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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 1 response by wwwrecords

wwwrecords
172 posts
 
It sounds to me like you might enjoy some of the vintage Altecs. I have Model 17's with 604 drivers (and listen nearfield), but for your room you might want Model 19's. Dynamics galore and crank them til your heart is content. The drawback is you will probably end up wanting to go with a tube amp in the future. Plus, you can pick up a pair for $2000 or less. If you move to a larger room, no problem with them filling them. They roll off pretty quickly at 40hz and don't extend to 20 khz. But I can't hear that high of frequency so that wouldn't bother me.

Anyway, others will probably not agree and they may not be for you, but they might just be the ticket you are looking for. Good luck in your search and I hope you find what floats your boat.
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