Oh, also, as Johnny said, check out those Cremona M. I've heard those, and that is a sweet sounding speaker.
Looking for "realistic" speakers
I just had my pair of Cary Audio Silver Oak speakers get fried along with the rest of my Cary gear in some kind of power surge (sniff sniff). And absolutely loved the Silver Oaks because they just made everything sound authentic.
The instruments had the right timbre, scale, the balance was just right, and aside for perhaps a touch of richness had no character of their own. This made them sound great for any type of music.
I can't afford the $8K I spent in the day to replace so am looking for something closer to $2K-$3K max (used Ok). I'm looking less for something with super trick staging, imaging and some of the other high end niceties (though I wouldn't kick them out of bed).
More for a musical speaker that just makes the music musical and the presentation realistic sounding. That makes you forget you're listening to speakers/electronics and hearing the music the way it should sound.
Easy to say, I know.
My preamps and amps are solid state Cary stuff that will be replaced by insurance though sadly the Silver Oaks are no longer made.
Any ideas?
The instruments had the right timbre, scale, the balance was just right, and aside for perhaps a touch of richness had no character of their own. This made them sound great for any type of music.
I can't afford the $8K I spent in the day to replace so am looking for something closer to $2K-$3K max (used Ok). I'm looking less for something with super trick staging, imaging and some of the other high end niceties (though I wouldn't kick them out of bed).
More for a musical speaker that just makes the music musical and the presentation realistic sounding. That makes you forget you're listening to speakers/electronics and hearing the music the way it should sound.
Easy to say, I know.
My preamps and amps are solid state Cary stuff that will be replaced by insurance though sadly the Silver Oaks are no longer made.
Any ideas?
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- 55 posts total
With a $5K budget, you have so many great options, and you're going to read lots of great names from the good people here on the forum. Unfortunately, nobody here can help you. I've learned this myself, from experience. What sounds good in my room, with my furnishings and layout, and my music, to my ears, may or may not sound pleasant to your own ears. Your only move is to not only listen to as many speakers as you can in your area, but try to find a dealer who will let you bring some home and try in your own space. Speakers, more than any other component (in my opinion), come down to personal preference and how your own ears perceive and enjoy the way they are voiced, and the way the frequencies are represented. Right now in my office I have a pair of Proac D2 sitting next to a pair of B&W PM1. Both fantastic speakers, but you should hear how different they sound. They're vanilla and chocolate, but I never would have anticipated that, I had to hear them side by side for myself. Point being, I genuinely believe that speakers are the one component nobody else can help you with. Again, all just my humble "non-audiophile" opinion. |
Suggest you look at the new Bud Fried Towers. A BIT more than you requested, but VERY similar to the Cary speakers you lost. http://www.friedproducts.com "The Bud Fried Tower not only earns a no-brainer thumbs-up recommendation at its price point, but I find it to be competitive with any box speaker IÂve evaluated under $6k." ...Dick Olsher, 11/11/13, The Absolute Sound |
Thanks for all the suggestions. Problem is there's a limited selection of speakers to listen to locally. I DID hear the B&W PM1's. They're nice sounding but a bit forward (at least in their setup). Also listened to the Sonus Faber floor standers ($9K) and bookshelf ($7K) and the were good but didn't light my fire. The less expensive $3.5 floorstanders were a major step down as I expected. I finally heard Dynaudio Confidence bookshelves ($7.5K) - These were my favorites so far. They were also a bit forward sounding on the Ayre integrated they were playing on but that could be fixed with higher end electronics. Plus the guy set them up so i had to be literally 4 feet in front of them. They played the same CD on the Contours and it honestly sounded like completely different music - and even so they sounded good for a speaker half the price. In fact in the $3.5K range the contours were by far the best I've heard so far. Went to another store and listened again to regular Totem Forests (not signatures) on not so great electronics and they sounded not so great. I wish I could hear Proac, Legacy, Tetras, even KEF LS50's locally but no dice. Where does that leave me? I might have to start auditioning speakers in home from companies that sell direct and offer that. I'm thinking of Salk Song and others. Anyone have recommendations for speaker companies that sell direct? I may start a new thread about that.. |
- 55 posts total