I tried several brands of monitors with my I-5 and the best match among them was ProAc. My current speaker, the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon, is better than any of them by quite a margin, though. It's a floorstander but a small, easy-to-place one. DeVore does make a couple of monitors but I haven't heard either of them. Devore Gibbons. |
How about Sim and Merlins? I have the Merlin TSM-MX, heard the pair at a dealer, very nice. |
Hey Matty...Glad to hear that. I have Merlin VSM-MMs, and I'm considering the Simaudio i7 to drive them.
Rfp...supposedly, Bobby P. likes how Simaudio mates with Merlins. You should consider e-mailing him and seeing what he says, if interested in Matty's suggestion. |
Sfar: I listened to ProAcs today (not with my amp) and I agree they sound great. The Tablette (?) was amazing but I feel that it would get fatiguing after a while; the high end seemed edgy, like it often does in such a small box.
Last week I brought home the DeVore Super 8. Without doubt it is a great speaker, but I feel my room is too small for them. Plus, I feel the midrange is too revealing, though perhaps that is the price of the musicality it offers.
Have never heard Merlins. I don't know anyone in my area who sells them. |
I'm currently using Lipinski Sound 707's with Sim I-7.
http://www.lipinskisound.com/l707.aspx On my main system I'm using Mac Mono's with B&W 802D's. The 707's defintely
give the 802's a run for the money.Northern Audio in Pittsburgh,PA has them. http://www.nax.com/ |
I'm currently listening to Silverline monitors with Classe integrated. The best stand mount speakers I've owned to date. Worth investigating. |
|
Totem are voiced with a Sim made amplifier, Totem Amber. Pick your poison in the Totem line! |
While I'm not saying you should jump on the 805's, your comment of them reminded me of something. I bought a new pair of 805S when they first came out and had the same response as you. No bass, and aggressive tweeter. All this after owning two pairs of Signature 805s.
What I found is that the characteristics you described seemed to disappear after about 250 hours. I'm wondering if your demo pair was broken in?
On another note, I haven't heard the Proac with Sim, but have heard and believe that it is probably a good combo. I'm a little surprised you didn't find the dynaudios pleasing |
My current system is a Meridian G08, Simaudio i7, Kharma ce3.1's. My room was built by Owens-Corning per my instruction. I was a sound engineer during the 70's and 80's. I'm now a music loving "Old Hippy", soon to be 54 with very good hearing(just tested at work). The Kharmas are MAGIC!!! I like the 3.1 over the famed 3.2 because of the Revelator tweeter (I hope I spelled it Right). I will be auditioning the AMR CD-77 in my system soon. More later. Peace and Good Listening, Pat. |
It's hard not to like the Dynaudios. The bass was deep and tight and the midrange clean. There is obvious synergy, but somehow it sounded stodgy, just not musical. I heard the floorstanders and liked those better.
I really wanted to like the B&W 805s. The midrange is excellent, maybe the best I've heard. Probably the dealer's pair was not broken in completely, but I know I can't buy them based on what I heard.
I'd like to hear these Kharmas. I'll have to check around for them. |
This is a no brainer.There is a speaker called the GMA Pico Exutive that is meant to be placed on something solid. This speaker maybe one of the best values in High end today,it has the same shape as the Calypso!If this is too rich for one's then check out the Callistos (you really need to purchase stands to make any bookshelf achieve what it may).These speakers ( GMA"s entire lineup is based on this principle) have one of the cleanest crossovers, it uses one capacitor in front of the driver.Dynamics are shockingly real and portray some of the best imaging bar none.To think that ones system can go from naught to 105 db, and not even blink!I have a huge respect for what this company designs,the Q stone eliminates any micro-phonics from reaching the drivers.Gma also has chambered bass modules that use integral mufflers ( on a speaker no less!)to help reinforce the bass frequencies. The Sim should be heavenly, provided that it has the power to properly drive the speaker.I really like what GMA is doing and think that they are on a roll ( you may find one's self rolling along with it(XRCD"s rule)!!Cheers Dennis |
I'm intrigued by these GMAs. The reviews and comments are glowing. Too bad the nearest dealer is almost 150 miles away. |
Rfprice,dude, do yourself a favour and go hear them!You will not be dissappointed and you will want to thank me profusely ( although a small thanks would suffice).By the the way I misspelled the speakers name, which is Pico Executive, which is designed for med to smaller rooms.I heard the GMA Europas in my room and we ran them with the Karan amp that puts out 270 watts.The speaker was hitting spl's that were over 103-105 without a hint of strain ( that is the whole truth so help me GOD). So you must really put forth some effort that will be well rewarded in audio terms.Hope this helps Dennis |
I agree with the Totem recommendation, specifically the Model One Signatures. |
Hello Rfprice,
Does your local dealer have a pair of gibbon 3s? Based on your comments about the Super 8s, it sounds like you're right, they are overloading your room. The little gibbon 3s could be the perfect match, giving you a good measure of the transparency of the S8s with a better tonal balance for your system and room. Good luck and happy listening.
Cheers,
John DeVore |
Hello John,
Thanks for the recommendation. I believe my dealer does have the Gibbon 3 (Goodwin's in Waltham, MA). In fact, I was also thinking about trying the Gibbon 8 which has the port in the front. By necessity I have to place the speaker 14-18 inches before the wall and I think a front port might made a good difference.
Best,
R |
