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First round of auditions disappointing

Well, I finally got out and did some actual listening over the weekend, and I can see that I have quite an adventure ahead of me.

I listened to the Focal Profile 928, Polk LSi15 and a couple of Martin Logan's (Vista and Vantage). The Focal was by far the worst of the bunch; as a matter of fact, it was downright awful, and at a price of $5K for the pair?????????? Good grief...

The Polk LSi15 was better, but far and away from what I expected, given the good press. I use to own Martin Logan Sequel II's, and liked them for their midrange qualities. The newer Logan's were pretty nice, but far too dead in the dynamics department. Very nice rendition of vocals though, and great soundstage presentation.

The more I listened to the typical box speaker, the more I believe that design won't satisfy me. My wife, who is really not "in" to music, commented to me that the Focal sounded "like a box," so there you have it.

I'll probably have to wait until CES, because there is little in the way of "high end" in my area.
seadweller

Showing 3 responses by shadorne

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shadorne
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Seadweller,

You weren't satisfied with your previous VR4's, yet, many would consider this speaker as excellent value for money and a great speaker in its own right.

I suspect you are in a tough situation for a highly dynamic but not boxy full range speaker, at the $5K price point (new). I am not at all surprised by your disappointments, so far.

I'll refrain from any more advice and watch with interest your selection process....G'luck!
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shadorne
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Seadweller,
I noticed that you are in Tamba Bay...so last piece of advice, promise! I suggest you check out Atlas Pro Audio....they are in your area, I think they have both a pro gear sales oulet and a studio. They use PMC's in their studio but they also sell ADAM speakers...both are very highly regarded. What can you lose, except for a couple of hours of your time....it would surely be a worthwhile visit for an audition. I can assure you that you won't lack for proper music dynamics with a pro PMC or ADAM main or mid field monitor, even in the bass, after all, musicians hear these every day during studio sessions; these have to be both accurate and realistic.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
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Amandarae,

Good suggestion this design will certainly have a good transient response. I can't help but agree with the quote below from the link you gave (it is kind of obvious that Linkwitz is an engineer and not in marketing).

I have no problem, if people enjoy their music more, because it has passed through a certain interconnect, has been transformer balanced, amplified without feedback, processed through a reissued WW2 transmitter tube and sent to their speakers on litz wires of specific arrangement and purity, except that the money for these suggestions could have been spent on better speakers, for real improvements in accuracy of dynamic range and resolution. After all, the loudspeakers are by far the weakest link in the chain of components that are needed for sound reproduction.
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