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Round Two: Best Speakers for LOUD music and rock??

Hi:

ROUND TWO, here we go.......

I listen to mostly rock, classic rock, female vocals, and the occasional dramatic symphony or opera, VERY LOUDLY.

I posted here before, and, taking everyone's comments into account, I purchased a used set of Genesis Vs.

They are great speakers, but failed for me in three critical areas: One, they seem to cause my amps to shut down at much lower volume than my present NHT 3.3s (even though the Genesis are rated as 3dB higher efficiency -- 90dB/4 ohms, as opposed to 87dB/4 ohms for the 3.3s), two, I cannot successfully couple these speakers to my room in such a way as to make the bass taut, dynamic and authoritative, and three, they do not image, in my room, as well as the 3.3s. Not even close.

My main system now consists of:

NHT 3.3s,
NHT SubTwo Subwoofer (60Hz & below only)
Cary 306/200 CD Player,
Sony XA 777es SACD player,
BAT VK5i preamp,
Audio Research M300mkII tube monoblocks,
MIT 750 Shotgun Tube Biwires,
MIT 350 Twin 30' ICs,
AudioZen Silver mkII I/Cs for front end.

I have a LARGE listening room with lots of glass & high sloping ceilings, app. 20x40 ft. w/18' ceilings.

I want to try again to upgrade my speakers, and I am considering a used pair of either Dunlavy SC-Vs, JM Mezzo Utopias, Legacy Focus, VMPS, Montana XP, Revel Ultima Studios, etc., etc.

My system is a tad bright right now, but not objectionably so. The imaging is stellar, and the soundstage depth is good, not great. I want smooth, rich, warm sound, yet detailed and clear, and as I said, I listen at VERY loud volumes for extended periods of time. I MUST have the slam and tight, low bass needed for the type of music I listen to.

Because of the size of speakers involved, I will obviously not be able to hear them with my system 'til I buy them, but, I guess I can just buy a good used pair here on Audiogon & sell them and try another pair if I need to.

Any comments/suggestions?

Thanks - Jeff
jeffj
cdc
1,783 posts
 
How about SIX amps? I'm talking about ATC active 100's. Play 117dB continuous. Very low distortion and listener fatigue.
Also Active 150's ($18,700), 200's ($39,750),and 300's ($45,300) will cause permanent hearing damage at an even faster rate than the active 100's. They have the amps built in. Used in studio's as monitors and made to take a lot of abuse.
ljgj
955 posts
 
The Focus is in the main system and the 40's in my second. The 20/20 is just very smooth and balanced with a more natural bass response. The 40 is a bit on the brighter side but not to the extreme and is not as well made from a box point of view.
nickd
6 posts
 
Hi Jeff,

You might contact Peter at Montana Loudspeakers pbnaudio@aol.com I understand he has a new speaker in the 10K price range called the EPX. Rumor has it they play very loud, have awesome low bass down to 22hz and have a forgiving top end that will most likely match your amps and room.

Nick
cylinderking_1
130 posts
 
Klipsch k-horn I have listened to many klipcsh over the years and if you want it loud and dynamic take a listen to them. Remember horns tend to reveal flaws (junk in junk out). The bass in the k-horn is very good 33hz int their folded horn design one problem they tend to be focused and to open the soundstage tweaks are a must.I have a pair of Lascalas right now w/ all the tweaks.
One thing I picked up on your post is all the speakers you mentioned are great, some excellent. Priced from 5to9k on the used market but the k-horn 2500.00 on the used market.
jazzdude
332 posts
 
Wilson Watt/Puppy 7's should do the trick. Incredible dynamics and fast too. They have very good transparency, but not the best. Should be able hit 115-120 decibels with these, 94db efficiency. Soundstage and focus is subpar for this price point, but not terrible.
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