Good morning. I have been out of any kind of audiophile circles for a long time. We moved into a house with built-in speakers about 5 years ago, which I really enjoy, but of course it's better for casual listening at a party than for quality listening. Our family room is in a pretty open space that borders our living room and kitchen, so my wife is very focused on speakers being unobtrusive in appearance. I was therefor looking for small speakers and got turned onto KEF LS50s, which sounded really nice for the price, and more than good enough for my desires. And they are small. But I didn't really focus on their "untraditional" looks. It turns out that was a deal-breaker when I brought them home to demo.
So, I am back to square one. What I would really like is a speaker that is about the size of the LS50s, or maybe a little bigger, and has a nice looking, traditional wood finish. Bright colors and artificial surfaces, no matter how good they sound, need not apply...
I would say my self-imposed budget is around $2,000 at the top. Unless new speakers leads me down the audiophile slippery slope, the speakers would be powered by my old Adcom 545 II amp and GTP 500 II tuner, with either an Adcom CD changer or Apple TV streaming the music. Not exactly Audiogon Best In Class, but I think it will bring a smile to my face. And you never know if this will lead to upgrading the whole shebang.
Any thoughts appreciated. Not that it matters, but I am in the Chicagoland area.
You might want to consider the Gallo CL-2 from the Classico line. It looks like the Classicos (which meet your decor requirements) might have laid an egg commercially. Gallo dropped the prices a fair bit and Underwood HiFi was discounting them, too. Last I looked, they were under $1k per pair.
The key here is the very wide dispersion Gallo tweeter, which gives their so-equipped models something of an omnidirectional feel. It's got a 5 1/4" ish woofer in a ported box, so bass isn't going to shake the walls, but it's satisfyingly full.
If you want big sound from a small speaker, this may be a good choice.
If you really dig through all the P3ESR reviews as I have you will find several references from listeners who have stated they just don’t rock...IMO based on fit & finish/price ratio they are also WAY overpriced when compared side by side with the Dynaudio’s!!!
chiguy,about a year ago I had to downsize from Sonus Faber Toy Towers & SimAudio i5.3 integrated amp.I wanted the absolute best combination in my budget range of small size & big sound as replacements,they had to sing with lowish powered tube amps(10wpc.+)& as these would probably be the last pair of speakers I would ever buy they had to look special. I went through 3 pair of Dali’s,long demo’s of Martin Logan Motion 15, 35XT’s,Focal Aria 905,906’s & my VERY hard earned $ went for the Made in Denmark, Dynaudio Excite X14’s in Satin Tiger Rosewood finish on Pangea DS400 stands. Do yourself a favor before you drop coin & have a look at the physical size of all the speakers on your short list & the baby Dyn is smaller than them all.It has the ABSOLUTE most beautiful finish of any of your choices & in either the Rosewood or Walnut finish they can stand next to the finest furniture. My room is 4mx5mx 2.5m & with a 10wpc.single ended Class A tube amp they can ROCK Judas Priest Metal Gods until the walls shake!They never drop below 7 ohms impedance & have a very mild Phase Inversion Angle so every watt goes straight into driving the speaker.The crossover is designed to eliminate early floor reflections so they integrate easier into areas with reflective floors.Lastly the sound is IMO superb!Driven by a 25wpc.Class A EL84 tube amplifier it has everything I required in a speaker.Tone,texture,imaging & sound staging is all there & present in spades!You can feel the resonance of a cello being pushed,the difference between the dull thud of a plastic bass drum & stretch of skin,horns have bite but are never brittle or hard,closely miked vocals are so perfectly portrayed you can hear the parting of a singers lips just before the first notes sing out.Bass is just amazing & hits a solid low 40's in my smallish room & after hours long listening sessions absolutely no listener fatigue.You do yourself a disservice if you don’t give the Dynaudios a long look & listen...
Wow, thanks for all the recommendations! FWIW, in a couple of coincidences, I went to Holm Audio to hear the KEFs. While I was there, I also was advised to listen to PSB Imagine Minis, which I liked, but seemed to need a subwoofer to fill out the sound. So I wonder if the slightly larger PSBs would be a good all-in-one alternative.
I also listened to a pair of Tannoy floor speakers there, although my wife decided she liked the "lighter" look of smaller bookshelf speakers on stands, than taller floor speakers. Appearance is very important to her, and I think I can find speakers that sound good to me if they fit her "blend into the woodwork" eye. Lots to check you. Thanks for the ideas!
Be sure to check out the JBL synthesis studio 530 speaker's, this is the hottest thing on the market currently, so hot, JBL is on back order till January, 2016, no worries, you can get them on ebay new on the used market, they come in black wood grain or chery wood, 45htz to 40khtz!
Too bad about the LS50’s they are superb! I rather like their appearance.
But... another alternative... which also sounds way, way bigger than they are... and... superb in all respects, rivaling the "best there is," regardless of size (in a modest size room) - WaveTouch Grand Tetons. And... they’re reasonably priced too.
Just depends on whether you like their appearance, or are up to staining / painting them.
Dali Ikon2 Mark2. Full sound, great imaging and throws a wide soundstage. Excellent tweeter with a overall unique design, I have had a pair for 3 years and they sound great, check out the Dali website. Retailed for $1500 per pair 3 years ago. I don't think the retail price has changed much. Holm Audio in Woodridge carries the line, check their website, they may have a used pair for sale around $800.00, last I checked.
If if you can go bigger consider the L or c2 models. You will get more high quality sound this way than with anything new of comparable cost plus the benefits of buying direct from a reputable maker that has been around for decades.
Thanks everyone! I have heard the R300s and like them too. Will try to check out the Harbeths (never heard of that brand!) and Technics and others mentioned. I do think 20" is too big.
FWIW, my original title really meant "looking for small speakers that don't sound like small speakers." I'm not sure what "big" implies on audiogon -- it's been quite a while since I hung out here -- but I just would like a good sounding speaker. I listen to a lot of Grateful Dead and related, as well as other classic rock (Neil Young, Steely Dan, Rolling Stones, Doors, Bob Marley, etc.....), if that matters.
Would you consider used speakers, and more specifically horn loaded tweeters. Not sure the max height you are considering but look for a pair of Klipsch RB-75's(20.2"x10.0"x11.8", 32lbs) if you want "big sounding" bookshelf speakers. If they are a bit too large, look for the smaller brother RB-5's(17.0"x9.0"x12.5", 23.15lbs)). Both have real wood veneer, 8" woofers, and horn loaded tweeters. The 75 has a 1.75" titanium compression driver while the 5 has a 1" titanium tweeter.
What about the KEF R300? Larger(15.2"x8.3"x13.6") but pretty big sounding, traditional wood finish, and fall within your budget.
I really like the LS50 - too bad that it didn't fit with the decor. You might check out the new Technics SB-C700 speakers, as they are somewhat similar to the KEFs and have received excellent reviews (with the exception of WhatHiFi). They are under 2K new. Apparently they go a little deeper in the bass, which should give you the big sound that you want. They come in black or white, so hopefully that's acceptable.
You could build the LM-1 for around $500. Aesthetically they look like the cabinet. :) With a brand on them they would be around $1,200 to $1,800 depending on whose label was on it.
The tweeter is the same as used by some megabuck speakers, including Krell, old Magicos and Sonus Faber and others. The woofer is a find for the price range. Inside, go as fancy as you want to. ( I may have the list a little wrong, but not the prices! This is a great tweeter found in several $5k+ speakers)
Overall, it's a sensitive speaker with a lively midrange, and very smooth sounding treble. Objectively VERY neutral and will play anything well. You cannot hear their location when well placed, and throw a great sound stage. In a lot of music you also won't hear how small they are, but hey, they're small, so for movies and R&R you'll want a sub.
Also one of the best kits ever in terms of documentation. No tricks either, the crossover is very high quality without attempting to juice any part of the spectrum. Frequency response is as neutral as you can get, and (within it’s performance envelope) very low distortion.
The biggest advantage, aside from cost, is being able to tweak the treble/bass balance yourself. You won’t find yourself trying to trade them for less or more treble or better cables. :-)
I make no money if you build them or not. I am promoting audio education by encouraging audiophiles and kids to build their own.
Look at Dynaudio. Excite 14 for 1500.00. Same price and I like them better. I have both. Dynaudio have a lot of great speakers in their line. I also have Contour 1.1’s they are smoother and have more bass but I prefer the highs on the Excite 14's. I also have the 12's and they are an earlier version that became the 14's. They have a slightly bigger one in the excite line but I have never heard it.
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