I have tried a few of these. Ended up with Wilsons (they look fine to me). Auditioned the Magicos (M6), way way too clinical for me. Sonus felt boring.
“House” Character of Popular $20-$30k Speakers
I’ll be upgrading my speakers in a bit (after I add a turntable to my system). I’ve always thought that people two often end up attempting to correct or compensate for a quality they don’t like in one of their system components. My thought is that speakers and amps shouldn’t try to “correct” each other, but rather, they should complement each other, while sharing many similar qualities in their sonic signatures.
With that in mind, I’d describe my Gryphon Diablo 300 with the internal DAC (fed by an InnuOS Zenith MK3 streamer) as being rich, lively, engaging, slightly warm but moderately detailed, with dramatic dynamic swings that can often simulate a live sound. Smooth but energetic and engaging at the same time. My speakers I’ll be upgrading from are B&W 803 D2’s. Big full and bold sound but with finesse and moderate quickness too.
What brand of speakers would be along the lines of the sound I describe above? I’d be hoping to follow this sonic signature in my next speaker purchase, but adding some small capabilities with transparency and detail, imaging, and low end presence.
The speaker brands I have in mind to look into are:
-Magico (would check out the A5’s. I hear the A5’s could be too analytical for some, but have an excellent and clean bass presence. Bust most rave about the A5)
-Sonus Faber (heard these are too relaxed for some?)
-Wilson Audio (if I can get over how they look)
-Monitor Audio
-Dynaudio: Maybe this brand could be a sweet spot?
-B&W: I’ve tested many and find them lacking in bass presence resulting in a mid forward style. That said the 802 D3’s I auditioned matched the sonic character of their upper ranges very well.
Would be interested in how others describe the house sounds if the brands above…
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I would definitely try the monitor audio platinum series that MPD tweeter is unbeatable it's the best of the market right now and they're very neutral sounding speakers very three-dimensional, their driver technology is way ahead of everybody and their build quality is amongst the best 11 layers of hand polished lacquer and the best leather that you can get in England that's used in Rolls-Royce and other high-end cars. |
I'm thinking that if you have a warm amp and add a warm speaker you may get too much warmth and too little details. If you really love warmth the go for it. I would probably try to find a neutral speaker to combine with a warm amp. I don't own a system as expensive as yours but from what I heard at shows and read I would suggest Focal, Borresen, Qln, Dynaudio and Marten. Focal Sopra 2 was one of the best I heard at the last show. |
The best one you named is Monitor Audio. (PL 500 is quite good) . Sonor Faber,B&W, Wilson Audio :gave not a natural sound : sorry for The lovers : Low isn’t real , No emotion ,missing the holography and placement of the instruments .Focal is à nice speaker too. Marten ,Borresen, Ilumnia Magister : i do like them: specialy The last one… |
I have the Aidas and love them, nothing "relaxed" transparent yes, but as dynamic as any of most speakers I audition. I have listen other Sonus and I liked most of them. I understand that is a giant lip on faith for people in the USA, but $20K few speakers sound as good as the AvantGrade UNO XDs, the Fino would be ok for 25x25feet but I would go with the XD for that size. At $30K gets you in the Duo and they are outstanding. Close your eyes if you do not like horns, because they sound nothing like more traditional horns like JBL or Klipsch(?) I have the Duos Primo behind a Onkagu and Trios XD, with just 1 set of subs, 3 was too much, behind a NHB-468, and will never trade them, until their new gen, but there are other great German "horn" speaker that are at least as good as the AvantGrades.
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I'm a Focal fan myself. I've had the Electra 1027's for 15 years and they sound great. I upgraded everything else in my system and now made the leap to Sopra 2's - 22K,paying with interest free credit cards. I auditioned the Kanta 2's but felt they were very c,lose to the Eletcras. I didn't intend to be so extravagant but auditioned the Sopra's with very demanding classical CD's, (although not my favorite music in general), loved them and decided to treat myself. You should give them a listen. |
@bache you are funny 😄 |
If you think that Dynaudio might be the ’sweet spot’, you should then consider Verity. That would be a brand and quality of reproduction that leans even more into the ’sweet spot’. It can be tied to that thing about popularity not being peak, but merely the peak of the attntion of the mass of the group. Those two things are not synonymous. Real peaks are not always part of the attention direction of the mass of the respondents or overall group. |
