If you are not married to dynamic drivers there is the new Martin Logan Summit. Burning in a pair right now. Sound great so far but need to mellow a little as do all electrostats when new. Was very pessimistic about the powered woofers but they have proven to be very tight and accurate straight out of the box. Dynamic as heck at the moment. |
I listen mostly to female vocals and the best speakers I think for vocals are the Vandersteens. They are just neural and the phase correctness blends the voice perfectly between drivers. Also have just a awesome sound stage and your is just about the perfect size.
Also if you get the 5 they have built in subs which I use to think why till I got into tubes they allow a natural byamping so your mailn amps can provide power to the drivers.
Just my 2C I'm sure there are many more grate speakers out there and I have listened to most. Look for something transparent and find a good dealer to set them up. Remember the room is 50% of your sound. |
The Quattro's from Vandersteen are more in you price range and I believe they also have powered subs in them.
Also, the JM Lab Uptopia line is very nice.
I did like the new Diamond series from B&W. The prevoius models I thought had a tendency to be a bit on the bright side.
Good luck |
I think that the JM labs are terrible speakers for intimate vocals, they are too boomy. I would recommend the Living voice OBX-R2 |
If you like female/male voices and jazz,to me this puts you into a Kharma ceramiqe series loudspeaker.They don't get any better for that type stuff.I enjoy my 1.0 Kharmas very much.Just right for what i listen too. I know they are not cheap but nothing is these days.There are are usually some good deals around if your patient.Unfortunately everyones expectations are different so live demos are the best way to go if possible.Don't trust any elses ears but yours. |
I would have to strongly disagree with Asonicyouth on JMlabs. I own a pair of Micro-Utopias and they are anything but boomy. They sound fantastic on vocals, so much so that if I ever have the budget I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade within the line, they're that good. |
For vocals especially female, the most neutral speakers I have heard are the Wisdom Audio line up. There are a few M-50's for a bargain in the classified and with the left over money you could buy another Rowland 302 amp. But you will need to bi-amp them with the active brain. The M-50's have phenomenal sound when it is set up properly and "tuned" to the room. |
For my experience, I would also suggest the JM labs. Not sure what equipment or room set-up Asonicyouth listened to with the Focals, but my Micro Utopia Be's are singing sweet music with my Ayre V1xe, BAT 51SE, and Ayre CDP in a near-field listening environment.
Cheers |
Bignerd100, what size room are you Martin Logan's in? |
It is a wierd room. 16x14 with one side opening into a amuch larger room and a strange ceiling that limits listening position to a very small area for bass reproduction. As with any speaker I recomend auditioning it at home. If your dealer won't let you... find another dealer.
Good luck! |
Look up the one-issue-old #38 of England's 'hi-fi+' magazine and read the double review of the Eminent Technology LFT-8. It's available online at http://www.hifiplus.com/issue38.html . Then spend a few of those $10K to listen to a pair. I did and then ordered a pair in walnut, to replace a pair of much-loved Quad 989s. Seems their only foible is lack of sensitivity.
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What's the 8-Ohm power rating of the M301s and the 302?
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Thorman, I have been in love with Kharma ceramique for some time. Price is a limiting issue as well as size of the room. I have to, or get divorced, keep the speakers on the shorter 15' dimension location in the room. Does this limit the speakers that will function in such a space from your experience? |
Bryanhod...what are you waiting on? |
Bryanhod : I think if you pick one of the smaller Kharmas' it'll work fine.As long as you can bring them out a few feet from the wall.If you can find a 3.0 or 3.1 they should,nt be too costly and sound very similar. When I was demoing the kharmas and listened to the 3.0,2.0 and 1.0 and actually was going to buy a 2.0 and 1.0 used came up ata very reasonable price and I purchased them as quick as possible.They are truly a wonderfull speaker to listen to...
My room is about 600 sq feet, so size was not a big issue ,but cost was...Good luck and feel free to e-mail ,if I can help I'd be happy to. |
Pops, you mean the divorce? It would be way too hard to move the equipment. Other than that, I can't think of any good reason. |
Bryanhod,
If you like the B&W sound I can only think of two. Both a little over your budget.
B&W 802D.
JMLabs Utopia Diva.
Good luck in your search. |
What is the new price for the B&W 802D? I found a pair of Kharma 3.2 for sale. Any opinions on these? |
the new ML summits retail at 10,000 my friend's dad loves his
I have spent some time listening to the 803d's which sound great, and a little birdie told me that they are selling better than the new 802d's |
Bryanhod
The price on the 802D 12 $12,000. |
I believe that the pair i of jm labs speakers i heard was the Diva? it had side firing woofers. I heard it both in a dealer demo room and at a friends house. both time i seriously disliked the speakers. it could have been the room, but i would still put my $ where my mouth is and pick the Living voices any day of the week |
Is there a Kharma dealer in Denver Colorado? |
Don't know about a Kharma dealer in Colorado. But you should check out the Merlin VSM-MM/MX. I have them in a 22 1/2'x 19 1/2' room with 10 1/2' cathedral ceiling. They can energize and fill the room completely. To me they do all kinds of music beautifully and vocals are outstanding. They ended my speaker search. Good luck.
Cheers |
Why not put a call in to Roy Johnson at GMA if your in the Denver area anyway? If nothing more than advice, Roy is very knowledgable and builds amazing speakers. |
Thank you Samac. I will look for them as well. Good to get out and see a few new speakers on the weekend. |
Jeffreybehr, at 8 ohms, the M301 are at 400 watts and the 302 is at 300 watts. |
Called Roy, very intersting and I am going down there to audition his best speaker. |
I am going to try to audition Karma 3.2 FE, Avalon Eidolon and perhaps the Diamonds, and Green Mountain Audio Continuum 3. Any feedback on these three speakers is appreciated. |
Dear Bryanhod: My advice is that instead to put big money on those " stand alone " near full range speakers, go for a pair of good monitors plus subwoofers ( for a lot less money and better quality sound reproduction performance ).
You have many alternatives: Revel Gem, Harbeth, JM Labs Utopia series, Merlin, Proac, Wilson, Totem, Sonus Faber, NHT, Dynaudio, Legacy, etc, etc.
You can matc it with a pair of Velodyne HGs-15 or DD-15 or Talon subs.
No one single full speakers can give you the sound quality performance that any of those combinations and for a lot less money. Think about or better than that: try it !!!!.
Please take a little of your time and read these links:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1117893153&openflup&27&4#27
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1117893153&openflup&31&4#31
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1117893153&openflup&158&4#158
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul. |
Bryan, did you ever get down to GMA? |
I am heading down next week to hear their stuff. |
Rauliruegas, what do you think of the Kharma 3.2 two way with a sub? I have heard this is a great combo. |
Dear Bryanhod: One word: GREAT!!!!!
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul. |
Whats wrong with the N802's , How long do you have them. I have matrix 802's and just upgraded to them from Polk.. I wouldnt upgrade any more. I think you just have to much extra cash to burn. keep the B&W's and donate the 10G's to charity. You'll never be happy. |
You are right about having too much cash Poloman. I just donated 10K to charity and my kids are too spoiled to get more stuff so I am spending it on myself.
The N802s are great speakers. I really love them. I think they lack a little clarity and a little bass.
Just to let you know, I earned my money by working very hard and came from absolutely nothing. I am very lucky right now and know it. |
Rauliruegas
What about just adding a Velodyne DD 15 or 18 sub to my current system? Is that advisable as a first step? |
Dear Bryan: Yes, that will be a very good first step. A pair of DD-15 will do wonders on your system in a true stereo way.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul. |
Rauliruegas:
Are a pair of the Velodye DD18 a good fit for a 15' x 30' room or is the DD15 a better choice? |
Dear Bryan: The DD-15 is a good choice. As a fact the DD-15 and DD-18 almost have the same performance, the real differences you can hear it only in a big room.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul. |
I have purchased a single DD-18 at this time. I will add this then think about a second to get the true stero effect. |
Rauliruegas, do you suggest setting up the sub as a bi-amp method discussed by Velodyne? |
ML Summits or ATC's Active 50's or above, are as good as I have ever heard. And I have heard many of the cost no object speakers. |
I set up a dual sub system. First I tried a single DD-18. Great sub, too much for my room. Then went to dual DD-10s. Great sound but too much boom for my musical taste. I am thinking now of moving towards Avalon Eidolon Diamonds. I recently upgraded to Lamm M 1.2 reference amps which improved my base and sound staging. |
