imo polks are more rock 'friendly' than more 'high end' spkrs for same $. more pronounced bass and 'crisp' sound. BUT, you mentioned you did not need LOW bass and brightness. unless you address room acoustics they may be a bit bright in YOUR space. at risk of sounding snobbish, polks may not be as capable of delivering the goods as you move away from rock n roll. most rock was poorly recorded and less 'accurate' speakers can overcome this. well recorded material will be better served with more articulate spkrs. just my opinion, you are final judge:) |
meadowlark kestral 2's are great, but i just saw an ad for their big brother shearwater hotrods on a-gon this A.M. for @$1,200! snap up those guys and you will have bought a heckuva speaker for a great price! they will deliver extra bass the room calls for. |
i listen to the kestral 2's in a big space and they don't seem 'lost' altho i'm not sure what that term means exactly. i think the 'soundstage' is quite large actually. to me it is about 'soundstage' rather than speaker size. some large cabineted speakers can have a very limted soundstage and vice versa. don't mean to lecture, i just wanted to share my experience. happy hunting! |
the kestral 2's will fill the room.... but adding a sub in any situation with smaller towers can help. On impulse i recently bought a closeout M+K 12" 250 watt sub and cross it over at lowest point. sound is not fuller but there is a lot more deep bass feel.(duh) btw, did not mean to offend polk'ies out there, lsi are fine spkrs. and the warm sound described is exactly what i was attemping to define as more forgiving on poor recordings. for the $ tho i still think the kestrals are more true sounding and natural. they do need a break in period so be warned! |
timrhu is right about covers, but the nice woodwork flows directly to drivers with no plastic or cheater plates to mar the look. K'2's did not offer hr version, went with top quality parts and cut out the hasssle in building 2 types. go to web and i think pictures will show why most folks find the K 2 design more eye appealing. your call tho. i think the WAF will not even be a problem, they look like modern art and the wood is very well finished. a real point of attraction to most of my houseguests. recommend iso pads under basic spkr spikes. |
39" w/o spikes. you may be surprised with the effect of mixing light and dark woodtones in a room. it creates a sense of drama and highlights the wood grain more on all the wood furniture as opposed to all the same tone just muting into a solid blur. imo, the elegant form of this design is artisticly appealing enuf to warant the objet d'art approach. the light ash will work well with darker tones as an example. but hey, this is an audio site, what do i know about your decor ideas ;). i use jolida 60 wpc but honestly would not go much lower. thought you should know |
timrhu and petland speak truth. sub issue IMO depends on sub and settings... if waf is met with original kestral looks and they indeed do sound equal to K2's you should consider those. i bought nearly new K'2 for about same price so i too think price is high. UNLESS a monitor is firmly mounted to $$$ lead/sand filled stands they will topple easier than kestrals. 6 yr old will get 'safety' lecture in either event. placing MOST speakers close to wall will generally present warm sound anomoly. less so with front ported design as with kestral. what made you give up on floorstanders or have you? $1K monitors with flat low bass in big space, sounds great to me!;) |
time to go clint eastwood man! if this gal does not approve of K2's looks i question this whole relationship! even the nib originals in mahogoney are furniture grade finished. get a bose wave cd radio and hide the kestrals behind the bigscreen when not in use. she must be a helluva wife ;). italian by chance? mine WAS. seriously tho, don't buy sound gear to satisy well intentioned but occasional listeners, you will live to regret THAT purchase long after you have upgraded your wife. speakers make or break systems. get her a gift cert. to Vic's secret and satisfy her in another room. audiophiles are behind you.... let us know what you do. |
As i suspected! sub, sat is what you are left with eh? imo you can do a lot better than a sunfire for starters. musically that is. many great sub deals out there. don't go too small on monitors tho. imo, a sub should ideally only handle LOW bass, below 40 hz. to really keep music believable. you are down to brass tacks now. it will be an interesting search to find sub sat trio for $1K that is 'audiophile' quality. a shoddy sub will ruin a good system so do not skimp there if you really want great sound. (lessons learned). love to know what you end up with! is she southern or northern italian? :) |
as expatriot of chicagoland i feel your pain! glad you like your sunfire...if you are going to use it for this music system good for you! if not maybe checkout other brands, used, beforehand. those HR's are 36". maybe she could help out with design elements on end table itself. WAF is give n take. u gives, she takes;) u r right about monitors going to a solid 45 hz or so. imho one can achieve a higher sound quality with $1K used floorstanders than a $1K sub/monitor combo. many will disagree... but to match a quality sub to less expensive monitors will be a real project that may not satisfy in long run. still have old style beer up there? and a good vienna sausage! |
congrats! btw, if you can't find the hr's any longer... the K2's are still around. never heard HR personally but i believe the tweeter was upgraded on K2's. you may be able to locate a slightly used pair in your stain with a little web shopping. from 'invisible speakers' to big 'stats! just like a woman eh?;). |
yes they do. they only cover drivers on top 1/3 of speaker. they are nothing more than black grillcloth with monofilament line hemmed in around edge. they are a pain to remove and re-insert as the line strech itself is what causes them to fall into the cabinet groove that surrounds the two drivers, but they look just fine as far as that goes. in other words there is no structural rigidity and of course zero protection to drivers, not unusual in hi end gear tho. playboy mag picked them as part of a $20K dream stereo 2 yrs back so they may have a photo on line. |
i see the nib hr's are still for sale, see what he'll take for them. it is definitely a buyers market for a discontinued nib speaker from a defunct manufacturer! esp given the fact that seller is a dealer(?) and is now competing only with used products and more motivated individuals! take it from a real estate agent, dealers just want to move old inventory as it is not the main business to sell old product for full retail in a competitive market. just my take on it tho ;) |
