I don’t know if anyone will be interested in this ongoing saga, but here’s an update.
I recently was able to audition a bunch more speakers: the VA Beethoven Concert Grand, Focal Aria 926, Harbeth Super HL5 Plus, PMC Twenty 24, PMC Twenty 23, PMC Fact 8 (briefly), and Chapman T-5.
I was able to audition the Concert Grands alongside a pair of Baby Grands, which was an interesting experience. The CGs obviously went deeper, but not as deep as the increased number, size and enclosure of the bass drivers would have led me to expect. The CGs were also the more revealing, analytical speaker. As usual, against my expectation, I ended up preferring the Babys: they drew me into the music, the experience, more, they put it all together whereas the Concerts were kind of teasing it apart.
I liked the Focals more than I expected to. Their presentation is different in ways that I find difficult to describe. The perspective is closer, and there’s something about the timbral profile too. Bass extension was good, and you could definitely hear into the music. Listened to on their own, I think they could be more than satisfying; auditioned shortly after the VAs, I preferred the Beethovens.
The Harbeths were a real surprise. I don’t want to use the word bright, so let’s just say that they were a lot less warm, less mellow and less forgiving than I’d expected. I didn’t listen to them very long, because frankly I wasn’t enjoying the experience, although the bass extension was a pleasant surprise (specs really tell you very little). The salesperson said that in his view the Super HL5 Plus had the least warm/mellow/etc. sound of all the models in the Harbeth range.
The Chapmans were good all-rounders. I couldn’t really fault them. Imaging, sound-staging, bass, timbre, etc. Perhaps it was the room, perhaps me, perhaps the equipment (Marantz and Rogue), but ultimately they didn’t draw me in. Still, they’re an impressive speaker and a definite dark horse.
And so on to the PMCs. I really liked the 23s and the 24s. Again, they did everything well, obviously more bass extension on the 24s, and they did draw me in with their musicality. Perhaps a little less so than the Baby Grands, but the 24s made up for that when listening to full-scale orchestral music. The more expensive Facts I didn’t care for as much, more analytical/neutral, and hence—for me—less musical.
The PMC Twenty 24s and the VA Beethoven Baby Grands are the winners in my own, subjective ranking. There are plenty of other makes and models out there at this price point that I haven’t been able to audition, but that’s the reality of the situation. Spendor, Totem, Aerial, come to mind. And so it goes.
