Speaker recomendation
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WOW, SOIX I feel you bro. I used to sell chevy but started selling ford because IMO they're a better value. Unless Dave and Troy really aren't salesmen and devote their time as a mission of mercy saving audiophiles from the perils of disenchantment <(whatever that means). I for 1 will probably never listen to legacy or tekton speakers after all the trouble those two brands have caused here. I may be missing the best sound in the world, don't care! just drop it. OP $15k for speakers is not value shopping! In fact $5k spent wisely might be enough. Coincident Super Eclipse towers are ancient but very efficient and for jazz will put you in the room! google Holm audio. I bought a pair of Salon2's used so if they didn't work in my room I could resell at minimal loss and for a few weeks I thought they were going to go, but the cardis website speaker placement page saved the day and I think these have a home here. Sonus Faber and Vienna Acoustics also do jazz exceptionally well. Legacy, VMPS, Golden ear, Tekton D all boast value for the money and deliver it which is why at $15k I would step away from the budget table and look around because there's soo many no compromise speakers at 5 figures to choose from and I love Dynaudio's sound but i've read others complain about the bass? sounds like a room issue to me but you won't know til they're in your room. If you can spread the speakers wide apart some used Raidho's would be on my short list, I find Kef to be a bit conservative in the bass for my taste unless you go all the way. I thought i'd dislike Wilson at Azpona but they, the Sasha and Wamm sounded really, really good. Buying speakers without an 'in home' audition is like throwing darts blindfolded and throwing more money at the speakers will probably make it worse as they will just be that much more finicky to get the best out of. Threads like this tend to go like this because we all prefer different things from our system and nobody likes to be wrong, especially in this hobby where mistakes can cost thousands. Good luck, audition as much as you can regardless of price, give yourself at least 6 months to decide and ENJOY. Steve |
Steve you miss the point, of course we are saslesman, we run an active retail shop that is not the point. There are really two kinds of dealers, one that sticks to a particular brand year in and year out because they believe in that brand, and they may or may not be actively pursuing new and immerging brands, and other dealers that have a staple of products that they identify with and endorse, but who are also actively pursuing new products to be able to offer their clients, what they feel is the best possible performance for the price. In the last few years we added, ATC, Quad S and Z series dynamic loudspeakers, Elac, Legacy and Rethem to our longstanding brands Kef, Dali, Paradigm, and PSB. We moved into those brands because in each of their price ranges these products were bringing some unique attributes to the table. As per $15k being value shopping depends on your perspective, if a $15k speaker blows away a $25k one then it is a value. The man has a huge room which requires large high output speakers. You also miss the point that yes there are older good speakers like the Conincidents but where can the OP hear them? Many people do not like to buy and sell and pack and ship it is time consuming and not fun. Not to mention shipping large and heavy speakers is expensive and a complete pain, and you also forgot that sometimes older drivers are not availible and an older speaker may be diffiult to get serviced. Unless you are going really old most of the much less expensive speakers systems will not play loud enough to pressurize that size of room. Like it or not the Legacy’s Focus model is one of the few under $20k sets of speakers that will do the job, same thing with Tekton and Golden Ear which is why we mentioned all of those brands and other then Tekton you may be able to demo a Legacy and Golden Ear has many dealers. Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ |
There are a ton of speakers out there that charge a whole bunch of money for a box of nothin.... or very little. Legacy Signature, Focus or Aeris are all 3 excellent and would take care of that area quite well. Peter chimed in from PBN... I have studied Peter's designs and can tell you that he is beyond a competent designer, his speakers are well thought out, crossover slopes, phasing, time alignment, parts quality etc. I have zero reservation in recommending PBN. In fact, the 2 model below the model that Peter posted would also do a good job. PBN is certainly worth a phone call as well as Legacy. |
Igoler, I would also suggest Tannoy Prestige speakers as already suggested here, but i dont think it fits your budget. You may otherwise want to consider the new Legacy series with the Arden, bearing a full range DC driver of 15" that will produce ample and dynamic sound. In your budget, the best recommendation from my experience that I can make and often make in such forums is the XTZ Divine Alpha. It has power, smoothness, totally full range, balanced, very fine details, high end rivers, incredibly robust and beautiful construction, flexibility of tuning and also going active... it is a marvelous speaker in many ways but not well known in the US where such stuff is often not even looked at for reasons escaping my understanding (I am not from the US). Maybe the representation is not good. Anyway, I own high end and very high end gear, and can tell you this one is sadly missed by many audiophiles that dont even know their existence. As for amps, it is maybe a less personal equipment, so many could do fine, but going XTZ way requires some power. I would go for well preserved second hand amps to have better quality for your budget and still many years of enjoyment. Bryston 7B3 is a dream on them, or some Pass as well, or Benchmark AHB2, or Magtech... they are not fussy of amp nature, but just need some juice when you want to push! All the best |
After reading a review of the current Dynaudio FocusXD and XEO line and that they offer, I feel I would be crazy not to consider actives for use in my home. Does anyone have an opinion based on their own listening experience about Dynaudio’s active line or other similarly priced speakers that are active? In this case, active ATC should be on your auditioning list. In active speakers it really doesn’t get any better than ATC. And the technical advantages to eliminating a passive crossover are significant. However, an active design is not as flexible (no choice of power amp) - so it is critical that the design is done right. ATC have been doing this for more than 30 years (time tested) and used by professionals globally as a reference (highly respected). These aren’t warm sounding (very neutral or clinical) but the mid range is captivating for vocals and everything else - regarded as an industry reference. You can sweeten the sound to your tastes with a tube preamp and choice of DAC - so you still have some flexibility. http://atcloudspeakers.co.uk/client-list/ |
shadorn@ i dont see you can sweeten anything, Bacheaudio made compromise , Semi Active Loudspeakers . Low bass 10 : and midbass *8" driver is both active , controlled by 2 separate class D Bash 300 and class AB with 4 orders Linkwitz-Riley electronic crossovers. But midds and highs from 700hz and up you can control by any external amps. Any SAT is good from 10Watts http://bacheaudio.com/bache-audio-002ab-loudspeakers-v2-stereotimes-com |
The ATC drivers are custom built and many believe them to be the best in existence as far as engineering goes (Harbeth, Magico, Vivid, and others may disagree). The sheer weight of the magnet is a shock. The weak point used to be the cabinets but they've been upgraded too. The main criticism now seems to be that they might be too good or too honest if you prefer. You may not like how some recordings actually sounded like in the studio as opposed how they were intended to sound like in the home. Upshot is that they are a must listen in this price range. |
Wow, so I come on here to read another 'which speaker to buy' thread and see what folks are listening to. What a surprise, it has turned into another exhaustive Audio Troy is the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz promotional commercial. Highly informative. He does have a ton of gear in his home that he sells, but no dedicated rooms so there is that. I love Vandy's and they continually win best in show awards, but you still can't judge most gear at a show. Too many strange things going on there, including listening in a theater setting etc... It is what it is. Nice to go listen, but to make a lasting decision no that shows inexperience in listening and most knowledgeable folks would agree. You have been given some great choices by many to listen to. The key though is getting to audition somehow. We are all jaded by what we own and listen to daily. If we spend money on a piece of gear, we normally will come on here to tell yo about it. I know many of us have owned or do own the Vandy Treo's and love them for their timber, dynamics etc..., but I disagree with some points in this thread. This happens all the time in audio and I personally feel is a fallacy. If a speaker is designed properly, it will play ALL music and not just rock or small jazz or orchestral etc... If your speakers are only good on a few types of music folks, ..... you have THE WRONG SPEAKERS. We all like different things and I get that, but I promise you that my speakers play everyone well in MY room for MY ears (as well as all the others I invite over to listen). Many of you (I wish it was all) feel the same about your speakers. This is why I won't go with a speaker that isn't full range and I HATE speakers that are tipped up in the high end or overly ripe in the bass. I was a drummer and I hate bloated upper bass down, especially if it bleeds into the mids. No, I'm not making a recommendation, just pointing out that any speaker you get in the 8k range or so had better play all types of music properly to your ears as you have too many choices. I auditioned so many speakers before deciding on my Treo's and then upgraded to Quatro's, but not before auditioning even more speakers in the upper ranges down to the 5k range to make sure I was getting what I wanted for my well earned money. i'ms sure you will do the same and will look for YOUR posts in-between the dealer ads. Have fun with this and get out to audition. Many folks will let you come to their houses to listen to gear. I've been to many folks houses to audition as well as folks who sell out of their homes and that even includes Dave's house after he kept telling me that teh speakers I didn't like in a few stores, I'd like at his. (they still weren't good for me as they sounded the exact same as in other stores). Good luck. |
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Quote:aalenik.."The Legacy Focus is a very nice-sounding loudspeaker. However, it is not in the same class as the Acoustic Zen Crescendo, which is an outstanding speaker and one of the few I covet. If your choice is between those two.... well, you should hear them both and make your own decision, but I think I've made my feelings clear. A better comparison would be the Crescendo vs. the Legacy Aeris. THAT would be a tough decision!" End Quote. I'm not sure why you feel Legacy Focus SE's are not in the same class as the Acoustic Zen Crescendo. In MHO (and everybody has an opinion) the Focus SE's are a much better speaker both sound, looks and value for the dollar then the Zen..and a comparison between the Aeris and the Zen would be unfair, it would be like taking a knife to a gun fight...The Aeris are THAT GOOD. |
Since my last post was removed, I'll repost. I'd go listen to as many speakers as you can of course. That's for anything you purchase as we all know. There are many different sounding speakers in this group. Go listen to some live music and then audition speakers. It's so much easier that way. Listen to YOUR ears and not what we all post. Focal, Vandersteen, Wilson, Legacy, Proac, Maggies, even Harbeth and Magico's could be on that list. Great tone will always shine through. Coherency will too. Sometimes the 'boring' audition is the best one over the long haul. If a speaker 'shines' in one area, then I'd be concerned as that can often be like buying teh 'brightest' TV on the shelf, only to realize that was a bad choice over time. Fatigue is strange as you may not hear it in a 30 minute session in a store, but over time at home, it will make you want to change cables, amps, sources adn then speakers again in two years. I'd also look at resale values over 3 years incase you aren't happy. I knew that I was going to upgrade after two years, so the Vandy's were an easy choice as they were SOOO easy to move onto another great home (Bob loves them and those who know me personally, realize that is important to me). We all espouse our speakers that we own or that some sell, but it's room and system dependent for sure. go find a dealer you can visit and listen. Sometimes you may want to change the whole system to get the sound that you love. I did this and continue to do so, but I have used a road map and budget that I set a few years ago, so it's not just willy nilly. JMHO and others do it differently. |
No question. The problem with speaker is that they are soooo difficult to audition in teh home. Too big and bulky and it still takes time to dial them in. If you live near a dealer that you trust and like, then it can be done. That's why I get upset with dealers who don't care bout the acoustics of their rooms. All too many dealers who sell out of their homes, don't have dedicated rooms and their acoustics are just not great. Tons of excuses by some as to why they don't sound good, but everyone I speak with says the same thing. Of course some will say that's not the case, but in reality it is. I have also found store front dealers who's rooms sound terrible and many offer ultra high end gear. I am amazed by this since they can easily solve these problems with only a bit of work. |
In my mind, there is one Who I know better. So I only recommended you for http://www.chartwellspeakers.com/ Here you can find Adventure Speakers, Keynote Speaker, Government and Political Speakers etc. |
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