I vote for second hand Sonus Faber Cremonas. Have heard them with the Mcintosh, seems to work.
Talk about a gorgeous system..... |
Well I must say that finding the right speakers, really depends on your electronics. If you like Mcintosh which is known for there warmth and musicality, you should probably try a speaker that is very nuetral and detailed to compliment your set up. I have tried various speakers in the many years I have been doing this, and I have finally settled on a pair of tyler acoustics reference II's. I find them extremely nuetral and accurate with full bodied sound. They will portray very well what your gear has to offer without adding any more color and they go down to 26 hz. They are perfect for classical and Jazz, but at the same time they will sound great with rock and rap. Also they love good quality cables. I have found a great match with PS audio statement speaker cables, extreme statement power cables and acoustic zen matrix reference II balanced interconnects. You should really try these speakers in your current set up, I think you will be very happy with them! Good luck on your quest for great sound!! |
The only rational criteria for a 'right' sound is 'true to the original'. That is, to hear what was recored on the source material as 'accurately' as possible: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Once you can hear what that is, you can be selective in the recordings you choose. Comprimising at will a favorite performance knowing the sonic quality is inferior.
Anything else is 'mixing' with your system. The problem being you cannot change the mix for each cut of each recording like an actual mixing console can. You are stuck (not wonder audiophiles keep changing components, which the market loves, by the way). And you will never hear the superior sonic characteristics of well produced and engineered recordings.
Hint: many audiophiles who aspire to 'true to the original' end up with dipole speakers. Hmmmm. |
Consider the new Diapason Adamantes III, according
to the review, they are better than my original
Diapason AdamantesII, this are very musical speaker,
if you are looking for music. |
Spacekadet: You want to "enjoy the music" and you want the speakers to be "accurate". These are highly subjective terms that are difficult to pin down when giving recommendations. I am sure everyone who has recommended a speaker to you, including myself, believes the speakers they recommended would be enjoyable, maybe accurate as well. I am sure some speakers out there are more accurate than others, but that begs the question: accurate according to what? Wouldn't an accurate system (speakers included) reveal the mistakes that the recording engineers made? Just some thoughts to consider. |
Hey Spacekadet,
Try these on for size. HPS 938's I mentioned above. $4k
http://www.hyperionsound.com/reviews.htm
Good luck! |
Well Didactically,
I was hoping you'd at least recommend me an "accurate" pair of speakers after all that, but it just ended up being a worthless reply in this thread.
At this price point, no speakers or components are perfectly accurate. No pair of speakers for example put out a perfectly flat frequency from 20Hz - 20KHz, so most, if not all components and speakers are "flawed" and "colored" in some way.
An example of speakers I would not want is Wilson WATT/Puppy 7 system. I know it's far out of my budget range, but I hear this is one of the most accurate pair of speakers. I don't want to hear every mistake the sound engineers made recording the music, I want to just enjoy the music. I actually prefer something a little warm, probably why I love McIntosh sound too. It may be the "wrong" sound the artists didn't intend for me to hear, but if I like it better and enjoy it more than the truth, is that really a crime?
Anyway, if you have a good pair of accurate speakers under $5K, please recommend me one and I'll go demo it and see what your idea of the "right" sound is. |
Not accurate, but musical?
A playback system is typically intended to hear the music that was recoreded onto the source material. If you do not want to do that 'accurately', how can you expect to hear 'musical'.
The system (or any component therein) that produces any sonic characteric at all of its own is inferior, and does add to the recorded material. It is called distortion.
How can anyone expect for the distortion to result in anything that could be characterised as 'musical', the magazine reviewer 'connesseurs of coloration' notwithstanding. But then they have the task of selling expensive equipment that is actually inferior at accomplishing the task it alleges to fulfill, usually depicted by lousy specs, so they must take the tact that this or that equipment makes your music sound 'better'.
Absurd, irrational, and illogical. Yet they have hooked many a self proclaimed audiophile into their unreasonable deception, and lined their pockets with the proceeds.
Sad, really.
Accurate is good. Always, and in everything. |
Biro's are the best speaker for the $ without question.
I have compared to the Snell line for 2-3 time the $ and B&W for 5 times the $. I can not think / imagine any of these other manufactures even coming close. Sixteen hundred bucks, no-one can touch them at that price. |
If you want to blow yourself away... check out the Audiogon speaker section and look for a pair of Hales T-8's. These speakers are amazing and the price is right in your wheelhouse. |
Gershman Acoustics Avant Garde RX-20. They go down easily to 24 Hz and can be found on the used market for about $3000. I love my pair and would never part with them (unless I got a bigger room and more money :) ). They sound great with either solid state or tube equipment. The 300 wpc Mac will drive them with much authority....I can guarantee it.
http://www.gershmanacoustics.com/avantgarde.html |
I strongly recommend that Vonschweikert VR4-JR. I have the Macintosh MA 6900 integrated amp. These speakers are the most enjoyable ones I have ever owned. They retail for 4K. Great synergy with my MAC gear. See my system which is almost all MAC.
Email me if you want to talk further about the VR4-JR's or check out the couple of threads in this section where people are talking about them. I too listen to a lot of Jazz music (loud). Good Luck, |
Tyler Acoustics Taylo Reference IIIs, on sale this month for $4150 custom made with your choice of finish. The SEAS 10 inch woofer will provide fast articulate bass at 30 Hz. The dual 8 inch SEAS woofers in Ty's Linbrooks are no slouches either. I'm upgrading from Linbrooks to Woodmeres and can attest that either the Ref IIIs or Linbrooks (both under your budget) will handle large scale orchestral works to loud volumes without strain. |
that's an easy one, Talon Raven C's. try & you will see for yourself, an incredible value used. |
Used B&W 801 series 3. They sound outstanding. |
Mac gear is supposed to be synergetic with Tannoy. maybe an idea? |
I think you need to look at the Hyperion HPS 938's
also. |
VMPS Rm 40s would fit your budget |
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Spacekadet since you seem to like the Totem sound, how about moving up to the Forest in your living room?
Other candidates could include the Meadowlark Osprey or Von Schweikert speakers.
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