? I do notice fellow goner Wslam has this set up and I don;t listen at ear splitting levels..
Eben X-3: never heard them myself
Kharma Mini Exquisite
Avalon Indra (perhaps too big)
The Gallo towers (are these in commercial production yet?)
Among these I have auditioned briefly at dealerships, Magico Mini 2, Sonus Faber Guaneri, Kharma Mini, though need to revisit them all again.
Any comments? |
Thanks to all. Forgot to mention I listen to a wide variety, rock, all jazz including fusion, blues, and bit of classical. Volume wise, quiet but enuff to fill the room, to loud but never ear splitting, rock concert levels.
Wslam: thans for the offer and will definitely will follow up w/ u.
OverKill: thanks for taking the time...
1. re cross overs, digital cross over if I am not mistaken takes place only in the PCM domain? If DSD, doesn't it lead to conversion to first PCM? If so, then I am a bit hesitant as my front end converts the other way and going
back & forth is something to avoid.
2. Cant pull out by 3 m unfortunatelyas if I did then distance to the listening postion would be about 5.5 feet..
3. DIY: I can see that, but not for me.
Audiokinesis: agree, that was what i feared and found logical, ...thus Mbls are probably out.
Do have headphone amp/USB DAC benchmark connected to my PC, and I use it when its very late at nght and I do not want to disturb others, via AKG 701s. By the way, a small system consisting of the the above sans the PC but instead the MSB modified IPOD which outputs digitally. This is a very portable at least in terms within the house (perhaps a bit too much for travel though) with suprisingly good sound.
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Good to know,. hope all goes well Rives. |
