Sorry about your luck with the 3.6's, Eric. Somehow, I got my wife to accept them, visually. Now that she has been listening to them for a while, I think she is hooked, too!
I have a friend whose wife is all about the looks, though, and I helped him pick out a system using Totem Arros and Dreamcatcher centers and surrounds, and she is all smiles. The best part is, so is he!
Tom. |
Totem Arro - she won't know they are there. |
Another vote for the Totem Arro's. Impressive (sonically) for their size and HUGE WAF! |
You might want to look at the Vienna Acoustics Schonberg. It's only 3.5 inches deep, is made of brushed aluminum, and was designed for near wall placement. It received a great writeup in HiFi Plus a little while ago. It's starkly modern looking, so you'll probably either love it or hate it. Other beautiful loudspeakers that come to mind are from Opera, Sonus Faber, and Vienna Acoustics (non-aluminum line), but most will probably suffer from near wall placement. |
maybe just take your wife with you or involve her in the choice, making her apart of it will go along way in making her happy and may flatter her you value her opinion too! |
How about these. Electrostats, 1" wide, 6" tall. Look good in a living room, in an art deco sort of way. Good WAF, I know, I tried them with mine (wife, that is). Active, so no need for extra boxes (amps) cluttering the room. |
I agree, the Merlins are butt ass ugly. Definitely the Glock of loudspeakers. Butt, I kinda like th Glock look. |
Very slim floorstanders with easy placement.
http://www.carolinaaudio.com/
They have a few different Transmission line speakers designed for near wall placement. |
Sonus Faber Grand Piano and Thiel CS2.4 came into mind... |
Usher's. Their speakers resemble Wilson's and Sonus Faber's, but aren't nearly as expensive. Good WAF potential and excellent bang for the buck. |
Krellman, it appears Meadowlark is out of business. There is a thread discussing the situation on this site. I would hesitate recommending them at this point. |
The Cain & Cain Abbey is a very nice loudspeaker, but you'll have to take care in amplifier matching. Terry Cain's woodwork is exquisite. Somewhat limited in bass extension and maximum output level, but very coherent. The Abbeys would probably benefit in the bass department from close proximity to room boundaries. http://www.cain-cain.com/abby/index.html
Eben makes a nice line of slim speakers that in my opinion are exceptionally coherent for multi-ways. Lower efficiency than the Abbeys, but they extend farther at the frequency extremes. Very high quality drive units. Their ribbon tweeter is perhaps the best I have heard of its type. When I heard them they were positioned only about a foot or so out from the wall. http://www.eben.dk/eben/index.htm
I don't sell either one of these, but like 'em both. |
Merlins would make you both deliriously happy forever with their looks and sound,Bob |
VERITY AUDIO FIDELIO IN MAKORE FINISH |
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This is the first time I see people recommend Merlin for WAF. Any wifes that I know, including mine, thought Merlin is about as plain and ugly as it gets. No offense, but Merlin is a black box with no style of any kind. Especially if you put Merlin right next to Wilson Benesch, Sonus Faber, Chario, or Diapason, I don't think any wifes will notice Merlin at all and probably assume Merlin is a speaker stand :) |
Cain and Cain's, all of them are absolutely beautiful. Also, I don't like the speakers but MartinLogan's look great. I have a solution as well. I have had Magnepan 1.6qr's and now 3.6R's, and my wife loves the sound hates the look. But, they are so flat and not too heavy, that I can disconnect and slide them behind a decorative screen. Check out my system there is a picture with the 1.6qr's out, then one with everything put away.
Good luck. |
I second the vote for Sonus Faber. I find the Cremonas beautiful and sonically great. If you are willing to look at a bookshelf, in a smaller room the Cremona Auditors are killer for the price and look great with their custom stands. In the right finish the JM Labs Electra 926 or Diva Utopia are very attractive. In sizable measure I own the 926's just as much because my wife finds them attractive as because I like the way they sound. |
On the affordable end of the spectrum, I have to second the Meadowlarks (in my case: Swallows + Swan). Biggest "free pass" I've ever gotten in audio, my wife is overjoyed at the wood construction + the appearance. I'm overjoyed at the sensitivity + the sound.
My wife only really likes the La Scalas in the living room when the cat tries to climb in them, because that's just damn funny. |
As a ProAc Response owner, I'm partial to them, but if I were looking at it from inside the bra out, I'd say Sonus Faber all the way. |
Thanks. I thought I had a wife w/ high SAF, but I gues I should have gotten it in writing!! Anyone need a pair of Thiel 3.6's? |
I third or fourth (?) the recommendation for the Merlins. Go to their website and have a look around. If the MM or MX VSM's are too expensive at this point, the VSM-M can be bought used for a fantastic price. |
Linn Espeks. Can be placed 6" from the rear wall and the shape of the cabinet is gorgeous. |
Sonus Faber Hands down IMO here. Cremona or Amatis, slap a little mirror and your set. |
I would definately second the Merlin VSMs and Diapasons, as I have experiences with both. |
How about getting a wife with high SAF? |
What's your price range? If you can swing it, Piega's are lookers : ) |
Merlin VSM ,the MM or MX....sounds great close to backwall ,slimline,small footprint.MM in studio black...very unintruisive,will suit any decor.The MX model in any colour you want.
Oh yes,clarity ,imaging and coherance...top notch !
Happy Merlin VSM-MM owner(The wife likes them too...)
Chris |
Merlin Millenium VSM would be my speaker of choice for major WAF and great sonics - good luck! |
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My wife actually was amazed with my Soliloquy's finish. She said it looked at good as our piano (little steinway if you're curious). |
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Wilson benesch curve or act. |
Meadowlark's, they sound really good and come in beautiful wood finishes that you can order a zillion different ways. You'll see what I mean when you check out some pictures of them.
http://www.meadowlarkaudio.com/pow/Speakers_Osprey_Mahogany.htm |
Totem Arro's are about as good as I can think of in all of those regards. |
