The Vandersteen 2CE's and 3A's are well described by Garfish and Sdcampbell. I echo their comments. Well worth listening to if you have found you don't care for the Thiel sound over time. The Vandersteen's have a sound quality of their own, but they are incredibly listenable over the long haul. In the price range you list, these would be well worth considering. |
Listen to a pair of Sonus Fabers. Very refined yet dynamic and punchy. |
if you like that kind of bass try 801 b&ws i hate 801 bass, but 802s are much better and look better. next get some good tubes. |
Of course sound is system dependent but have you heard the Totem Signature One speakers. If you look hard enough, you can find a used pair for around the price you are willing to pay. These monitor speakers require a good stand and are 4 ohms. In my opinion, these speakers are transparent, images well, and are very musical. |
Say811,
I'm an Apogee fan myself, so you'll have to take this with a grain of salt. I've alway much preferred the sound of Klipsch to Cerwin-Vega. If you enjoyed the sound of you old C-Vs, then I'd think a pair of vintage Klipsch would be a meaningful step up. My personal favorites were the Heresy II and Forte. The Heresy could be a little hot.
This will sound heretical, but I've never liked the B&W speakers, with the exception of the Matrix series (haven't heard any Nautilus yet). I'm sure that if the Matrix series preserve the dynamics of the DM series, but tame the tweeters, they'd also be winners in your home. |
I can agree with Ehider, the NHT 3.3's does rather fit your list. As an alternative, you can also get much of the quality and 1/3 the size and weight of the 3.3 with the 2.9 which has great dynamics and it loves power. You just can't give them enough. I have owned a pair of the beautiful mahogany finish 2.9's ( the 3.3's were out of the questions for my wife at the time, they are huge )and they are very musical and can still crank ( ROCK ). But since then I have moved up the ladder into a set of Dynaudio Contour 1.3 Se's and I no longer have that crave for that big fat move all the air you can bass because the quality is so good. A standard pair of Contour 1.3 MkII's can be had for about $1,500 used. But listen to everything you can and buy the one that sounds best. When trying to avoid fatigue in a speaker that may take a while. Do your best to be able to take home on a demo whenever you can. This will give you the whole story. Dale |
there is a pair of Snell type C5 for sale here for 600.00,there are great sounding dynamic speakers designed by kevin volkes ....who now is at revel and designed the F30. |
I'm with Ehider on this. Dunlavy stuff seems to fit the bill for what you're looking for. Alternatively, I use a pair of Snell C/V's, which are configured similar to the Dunlavy philosophy (in terms of physical layout of the drivers). They're pretty forward sounding, with little fatigue. I listen for many hours at a time, quite often. They go used typically around $1200. Good luck. |
I agree completely with Lev335! Go for used B&W802 series III.
I usually tell perspective speaker buyers this:
80% of all classical music is mastered on B&W speakers. So if you are considering several speakers and one of them is a B&W, go for the B&W. This is because, unless you own a Cello Pallatte (new it was $25,000), your sound will probably more often sound like it was heard when recorded. |
You might be able to find a used pair of Dunlavy III at this price point. I'm suggesting these because of their driver configuration. With this type of speaker that employs mids and woofers above and below a centralized tweeter, there is less power fall off, as you move away from them in distance (as compared to conventional speaker configuratons). This type of speaker configuration tends to sound "louder", than a similarly rated SPL speaker, that does not have multiple vertical drivers ,such as the Dunlavy Line.
There are other speakers lines that also use this type of configuration very successfully (such as the Montana line and JM, which are out or your price range). The point being, there are probably other vertical D'Appolito designs, which I have not thought of, for you to consider.
I have personally made a couple of DIY designs, with this particular vertical driver configuration, and they really tend to deliver the power. They also seem to require less driver and crossover dinking, in order to sound half decent. There's just something about the way that these vertical driver designs deliver power into a room (as compared to conventional designs).
If you really want serious bass power (at your price point), the only speakers I can think of that will do what you want are the NHT 3.3 and the Legacy Classics and the VMPS line (not sure which VMPS model though). Both the NHT and the Legacy have been listed on Audiogon for around $1500. The NHT's don't use as good as drivers as the Legacys, but the Legacys are not necessarily as together sounding as the NHT's. In my opinion, the Legacys offer the most air moving ability, for the buck, where the NHT's are one of the best attempts at getting decent, coherent sound, out of a design that uses average drivers and crossovers. Either seem to fit your description of what you are looking for.
Good Luck on your quest. |
hello, I would also agree that the b&w 803 matrix would be a great choice but for 300.00 more you can get into a pair of matrix 802 series 3 which are very very nice sounding speakers. Best of luck |
Ditto what Garfish said. In your price bracket, you will not do any better than the Vandy 2Ce Signatures (new), or the Vandy 3A (used). If you can get a good buy on a low-mileage pair of 3A's, they are the better buy. (A-gon has a pair of 3A's on sale here right now for $1700.)
The Vandy's are speakers you will enjoy and want to keep for a long time. They won't bowl you over with sizzling highs, or grab you by the throat with artificial qualities -- they'll just sail along making great music. I've been a Vandy owner since 1988, and prefer them to all the other speakers I've owned or heard. |
I can recommend Vandersteen 2Ces (and signatures). The 'Steens have a slightly warm and laid back sound character that is totally non-fatiguing. $1495. (new) for the sigs., $1295. for the std. 2Ce-- less used. 3As/3Asigs can be found between $1500. and $2000., used. and are also excellent-- detailed without being analytical, and dynamic with good PRaT. Bass is very good for the price(s). Vandersteen sound is just about opposite of the Theil sound character.
But Vandersteens are not loud playing R&R speakers like the Cerwin-Vega reputation. Max. SPL is about 90-95 dB, but this is loud in a typical room. Good Hunting. Craig. |
Depending on your elecronics and budget, you may wish to check out items like the Totem Forest, Legacy classic, Coincident Victory or B&W 803. All very different, but I have enjoyed the various mfg, and all have much better dynamic prescence than the Thiel imho. (I have also owned Thiels). I would steer clear of the Klipsch if you are worried about fatigue. Good luck. |
There are a couple of floorstanding monitors that we can recommend that should provide you with the sound quality to meet your listening requirements.
TIP: Bi-wiring your speakers to your amp will improve the presence.
The Tyler Acoustics Addisson A28 is a 5-driver, 3-way design that is designed to give you power, presence, and dynamics, without being fatiguing over time. In standard finish (and a nice discount), the price should stay within your price budget. - http://www.tyleracoustics.com/addissonA28picture.html -
The Audes 037 is another floorstanding system that offers a presence that is very difficult to find in the $1,500 price range. It is a 4-driver, 3-way system design. The bass won't go down quite as low as your D-9s, but will produce a more balanced overall presentation. - http://www.audes.com/037.shtml -
- http://www.stereotimes.com/Audes_Loudspeaker_Model_037.htm -
Both systems are easy for virtually any amplifier to drive with very good efficiency, and with their mutiple driver configurations, will give you a good, solid, "up-front" presentation that you missed in the Thiels, again, without the long-term fatiguing quality of the C-V's.
Happy shopping! |
