I would offer that you might consider Proac. Either response 1SC's (just a bit higher cost than your target range) or a nice used pair of Tablettes. The only thing that troubles me is that reference to "large" orchestra music. These speakers, in my own experience with the 1SC is that they are a bit restrictive for a large orchestra type sound at higher volumes. At mid volumes you would be OK, more than OK, great. |
I have a Jolida 1701 Hybrid, Old School Sony ES CDP, AQ CV-6, Jaguar, and B&W 602 S3 with very good results. |
I'm also considering high efficincy speakers such as Omega and Cainx2.
Thoughts anyone?
Tony |
I like both the Cains and the new Omegas but you don't get that full fledged Orchestral sound as much with these fostex style full range drivers. The Cains even though they are much larger aren't as full sounding to me. You don't need even 35wpc for either of them. The Omegas sound big with single digit SETs. Try the new small model you will be amazed. Great tonal balance. I don't know the arcam very well. |
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Spendor S6 (not S6e).
OR
Von Schweikert VR-1.
Wire that you already have. |
I'm running a Jolida JD-302B with a pair of PSB Stratus Silvers with nice results...speaker cable...I playing with some 10 ga stuff from Raymond cable with great results as well!! |
vandersteen is a very good match with the jolida. you could get a used pair of 2ce's (maybe even signatures) for ~$1000. the combo would be great for orchestral music (i'm a big classical music listener myself).
i've used gma europa's with a 502a, and had excellent results as well.
currently, i am using dali suite speakers. a pair of suite 2.8's just came up for sale at $795, and i would imagine they would sound stunning with the jolida. for large scale classical music, i think that you would be better served by speakers that are closer to full-range, like the vandy's or dali's.
that's a nice setup of gear you have there... lots of good speaker options in your price range. you should be able to come up with a system that sounds far better then the price would suggest. |
Hi Tony,
Since you very much into classical (especially Symphonies) I am not sure whether single driver speakers are the right way to go. Some speakers I considered for my Jolida amp before going the single driver route:
Soliloquy 5.3 or 6.2
Spendor S3/5 (+ sub)
GMA Europa
Totem ARRO (+ sub)
With your amp the Soliloquy speakers should work especially well. For the JD302b I find a monitor to work better (tighter bass), but for the 502b the standspeaker should be great too. Check with Underwood Hifi if he still has some Soliloquy's available. I almost bought some 6.2's from him. Lots of additional info in the Archives.
The GMA should be great as well worth checking out.
Good luck,
Rene |
New I would look at the Opera Audio Consonance Eric-1 mini-monitors at 1K/pr. new. They may have some polarizing looks, but the sound is quite good, and way better than I would expect for 1K monitors.
Also worth consideration used would be either the Tyler Acoustics Taylo Reference Monitors, or Ellis 1801Bs (both about 1K used).
---Dave |
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I have an Underwood modded 502B driving a pair of Totem Sttafs and this is a lovely combination. Totems are not the most efficient but not a problem at all with 502, i think people tend to exaggerate about how much power some less efficient speakers need to be happy. Any Totems will match well with the larger Jolida tube amps. I upgraded from an Arcam A75 which was terrible with the Totems which revealed all kinds of grain and high frequency garbage, very revealing speakers. My Arcam CD72 is next on the chopping block to be repleced by an Eastsound CD-5. |
From a fellow lover of mostly classical orchestral (along with rock, jazz, R&B and acoustic) I highly recommend the Nola Minis. (They aren't really as small as the name suggests - more like medium size monitors.)
Frankly, IMO many speakers (especially monitors) in this price range fall down on large scale orchestral music. Very few do justice to big complex music at reasonable sound levels without becoming congested. Floorstanders tend to do better than monitors for presentation of symphonic music but that probably means buying used to meet your budget.
Except for the Minis (fomerly Alon Lil Rascals II).
The Minis are coherent, very open, very spacious and *very* dynamic. They are resolving without sacrificing upper end sweetness plus they have an excellent midrange along with surprising bass heft. (They sound like much larger speakers.) The Minis are also affordable at $695 list ($595 street). These are my go-to speakers for new at under 1K - you'll have to spend much more on new speakers to better them for large scale music. Alas, "scale" is just what you don't get with many affordable monitors on classical music.
I'd also second the suggestion of used Vandersteen 2ce/or Signatures. These are floorstanders that do well on classical and all types of music.
It's a personal thing, but I don't find single driver speakers very satisfying for symphonic music. |
Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I decided to go with a pair of used Vandersteen 2Ce's. We'll see how it goes.
Tony |
Best speakers I have ever heard for the money is a pair of EFE T-22cf's They run 1190 and just KILL anything $4000 or under. Do a search on www.audioreview.com He is one of the few speaker builders that get's all 5s! |
