I have a great suggestion for you and I hope that you don't shy away from them because they are such a great deal at $1500.
The Carolina Audio JSM's using the Jordan full range driver in a transmission line cabinet. With no crossover and extremely high quality drivers they are incredibly transparent. They are flat to 20k and the high end extension is so natural and coherent. They have a great bass response completely absent of that midbass hump that plagues so many reflex speakers yet the have great extension and definition with a real sense of space around the bass.
They disappear like no other speaker have heard and the voices just float between the speakers much like with quads but without the beeaming and limited sweet spot etc....
The coherence and dymnamics of thi speaker... especially the microdynamics allow it to portey the rhtmic flow of the music so well. The small nuances that bring a performance to life. These are the things that I feel get swallowed up in inefficient sealed boxes and overcomplicated crossovers. This speaker just plai lets you hear the recording.
I have a slightly larger room and decided to go with the floorstanding JTM's which do give you some more bass as well as saving money on stands.
These are fantastic speakers worthy of being used with the best of equipment. www.carolinaaudio.com |
There are so many great monitors out there,it is hard to say what you would prefer.Could you tell us what kind of music you listen to and what you want in a monitor.Also the room dimensions that your planning to use them in.For example.. forward sounding, laid back or something down the middle.Imaging and soundstage with lite in the ass bass or something with impact.Efficient speakers are not really and issue with your Magnum but your cables would swing me towards a soft dome tweeter. |
ascend acoustics CBM-170 for $328.
Dynaudio BM-5 pro monitor is said to be better than the Audience series and costs $599 from www.markertek.com.
You may need to spend more... . . then maybe not. |
The Revel M20s. As good as monitors get. TREMENDOUS sound from these babies. There are reviews galore on them. Remember the stands. Do not go half assed with the stands. They are a significant extension of your speaker. Something to think about, $$ wise, when considering monitors, that many audiophools forget about. The Revel stands are as poor as poor can be. peace, warren |
Revel M20 or if price no object Ultima Gems. These are both fantastic speakers. |
The Vmps 626sre is a great almost fullrange monitor, ribbon mid/high driver, bass tight and deep down to the 45hz range. These are about 45# each, around 23inches high. Osiris stands can be found at around $300 and work great with this speaker. VMPS.com |
Suggest ATC SCM12; absolutely stunning |
I like the the ProAc ISc at under $2K, and the PSB Stratus Mini at about $1K-- both are mellow and easy to listen to for long sessions. Good Luck. Craig |
spendor 3/5, linn tukan...for less than a grand...maybe pair of ls3/5a |
Don't make a buying decision without considering the Sequerra Monitors. Check them out here:
http://www.sequerra.com/electronics/data/met7.html
Not "exciting" at first listen, but you learn to love their overall tonal accuracy. And, they have "real" bass - acoustic suspension - so they are much more room positioning friendly. They do vocals really well, especially female vocal and piano - the two toughest things for a small speaker to do without getting harsh & grainy.
Just my .02,
Ed |
If cost is not an issue, the best "moniter", and one of the best speakers I've heard period, is the Kharma Reference Monitor 3.2. |
Sorry, monitor, not moniter. I had a brain fert. |
trudellbc,
If your question is "What compact box speaker that belongs on a stand would sound best in a small room", I probably couldn't add much to the suggestions already made. I peddle ATC, which has already been suggested by Hoggshead.
On the other hand, if your question is "what reasonably sized speaker would sound best in a small room", I might have a useful suggestion.
First, let's examine a very small room - a shower stall. When you sing in the shower, what happens? Well, your voice has a much richer and warmer timbre than normal. The reason is you get lots and lots of early-arriving reflections, and this reflected energy significantly contributes to the perceived tonal balance and texture of your voice.
Now, something similar happens in a small listening room - you get lots more reflections early on than you do in a large room. And all this reflected energy significantly contributes to the perceived timbre.
Because most loudspeakers are omnidirectional in the bass and directional in the mids and highs, this reverberant energy tends to thicken the sound. The result is that the timbre of most speakers sounds unnatural in a small room.
But suppose we had a speaker that put roughly the same amount of energy out into the room up and down the frequency spectrum? Then the timbre wouldn't be thickened by all the inevitable early reflections in a small room - instead, the timbre would still sound natural.
Very few loudspeakers have radiation patterns that will give you natural timbre in a small room. The Gradient Revolution is among the few that do. It's not a "monitor" per se, but might well be better suited for the task at hand than a monitor on a stand would be. The Revolution uses some very innovative loading techniques (dipole bass and cardioid midrange) which ensure that the reverberant sound has essentially the same tonal balance as the first-arrival sound (a given with live instruments, but rarely replicated by speakers).
Yup, you guessed it - I'm a Gradient dealer. But I do believe in the Revolution - I think it's one of the most intelligently designed speakers out there. No it's not perfect, and some care must be given to amplifier matching, but it is extremely relaxing to listen to long-term at modest to fairly loud volume levels.
Best of luck to you,
Duke |
I just started running a pair of Taylo Reference monitors & sub, absolutely fantastic. |
im with garfish on this...ive got a pair of proac 1sc's on my MD-208 (im using synergistic sig 2 for wire), and it sounds very nice. I have debated going full tube integrated, but I love the convenience of the 208, and think it is reasonably lush for solid state. These proacs love the power, and will come close to sounding like electrostatics at times. For me, this has been a great little combination for the money and a smaller room. |
Thiel PCS. Always listen before you buy. |
Platinum Audio Solo's are stand mounted monitor speakers that can be enjoyed at very close to medium distances with moderate power amp section in your receiver. Real quality sound with a surprising bass capability, very important where physically separate sub-woofer not desired. Only problem, current bargain used price is too low so may not be taken seriously enough when comparing to other high end monitors. |
Green Mountain Audio Europa's. Just listen to them next to the Revels........you'll buy the Green Mountain. $900.00 or less gets em to ya. Contact Roy Johnson the companies designer, at gma@pcisys.net |
I'm very happy with a pair of Talon Audio Khites. They are front ported which makes them "easier" to set-up than some, and very fast/detailed which will compliment a good front end. |
Try the ACI Sapphires. Absolutely wonderful. Very musically enjoyable. Great company as well. One of the best audio purchases I've ever made |
the best monitor i've heard is the Onix Reference 1...very detailed without any harshness...amazingly wide soundstage...imaging is incredible...phenomenal bass from a monitor (down to 42Hz) finish is one of the best i've seen...only $1,500...check them out at av123.com
these have been compared to the VMPS 626R FST, Dyn Contour 1.3KkII, B&W N805, Sig 805, Revel M20, ACI Sapphire, & Ellis 1801s... |
Sonus Faber Electa Amator IIs:
If you value music, this may be the best monitor on the planet. No, deep bass isn't there, but probably in most rooms down to 50 w/solidity, and 40 hz with diminishing returns (and lower). What you get is sota imaging, depth, cohesiveness---and that justly famous SF liquidity. Easy to drive, too.
(I'm super-minimalist: Edge NL-10; Au24; Accuph75v; Discovery Essential).
Oh, did I say these are not wood veneer, but solid walnut enclosures? Drop dead gorgeous on the adjutable iron and wood stands. |
anybody have any recommendations for reasonably priced self powered moniters? I am setting up a DAT > CDR workshop in the basement and space is an issue so I'd like to dispense with the amp if possible. Meyers are nice but a bit pricey at many thousands per pair..and they are large....was thinking of 6" woofer two way system that is internally powered..
experience out there? |
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I will add a third voice for the green mountain europa's. I posted some comments on my pair on audiogon a while back - please look them up. I am still constantly amazed at them. I was playing Donald Fagen's Kamakiriad the other night and once again was noticing instrumental lines and backround vocals that i hadn't heard before - and the timing - certain instruments lead into the music more than with other speakers and the integration of the music seems better - more coherent. Its funny when you hear a lot of this stuff and say to yourself - oh wow, that's what it should sound like or boy was i missing that all these years. I highly recommend you audition these little guys - they are truly a remarkable speaker. |
I second Jayme on the Sonus Faber Electa Amator IIs.
Enjoy. |
look at that. A big second, almost a year later. Where were you when that second was needed? lol...just a little levity for ya.... |
