New Speaker Conundrum - Vandy's, Spendors, Salk, Ascend - Mainstream or ID

JohnnyR and Samir were over from Audioconnection to install the Quatro Wood CTs. One word MINDBLOWN!!!!

It is setup just the way I like it and I cannot believe what I was missing from the Tekton DIs. Pls don’t get me wrong Tektons were phenomenal but Quatros are (completely personal opinion) in a different league. Could just be my taste in music - listening to Eva Cassidy as we speak - mesmerizing, immersive and non-fatiguing.

I could see myself listening all night. Thanks to all who helped me down this journey.

OP was chatting w Johnny and he shared how happy you are ;-) Fun !!!! enjoy the music. They will just keep getting better and better. Do you have nightbird by Eva ? It’s fantastic.
great system you have.
best

Jim

Jim,

Yup - Nightbird - I have it on digital, CD and looking to get a Vinyl pressing as well.

I am going to let it settle in and work with JohnnyR on a good IC/Speaker cables combination.

Whenever you are in town - let me know - would love to have you over for a listening session - good bourbon, single malts and beer :).

cptkaos, congrats on the nice new speakers! I have not been following the thread, but saw your comment, "It is setup just the way I like it and I cannot believe what I was missing from the Tekton DIs. Pls don’t get me wrong Tektons were phenomenal but Quatros are (completely personal opinion) in a different league. "

Most persons who do not have a straight up comparison between two speakers of such radically different design/technology do not have the capacity to understand how they differ so much sonically. One speaker can sound oh, so precise - until you hear a different design such as the Vandy in direct comparison.

I had a similar experience in a brief time frame at AXPONA, hearing first the Tekton monitor, then the Ryan bookshelf, speaker in the span of about half an hour, one after the other. The differences in characteristics were striking, and I much preferred the precision of the Ryan monitor. Apart from a direct (or temporally brief span) comparison one really has no clue as to how precise a speaker is.

I have such experiences regularly, as I work with quasi-line source arrays, etc. and dynamic speakers, and the differences in detail, dimension, scale, tonality, and perceived "perfection" of various attributes are stunningly different between them. Even differences between traditional dynamic speakers having BMT versus full range hybrids can be striking. It’s a ludicrous statement when someone declares that a particular speaker is "better" in a blanket sense without discussion of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the design, and without any room for a "YMMV". :)

It’s also fun to see people’s opinions shift quickly upon having new experiences. Funny how something that was "all that" suddenly becomes qualified.

@douglas_schroeder 
I was speaking with another Audiogon member who is contemplating the DIs and I really do not want him to be swayed by my comments. To your point - having a new experience - swayed me completely. And I do not have anything negative to say about DIs - they are good. The key thing for me was whether the improved listening experience (multiple times) at Audioconnection and the Quatros would translate over when I bring them in home and they did and queued me to what I was missing (as you said completely different designs).

The best way I can capture this (please forgive my ignorance as I am barely an amateur in this hobby) is that the DI makes for a great presentation for short duration listening sessions. It could get quite trying (for me personally) if I listen for an extended period of time. Caveat being the experience could be completely opposite for somebody else.

We are lucky to have the options in this hobby :) with new radical designs out all the time.

PS. @douglas_schroeder  - I wanted to add that I am uber jealous that you are able to experience amazing gear on a daily basis :).

cptkaos, thank you for the kind words. The differences you are hearing could be realized to a lesser degree with any of the other optional speakers you were ogling. Even between dynamic speakers there can be surprising differences in performance parameters. The gap does get much larger, typically, between genres of speakers such as panel, horn, etc. 

I am very blessed to be able to hear the variety of gear that I do. There is 25+ years of background, consistent effort and money budgeted annually to achieve my goals. 

@OP, 

I was speaking with another Audiogon member who is contemplating the DIs and I really do not want him to be swayed by my comments.

I completely get what you are saying. But, when it comes down to it, I think letting the other member read what you wrote about the Vandy's  would be helpful to them as well.

Pls don’t get me wrong Tektons were phenomenal but Quatros are (completely personal opinion) in a different league.

I think what you wrote captured the essence of what make the Vandy's so beloved.
I tried Zu speakers for a while, thinking full range drivers might be the way to go, but in the end, Vandy speakers offer a subtle, but noticeable refinement that the Zu's aren't able to reproduce.

Good move in considering new cables. I know Johnny will get you set in the right direction.
Bob 

Thanks Bob. You were able to articulate it better than I was - it is refinement which persists even if you crank up the volume. Separate across high range and low range frequencies - it is like more of the same imaging but just louder - it does not smear (if that is an audio term :)). Just relentless unfatiguing listening - could not ask for more.

11 bands of analog EQ below 120 hz and freeing up your amp from heavy lifting is not something ya get when changing brands, but I certainly understand the need for experiencing something different - fun

that single malt is sounding great !!! Thanks for the invite and of course a reciprocal offer should you find yourself on the left coast!!! 

Sounds like a plan Jim. And 100% agree re: offloading sub 120Hz - talks to a well thought out design.

I think I will give this a couple of months to settle in then will work with JohnnyR on the cable swaps (ICs and speakers).

Spent last evening listening to Ana Popovic, Heather Gillis, Southern Ave and Joanne Shaw Taylor - wow!

Since you’re in the NYC area and if you have the time I’d highly recommend going to hear the new Joseph Audio Perspective 2 and the Boenicke W11 (both have dealers in Manhattan I believe). Just for some added, er, perspective if nothing else. Hell I’d even meet you there if you want as I’d like to hear both of them too!  In any event, I think hearing these speakers would be well worth your while, and best of luck in your search.

Thanks Soix. Just got the Quatros installed. Happy to take you up on the meet option though :).

I had a dealer audition with Spendor D7s via a high end Naim system the other day. Very impressive...

I keep hearing the splendors come up in conversation - only heard good things about them however haven’t heard them in person. 

I am in Seattle. I read about several British speakers that sound intriguing but there is no place to listen to them. The Kudos Titan line for example...

Spendors, ATC, ProAcs - quite a few solid British brands - 

@photomax try Hawthorne Stereo in Univ District, then  make a day of it by visiting Advanced audio in Tacoma, then Gig Harbor Audio  in GH, get a cold beverage and Halibut burger at Tides Tavern

@tomic601 .
Wow, that sounds like a great plan.
Bob

^^ I did get to listen to the Spendor D7s, some active ATCs and a pair of Audio Physics at Hawthorne. The Spendors sounded awesome.

Across the street at a Definitive Audio you can check out B&W, Linn, Sonas Fabers and really expensive Wilson’s...

@photomax you got it! Advanced in Tacoma is owned by Definitive but carries some different gear - notably for me Vandersteen. You definitely owe yourself a visit and Eric at GHA always has something interesting cooking, anyway have fun and enjoy your search!

Late to the party.  Been down hard with the MS stuff.  

Bob bought my Treo's. I still LOVE them.  They are a special speaker to say the least for many reasons. I moved to the Quatro's and won't look back.  I have heard most of the speakers in this thread and was a 20 year Proac guy and loved them.  

I heard the Harbeth's a few months ago and enjoyed them, but they lacked the dynamics that the Vandy's have.  To my ears, the Vandy's are making the best compromise in speakers right now.  They aren't trying to be anything other than being musical.  

So it has been over a couple of months with the Quatro CTs and all I can say is I just brought my hearing experience at Audio Connection to my living room - it is all that and much more.

I do have to say equal credit goes to the Rogue Audio RP-7/M-180s which power them.

@ctsooner hope you are doing better mate - you, @tomic601 and @gdnrbob got me onto the Quatros.

Pete is a Saint and a true warrior, hope he is doing better.

glad you are enjoying the system - there is a lot of synergy and power amps can shine being free of the demands of powered bass. 
Enjoy the music !!!!!!! And the Nightbird set him FREE

@OP, 
Congrats, and enjoy. Heck, join the club.
I hope to see Pete soon and help him with some marble plinths.
Bob

HEy guys, thanks.  Life is great. lol...;).  I get to listen to awesome audio and that's all that matters.  

I was thinking about what tech goes into my Quatro's.  I have heard a few speakers in the under 40k range recently and was left lacking. Brand names that we all toss around daily on AG and others.    I started to realize that there are a few speaker that get me emotionally involved.  

The two that stand out from top to bottom are Vandersteen's and Harbeth's.  I looked into the drivers that Vandy uses and am amazed.  Folks never talk about his cabinet inside a cabinet designs, but it's there.  I have handmade carbon fiber cones.  I have yet to hear a tweeter sound as realistic and enjoyable as these drivers.  

Some speaker lines that go up to 750k are still using paper cones that break up something fierce on anything. You just can't have coherent sound when the driver is breaking up and out of phase. 

Yes, I'm a Vandersteen fan, but I love good music.  Harbeth isn't the only one that makes a really nice speaker, but it's one that I think gets it right and isn't worried about talking about aluminum cabinets or special polymers or whatever.  You can make a great speaker using some of those things, but you can also keep to basics to make a nice enjoyable speaker.  

That all said, I notice my Quatro's scaling with better anything and many others not being able to.  If I was looking for speakers again in my range of 15k, I'd still go with Quatro's.  

@ctsooner - apols haven’t been on this thread for a bit but your choice with words is spot on - scaling. My brother was over - moonlights as a musician otherwise a partner at McKinsey - keep teasing him about that - but he was bowled over - good enough for me :).

awesome stuff.  So glad you are all loving your music.