Richnus, my advice would be to go with your instincts and not take what anyone says too seriously. We won't have to live with the speakers but you will. Don't let us talk you into one speaker or another. If you let your ears make the decision, I guarranty you will be smiles from ear to ear. |
I would seriously recommend that you audition the Revel Studio's.
My choice came down to between the B&W 802's or the Revels.
I've been ecstatic with them for 6 months now. |
Before you make up your mind have you looked at the Maggie 20s or the Sound Lab M1s?? You at least owe it to yourself to hear what a great dipole sounds like. |
Audiogod2, thanks for your insight. Here's the details on my room.
I have a 16'x21' room with a fireplace on the short wall. Currently I have my speakers (Vandersteen 2Ce's) on either side with about 2' infront of the wall and 2' from the sides. My listening distance is about 18' from the speakers.
My electronics are a Krell KRC-HR with a KSA200S amp (200 wats per channel at 8 ohms. I was told I could arc weld with this baby).
I love all music so the desires change with the mood, Clasical, Pop, folk, rock, blues, jazz etc. so my speakers need to be able to cover the dynamic range of all the music moods I might find myself.
If can let me know your thoughts on this please do so I can make the selection.
As far as the Thiel's I have found that there are deals that will bring in the purchase at about 4800 for a pair, new. Seems hard to believe. do you think this is correct, or should I be very cautious of such a deal. The price certainly makes the speaker an attractive choice.
Please let me know.
Rich |
Well Rich, I asume your only discussing 2 channel applications...but you didn't mention the room conciderations/placement/price points/or sytem matching components you may be concidering, or already have!!..which all makes a differnce.
If your chosing your speakers first, then good! This is the single most important element in the chain besides the room (which would need to be adressed, as you probably already know the room it's going in, right?) And, yes, ultimately you shouldn't expect to simply sit the speaker down in YOUR space and expect em to just sound great!...it'll take some tinkering and time...
Back to the speaker choices...
I think what needs to be said here, to properly fine point your choices for speakers, is what speaker is going to make sense with my setup choices and arangement! Will it work with your room/system/setup for best results for what I listen to, and expect from the system!
For instance, is it going to be played loud?...small room?...big room?...close to the walls?...out?...is your chair next to a close wall?...will it mate with the gear that makes sense for you as well?...etc...?
I think if you become more specific about your situation and needs/uses, some better recommendations (even between what you narrowed down) can be more specifically taylored to what you might want to concider!
However, if that's more than you want to hear, I personally would rule out the JM Labs stuff myself, as I find most of their stuff rather bright sounding! I do like the Thiel CS6's a lot for classical and such (but you'll need the strongest amp in the world to make em jump at all dynamically!) The B&W's, while not as refined, quite as detaild, and transparent as the Thiels in my experience with them, will give you more flexibility out of some of the B&W offerings.
You can Biamp the B&W's, which are much easier to drive and more punchy over all than the Thiels, with much less power and demand! If you Biamp the B&W's, you'll even get more drive and slam out of em, and with better perfomance all around if you do it right!
However, in the end, to be critical to critical to critical (you may not be...God bless ya), The B&W's aren't as refined and neutral/transparant and detailed as the Thiels, but they may be more fun!...depends on the listner/requirement...
...Let's hear more about your situation/system/needs |
I have Thiel CS6s and drive them with a Krell FPB 200. The Thiels require lots of current. Krell amps have that BASS slam which is just what the CS 6's need to shine. The CS 6's need care in placement, 2'min from sidewalls and 4' to 5' from rear walls. They are very heavy and when spiked will scar a wooden floor. I recommend taking the Krell you have down to the dealer and audition all the speakers on your list. If you can have the dealer do a in home audition, so much the better. Speakers always sound different in the showroom. I hope I helped. As we say in Las Vegas, Good Luck! |
As between the two Thiels you are considering, go with the 6's before any of the 7's. The 6's sound better! (IMO) With Thiels, you have to be careful and patient about room placement. It may take you two weeks to find the right spots in your room, but when you finally do (and your dealer should help you do this), you will be amazed. I too have heard various Dynaudios and love them, esp. because they have such a slim profile (as opposed to the Thiels). You have great choices to pick from; I envy you! |
I would like to thank you all for your input. Keep it comming as it helps.
Rich |
One more vote for Dynaudio. Great speakers,build quality is excellent ( but kind of boring), and the Dynaudio North America people are helpful and responsive. When I wanted to hear the Confidence 5s they shipped a pair to the dealer for me to listen two in two days. They were also very helpful in discussing matching amps, room placement, cabling, etc. |
I have never heard them, but if possible, I would try and audition Coincident Speakers. |
I agree...try and limit your choices, and then demo them in your own home. I can almost guaranty that they'll sound very different in your place...maybe better, maybe worse, but different. |
There are dozens of great speakers out there, but the real problem is to get a home audition from the dealer of the ones that seem best before you buy. Some dealers spend a fortune treating their demo rooms, while others just throw a system together anywhere. My present speakers sounded pretty good at the dealers, but nothing to write home about. People I trusted, however, told me they would sound far better at home, set up carefully, and I tried them. They blew me away in my own living room. The opposite is also true. If the dealer won't do it, find another dealer. |
I second the opinion that you should try out Dynaudio. The top of the line in the Contour series is so sweet. They really sing with proper amplification. |
What kind of music do you listen to and what is your room like? I don't know if you've listened to Dynaudio's offerings, but if you haven't, you might want to - they sound really great driven by the Krell, IMO. As for advice on the models mentioned, two things - at the prices of those models, a home audition ought to be possible if you're buying through a dealer instead of used. Second, I would venture that the B&W is the cheapest and that it'll get you the highest percentage resale if you decide in a year to change your mind, so if you love what you've heard so far out of it, it seems like the logical choice. At those prices, I wouldn't buy anything I didn't absolutely love the sound of based on saving money. -Kirk |
Thanks for your response, as far as electronics I have a Krell KSA 200S Amp ( you can arc weld with this) and a KRC HR for a preamp.
THe second input was correct, I am interested in long term listening, quality, service etc. When you hear it in the dealers show room it is not my room. Everything will sound different.
Additionally when you analyse the sound I am initially wowed by the dynamics of a full range speaker but will I feel the "presure" of the music after a while?? SO with that said I am looking for a general consensus on all that i listed above.
Thanks again for your input.
Rich |
No, it's not a no-brainer. He may be looking for input on build quality, service, buyers guilt stories. Personally, I just don't like the quality of B&W except in their top speakers. You can't go wrong with Thiel, but the things will cost you an arm and a leg. I'd recommend some serious amp power for those (Krell, Levinson). I've never heard anything by JM labs. Good luck to you. Curious, what kind of electronics are you going to run these with? |
Sure. Advice is spelled with a "c". As to the choice of speakers, you're out of my league.
What I don't understand, is now that YOU'VE listened to a number of speakers and narrowed it down to a few, is why you're interested in any opinion other than yours?
You know how they sound. And if price independent, the results are comparable, go with the cheapest.
This is a no brainer. Right?
Bill E. |
