I need to be wowed


Next month I'll be starting my hunt for new speakers...new to me, at any rate.
And I will be obsessed...

What I've got:
Arcan Alpha 9
Plinius Integrated 2100i
Analysis plus 12's bi-wire
and shortly HT Pro MK2 IC's
and a *DOUZY* of a room:
http://www.geocities.com/sundaesundaesundae/audio.html
Oh, that room.I think that's the key....I learned early on how much room interaction plays in sound.

I listen almost strictly to classical music....small ensemble/piano/violin/but yearn for large scale to sound
wonderful too. Also listen to acoustical classical/folk/female singers...

What I want:Tonal quality most important....I tend to like laid back/dark sound but needs to be involving and have intensity...
and oh, yes....they must come in black.
What I don't want: Bright tweeters!

Just for comparison I had wanted to hear some stats but have been told there was no way bipoles could work with
in my room....although someone suggested Innersound Isis ....and Gradient(out of my price range)..
I had also been intrigued for a while by Newforms but the fact that most who own them feel the need to do
mods bothers me....I want to own them....not build them...

Any suggestions will be much appreciated!

allegro12

Showing 3 responses by seandtaylor99

I'd suggest a BBC monitor (they come in various sizes and prices) from Spendor or Harbeth. Not fatiguing, lovely tone. If you want big scale music to sound big scale then add a subwoofer ... REL (I own) or ACI seem to be the frontrunners. In my experience large scale orchestral works and live performances featuring acoustic guitars played through a PA system are lacking without those low low frequencies. They come to life with a sub. However, since the sub costs at least $1000 and would make little or no difference to small ensemble music it might not be justifiable for you. If you have a difficult room then monitors and a sub might be better than full range main speakers since you can place the monitors for good soundstage and the sub for deep bass without boom.

By the way I also own a pair of Spicas ... you would probably like the sound of Spica angelus or TC50s if you can find a pair .... they're an absolute bargain. Unfortunately the angelus looks very wierd so if your listening room needs to also look attractive then that option is probably out. (My wife banished my hifi to the spare room !) At least our 5 cats can't get in to destroy the speakers.
Hi again Allegro12,

If you spend a few hours with the spendor and dunlavy dealer then take along at least one large scale CD and ask to demo a subwoofer .... I think spendor has a sub specifically designed to work with their monitors. This will give you a good feeling of what I meant about the low frequencies really making it sound live. You'll also notice that the sub makes little or no difference on small scale music ... the choice to sub or not to sub should be obvious. I've never heard dunlavys so I'd be interested on your thoughts when you've compared them to spendors.
agree with bishopwill. Correctly placed $1k speakers can image far, far better than poorly placed $5k speakers.

See these two links for hints :
http://www.cardas.com/insights/roomsetup.html
http://www.audiophysic.de/produkte/aufstellung/aufstellung_e2.html
(they're both in english).
Again it's a trade off between musicality and aesthetics (since optimum sonic placement is usually rather non-optimal aesthetically), but the difference in sound quality is profound.
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