Matching an amp to speakers for beginners?

Petequad,

You mentioned Odyssey and that is a great way to go. I'm one of many happy Odyssey owners. Klaus is a great guy to deal with. If you haven't called him I'd do so. He won't steer you wrong or recommend products that won't fit your needs. He has a complete system set-up that he's selling as a package deal. One for $1500 and one for $4500. Stereophile just gave him a good review at the recent HE2004 show http://www.stereophile.com/news/0523he2004d3/ .

Also if you haven't been to this Odyssey forum you can get a ton of information from current users. http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewforum.php?f=10 . I spent a couple days reading through everything and finally took the plunge.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Regards,
LJ

PeteQuad,

Ok I will be the first to take the plung. (Pete be warned mentioning the following speakers in certain circles is taboo)

For floor standers I would go one of two routes first a used pair of B&W CDM9NT's ($2600.00 new, they are discontinued) with an execelent pair of speaker cables. I think they are capable of giving you what you are looking for at a modest price. For your room size they are not a large floor stander and provide good imaging for the front on HT from various sitting positions. They are execelent in the highs and mids when mated with the right electronics. They only have 6" base drivers so the punch of the sub base is somewhat lacking. They are very detailed and netural in other words what you put in is what you will get out. Some would say they are a little forward in the mids.

The second is the B&W Nautilus 803 ($5000.00 new) The only thing I can say is give them a listen. My experience is limited to B&W, DynAudio and Sonus Faber.

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually did call Klaus today and he was very informative and helpful. He has given me something serious to think about, especially with the full money back guarantee.

The McIntosh line of amps is tremendous and has something for everyone.They have quality standards far above most others. The newer amps have the autoformer technology.No matter what the input impedance is for the speakers, the amp will automatically adjust.I am a happy McIntosh owner for 10 plus years.

Hi Petequad,

Thanks for taking the time to play twenty questions!

Okay, it looks to me like your highest loudspeaker priorities are (more or less in order): Clarity and nuance; presentation reminiscent of a good jazz club; freedom from boxiness & colorations; naturalness of timbre; non-fatiguing; wide sweet spot; and forgiving.

The Newform Research R645's come to mind. They do most of the things you place a high priority on, but are not the most forgiving speaker out there. Usually some tweaking and modification is required, but there's an extensive network of R645 owners out there.

The Oskar Heil Kithara also comes to mind. Great clarity and presence, very open, but a little bit "wooley" and boxy in the bass. The lower priced Aulos isn't in the same league, nor (I presume) is the Syrinx.

The Sound Lab Dynastat (which I sell) is pushing it price-wise, but is an easy speaker to drive for an electrostat (reducing the hidden amplifier cost). Nice wide sweet spot (on recent models) with excellent clarity, but a bit more laid-back presentation than what I associate with jazz clubs. Earlier models didn't have as wide a sweet spot. The woofer box is the weak link, but fortunately the crossover frequency is fairly low.

Finally, the Maggie 3.6 is an exceptionally non-fatiguing speaker with very low coloration and a forgiving voicing. Not as wide a sweet spot as the others, very demanding of associated amplification, a bit on the laid-back side, and doesn't really come to life at low volume levels. But that total freedom from boxiness sure is addictive.

In looking back over this list, I realize that with the exception of the Newforms, these are going to be above your initial budget if you buy them new. And unfortunately I couldn't come up with any speaker that that "does it all". I think the Dynastat and Kithara have the best clarity and nuance as well as the widest sweet spot but the Kithara's tonal balance is less distance-dependent; the Newform has the most lively jazz-club-like presentation (but the Kithara is pretty close); the Maggie 3.6 has the lowest coloration and is the most forgiving; and I'd have a hard time picking the most natural timbre between the Maggie, Dynastat, and Kithara.

Best of luck to you,

Duke