I have heard a few of the above speakers, and if it were me and I had the space to set them up properly I would go with the 1.6s, they are simply awesome for the money |
I've had some experience with a couple of these speakers. I would agree with Ejlif, the 1.6's are probably the best on the list. PSB's are way too inefficient. Probably more so than the maggies. That's what I've found anyway. The Swift is an okay speaker, very small amount of bass, plus for the 1000 dollar price tag, you could find a used pair of 1.6's. I owned the B&W CM2, and it just couldn't rock. Granted, it was a monitor, but I heard the CM4, and thought that same thing. Not good if most of your music is rock. Hope this helps. |
If I had your system and listening tastes I would look for a forgiving,warm,and dynamic loudspeaker. Perhaps a soft dome tweeter& a bass reflex design. Of the spks on your list, the PSB Gold/Silver/Bronze stand out in my mind. (The original gold's w/wood veneer.) Also, the older (Mid 90's) Snell J/D/E and up would be something I'd consider as well. Good luck, hopefully one of these spks. will come up for sale near you and you'll be able to audition. Bill |
Check out Legacy Audio's line of speakers! They have a website: www.legacy-audio.com |
Considering your equipment I'd suggest the Vandersteens if you room can accomodate them. |
Reimer speakers rarely get mentioned here. He has a full line, and they are very good (and efficient).
JD |
Do you love the wide dispersion of the DCMs? If so, eliminate the 1.6s which have a very narrow sweet spot. I think the PSBs are dogs. Consider the 2CE or Kestrals. B&W is always nice and if inefficiency doesn't matter, the NHTs image well. You have to decide what you did and didn't like about the DCMs. Having spent a lot of time with them, I would say that they image great, have slightly bloated bass and roll-off way too early in the highs but are nice older speakers.
Any of these speakers will have better highs than the DCMs. Also, consider how loud you listen, what will fit with your furniture and what can you get locally. |
I'd add Epos M12 to the list if you can find somewhere to demo them. I have always thought Epos are far superior to B&W for the same money. Happy shopping ! |
Considering your choice of music I would add the Energy Connesuier (spelling is off) series, look at the top of that line. Also you should check out Tannoy D500 or S10. |
Good list...with good suggestions from above...if your main preference is rock...the Dynaudio 72 is a nice all around design...very good out of box imaging and deep, clean bass...they are 4 ohm load...but your ROtel will do just fine...I like the Vandies...but for rock...they dont perform well at higher volumes...the Mags are nice too...but they are not space-savers...and can be a bit thin in the midrange for rock...as well as lacking some dynamics(more power would help)and bass impact...they are very transparent...which is their "claim to fame"...NHTs are too bright for my tastes...and both PSB and B&W come across as too congested in the mids...but hey...these are only my .02s...gotta decide for yourself..I like the Danes for your needs... |
I think if I was going to play a lot of rock as my main venue, I would scratch off the Meadowlarks and Vandersteen's. The 2Ce Signature is a great sounding speaker in my opinion and better by a good bit than the Kestrel having owned both. However, low bass will overload the woofer before you reach a loud volume (about 90 or so db depending on how low a frequency you are reproducing)
However, music from the 60's and 70's is usually a little dynamically challeged, so the Vandersteen's would probably be ok in this case(maybe)
NHT is a good speaker for the money and can be bright in the wrong system. I think the Rotel would work, however.
I know a lot of people like the Maggies but sorry, I'm not impressed at all. I tried a pair in my dedicated listening room and found them to be too affected by their enviroment. I just couldn't get them to work. I took them over to a friends home and had the same result. Yes, they have perceived transparency but it sounded a little phoney in absolute terms. I thought the overall sound was a little disconnected. They aslo had a very narrow listening window. I guess to each his own. Of course, I guess, in the right enviroment, they may sound ok.
As for the others, not having them in MY listening room, I will reserve comment. |
Paradigm Reference...not exactly a "hi-end" choice...but for your applications...very good imaging/transparency, and clean musical bass...cheaper than the Danes too...maybe a touch "hot" in the treble...but good value and excellent build quality...the studio 60s would be in your price range...or you could go with the highly acclaimed 20s plus a sub..which for rock u will probably want anyways...good luck.. |
One other speaker that I was told might be decent are the Polk Audio LSi15's. When I bought my TimeWindows the Polk SDA's were actually a speaker I liked better, but were out of my price range. Anyone have any thoughts on the LSi15's ? |
