Speaker help please for $2000 US

hi olga,

check out newform research's r645 on their www. also check out the user-reviews on audioreview, accesable from newform's site. these can be had for $2265 delivered; w/a 30-day in-home trial - if ya don't like 'em, yure only out the shipping charges to send 'em back. take note of the quality of the ancillary equipment used by the reviewers, & the quality of the loudspeakers these are compared to. also, john meyer, newform's owner/designer *is* a great person to deal with.

no, i don't own these - yet! i *am* going to get a pair, tho. and, this from a cheapskate, who almost *always* buys equipment used - better value! (i have invested ~$12k into my stereo over the years - retail is ~$35k). :>) in this case, i believe that this will be the best value for my $2265, even compared w/what's awailable used for this amount of money.

regards, doug

I replaced Studio 100 with Soliloquy 5.3 Small, but heavy. Seem much more musical, better image and soundstaged than Para. Underwoodwally sells "B" for $1400 pr. that I can't tell from perfect. Great in price range. Very efficient. May want to check 6.3 also. Wally is always glad to talk. I have replaced 2 speaker setups w/ the solos

Take a look at accessories4less.com. They are the authorized Internet liquidator for Acoustic Research. I purchased a pair of AR302's for $250 + $75/shipping (list $1000) and have teamed them with ADCOM power & pre-amps & a SONY ES CD player. I am using 8" glass blocks as stands. Sound is smooth; detailed; ... pretty fantastic. My acoustic folk musical tastes lean towards Bill Staines; Nancy Griffiths; etc. They also sell the AR1's (Stereophile Class B) for about $1200 a pair. Good luck.

Olga, this poses a real problem. I think that the speakers could suffer some damage on the dog-sled during a 450 mile trip, and of course there is always the possibility that the alpha-husky will relieve himself on the cargo. I have found most folk to be acoustic, even when they prudently should not be, but it's nice to hear that someone listens to them. Of course, the real problem is your vaulted-ceiling. This is a novel idea, keeping the igloo warm by vaulting the ceiling? Isn't there a possibility of condensation on the audio equipment potentially causing an electrical shock? Of course, you use a generator as your power supply, but doesn't that create a sound pressure problem? You could overcome that I suppose simply by increasing the volume on your amplifier so that it is louder than the generator. Well, one thing is certain, you do not have to worry about the equipment overheating and the sound of Joan Baez blaring over the speakers will scare away the polar bears. As to which brand of speaker will work well in your location, it's clear that any of the ones that use antifreeze should do the trick. Of course you like *active, quick sound* because if it were any slower it would freeze as it travels the distance from the speakers to your ears. However, I have always found Joan Baez voice to be somewhat chilling anyway. Good luck, and keep us posted as to the progress you make in your search for hi-fi in the tundra.

Olga: I just got a pair of Silverline Audio SR-17's. Absolutlely smoked my Paradigms straight out of the box (no break in time then, near on 24 hrs already of steady, verrrrry happy listening). These little guys not only make magic with classical, but they can ROCK! And since you mentioned it - the first cd I played was Joan Armatrading - or was she really in my living room? So far, I can say that their "soft dome" tweeter can hit notes I probably can't hear, and the ones I can are as smooth as a new tube. And bass - my gawd the bass! (Well, ok, I had been deprived to an extent - Paradigm only went to about 46hz, these guys measure down to the mid 30's) Still - the bass is a joy! Believe me when I tell ya, the extremes are only the beginning - the mid range is where these speakers really excel, but I'm running low on superlatives here. The only caveat (and I'm beginning to believe this is may be true for all "good" speakers) is that they absolutely tell the truth about your equipment, but your Parasound shouldn't be a problem. At the dealer, this was obviously not an issue (He set up top end Conrad Johnson gear throughout (Transport, DAC, Pre & Power, J. Michel Orbe(?) tt with $8500 SME arm & cartridge - oy, if only I had Bill Gates checkbook!). Me, pending my new tube amp and passive pre, I'm still using my oldish NAD AV713, and NAD 515 CD - and it still sounds miles away from my Paradigms. Just for the record, I've been hunting for speakers with a 2k price cutoff for a while, and have auditioned on my system Spendors (yuck!) and Phase Techs (not significantly better than the Paradigms at significantly more money). Like you, however, I am limited in what I can audition locally - I originally went to this dealer to audition Meadowlark Kestral Hot Rods & Silverline Panatella IIs - but he had NO stock of any Meadowlark products at all, and the SR-17s were all he had in the 2k range for Silverline (luckily for me, as it turns out). This is the only Meadowlark or Silverline dealer within 2 hrs one way, but I have no other option except the dealer I got the Spendor and Phase Techs from (who also carries Pro-Acs, but ....no stock. Seems to be a trend - become a dealer, but don't stock any product. At least my Paradigm dealer keeps the full line available on site, and generally is a willing lender for demo's!) Ok, I got excited, I'm sorry. May I simply say I recommend the Silverline SR-17 to you? chas