Nowadays I have found Dynaudio has shifted towards a more forward sound, not bright but more forward than previous lines (this was with the Excite line).
Any one can make the speaker’s sound more forward. Simply, put more stuff inside spkr cabinet. Still human voice won’t come forward though and only veiled sounds come forward. Also balancing sounds of tweeter and woofer is hard work.
Speaker (2-way spkr) tuning tip:
1) Woofer’s front sound is always base (starting point). Decide how much woofer forward sound by stuffing cabinet. Too much forward: it hurts your ears and sounds bright. Too much laid back: sound (stage) messy, sound sucks your eyes and ears out.
2) Based on woofer sound, decide the quantity of tweeter’s sound. The tweeter’s quantity of sound (bright/dark) and tweeter’s forwardness/laid back sound (piercing/messy) are different matter. Forward/back sounds are controlled by stuffing in cabinet. The quantity of tweeter’s sound is controlled on front of tweeter (outside cabinet). Right. Tweeter’s sound quantity can be adjusted in front of my AMT ribbon tweeter.
3) Decide tweeter’s forward/laid back sounds by stuffing cabinet (different stuffing point from woofer).
.Nowadays I have found Dynaudio has shifted towards a more forward sound, not bright but more forward than previous lines (this was with the Excite line). I think Evoke has been a step back in the right direction. Have never heard Contour or Confidence.
Dynaudio Confidence, at least the bookshelf speakers, have amazing soundstage.
I listed my Yamaha ns5000’s because my wife says they don’t work in the living room decor. They acquit themselves well enough for me to contemplate keeping them and selling the Blades instead. Currently playing The Verve, urban hymns and can’t help but be captivated by the playback
whoever flags my comment and has them removed - and it's not hard to guess who - is a sad excuse for a human. No wonder your parents never loved you. It proved impossible.
BTW, if you want as accurate a sound as possible, you might consider a great headphone / amplifier pairing....you take the room (and the low ceilings) out of the equation, and still play your speakers simultaneously to feel the music through your body (Paul M. talks about the different experience between both in a recent chapter of his YT). My idea is to play both.
Based on the ceiling height, I am guessing it is a basement. Low ceiling could be an issue, as pointed out a few times here. Stay away from panels of any kind, ime. Look, part of the merry go round based on my experience is truly based on the quality of our recordings, and how they "interact" with our system/room setup and personal taste. From experience with your other owned speakers (in part, of the room they were in), take the best of each, based on memory/time frame of ownership, and add them together. For me, a pair of Klipsch Lascala AL5, with a pair of RSL 12S subs. This system is MY preferred listening "experience". A small "full range" horn (a roll off at the lowest octave, and subs that match well with them). You need to find "your listening experience", not mine, nor anyone else's...., but yours. My best, MrD.
Honestly Klipsch is where its at, I have had a bunch of system's through the years, and I'm actually selling one for really cheap right now lol, here ya go.
@onehorsepony- there are a lot of great choices with your 20k budget. It’s best to demo yourself at audio stores and shows to find the speakers that resonate subjectively with you.
Devore Orangutan O/96 and Fleetwood Deville are highly musical usually paired with tube amplification.
I’m another Legacy Audio fan. I run a 5.1 system with all McIntosh electronics (except for my new Atoll streamer) I have the Whispers for mains, the Marquis center, Studio HD for surrounds, and the Foundation Sub. I’ve had the Legacy stuff since late 2009 and love it all as much as the day I bought them. They don’t make the Whispers anymore, but plenty of great choices in the current product range. I have occasion to be driving right by their factory in Springfield, IL at least twice a year and usually make time to stop in and say hello and hear what’s new. I’m a fan for life.
Thiels can be very finicky to get set up correctly. I have a friend that has owned a pair for about 20 years. They have never sounded good. Now, this is definitely partly a criticism of my friend. He has a powerful Krell amp and a good front end... but is in a difficult room(s). Also, he was unable to correctly do anything on the acoustics. But, you could get a cheap set of Polks and have them sound better. So, while the fault lies with my friend and the home he chose for them... some fault lies in how sensitive they are to their environment. Got a great audio room and you are dedicated to making them sound great... and they can. If in doubt, I would look elsewhere.
I too think you're being too hard on the Thiels, especially the 3.7. It's picky, needs proper equipment pairing, and the listening area is not generous......but when you get it right, they're glorious......but I understand, they can be hard to live with. I've owned 5 sets of Thiels, and the only ones I have left are the 2.3s; which I do not find dry at all.
You should be kidding when comparing Thiel speakers with Bose and Polk Audio speakers or having a wrong amplifier. Thiel 3.7s have outstanding mid and high frequencies, low frequencies are a bit weak. If you want deeper base, look for CS 6s or CS7s.
Depends on what type of music you like. If you like acoustic and classical, I don’t know if there is anything better than electrostatic speakers. Sound Lab is my favorite in the category, that I’m aware of. However, you will want subwoofers with the electrostats, as bass is lacking in them. If you like modern techno music, perhaps looks for a different category.
$20,000 is a great budget for sure, so here are some excellent all around speakers that work really well in most environments and are not too finicky. Some are open baffle, some are flat panels, some are horns, some traditional box speakers.....but all are brilliant.
Joseph Audio Perspective Graphene $20,000, Pure Audio Project Treo 15 $8,800 or Quintet 15 $12,800 (I prefer the horn version, but there are several options for tweeter/mids), Volti Rivals $16,900, Yamaha NS5000 $15,000, Fyne Audio F703SP $19,000, Revel Salon 2 Ultima $15,000, Sonus Faber Serafino G2 $22,000 on sale or Olympica Nova V $18,000, Diptyque DP140 $18,00 (If you like flat panels), and Linkwitz 521-LX Reference $18,000 with US shipping.
I have many speakers and set ups... and... those that stand out as being the best for the money are the following:
1. Linkwitz Orions or LX521s - the most life-like speakers I’ve heard!
2. Harbeth 30.1s / 30.2s or 40.2s - with the right set up they sound very much like Quad ESL-57’s - the best there is!
3. Maggie LRS+ - with the right set up - as life-like as you’ll ever hear at a bargain price! They are truly remarkable!
4. Anything Legacy - expecially the XD versions - as good as you will ever hear - very few speakers can match their sound - most don’t!
Now - you’ll notice that 3 of these are dipole / open-baffle designs - which makes a huge difference! Nothing quite matches dipole / open-baffle designs - the most life-like speakers you will ever experience! Their sound-stage and imaging are unmatched!
While the Harbeths are not - they still produce a sound that is very similar to dipole speakers (a la the ESL-57s) and have a very rich, yet transparent, high resolution sound.
All of these are unmatched for "all things acoustic" (jazz, classical, country, bluegrass, blues, etc...) - if - you’re into anything else you might as well buy anything, because you won’t need the subtleties of dipole / open-baffle speakers.
Also - if you have an over-damped room (carpets, drapes, etc, etc.) you might as well buy anything, because you won’t need the subtleties of dipole / open baffle speakers.
And as usual - you must mate any of these with well matched set ups - or- you'll never achieve their true sound qualities! But... if you do... you will be amazed!
A great way to evaluate these is by their YouTube Demos - just listen to as many of their demos as you can find. It will become very apparent to you how much better these sound than all others - IF - you are seeking "all things acoustic" sound. Nothing compares! Don’t believe the BS that you can’t hear their sound qualities via tiny speakers via YouTube - you can very much so!
Again... IF.., you listen to "all things acoustic" you will love any of these speakers!
@onehorsepony 3.7 is one of Thiel's best if not the best speaker created. Thiel owners would not be happy with those kind of words. B&W Nautilus or Diamond are musical with tight bass. Not sure what speaker you need along with yiour equipment.
If you have a $20k budget for just speakers, I would be looking used. There is a huge selection well under that price point that would be amazing. I’d be considering Sonus Faber floor standers. They just sound and look beautiful (if looks are important). Else there are KEF blades, Lower end Mágicos. If you want a panel, I would suggest Martin Logan electrostatic speakers. I own and love a pair of Montis. But you probably could get even newer models for under 20k easy.
you have many options. Best if there was a dealer near you that would loan you some to demo in your own space.
If you are anywhere near North Carolina, I would highly recommend dropping over to audition the Fyne F704, great speakers that would be perfect for your room and are both gorgeous to look at and listen to. Rarely come up for sale.
There are so many new speakers out there.Just find something you like. Polk if you don't have alot of money to spend.You can buy used ,close outs,and save alot...good luck,my man.
Nothing holds its value better than B&W. I had several pairs over the last 50 years but eventually ended up with Kharma. I bought the Kharma Grand Ceramique and have kept them for the last 15 years. Wonderful full range speakers. They were the top of the line. There happens to be a pair recently listed. I only remember one pair for sale before. Highly recommended.
I recently switched to a PureAudioProject Trio. Still have Thiels and Ohm Walsh 5s, but the open baffle deployment of the PAP Trio does so much so well. You do need to keep them a few feet out from the wall though.
A little higher than you are looking to spend, but consider the Wilson Audio Sasha DAW. Good prices on the used market and a truly excellent and versatile speaker. I have the Sabrina X’s, which are fantastic for my small 11.5x11.5x11 music room. If my room was bigger, I would definitely have gone for the Sasha DAW.
From personal experience I have found Totem and Nola speakers to be the most natural and musical while being the most forgiving of room dynamics. They have great speakers that are less than $5000 but also make them over $10000.
I currently am using Totem Twin Bisons and they totally disappear into the sound stage. Totem recommendations are to setup with the speakers firing straight a head for the best soundstage. Which I have validated. No getting anal about setting toe in, etc.
Just my experience which is worth nothing in the big picture
I am pretty content with Caladans, but Steve Huff, who has listened to far more speakers that have I, seems to believe that O Audio's Icon 12 Speakers are about the best he has heard. Pure Audio Project also has some interesting speakers. Open baffle speakers have a different bass sound. They tend to have less slam, but most think that they are more accurate. That said, sound is personal. Even if you did like Bose, or very compromised speakers, you are not wrong. What you like is what you like, don't worry about what others think.
I also recommend considering Yamaha NS-5000. Amazing tech, play big, deep bass, grand piano beautiful and Yamaha have kept the retail price the same $15k for 9 years since introduction in 2016. You can find used for $10k.
i owned in the past Kef Ls50 which i believe are good bookshelf speakers and I also heard the Mofi source point 888 for floor stander. price points are entry level and great sound.
I’ve owned and would recommend Devore, Proac, Verity, Harbeth, Reynaud to your mix. Owned a bunch of others many years ago like Vandersteen original 5, but they are out dated in sound for the practicality of owning them (extremely heavy). Old Wilson and Magico and B&W same category but if that older sound doesn’t matter, there is value there. Others like modern Klipsch are okay but they have the rigidity of a bathroom vanity from Home Depot if that matter. which it does.
I always suggest finding the kind of amp you can listen to over time and the speaker equal or second in some cases. Learn about efficiency and impedance curve to hone in on the amp and sound.
Again, most newer speaker manufacturers will have more live sound as they all come out with new products. If you haven't heard they buy something older, be happy.
I have three completely different recommendations, each capable of outstanding sound quality, but each approaches that very differently.
+1 for Monitor Audio. The Silver 500 7G ($3400/pr) is simply the finest speaker available under $5000 per pair. Check its presence on the Stereophile Class A List. The reviewer saw the price and thought that it was per speaker, not per pair. My first thoughts on hearing them was "This is what JBLs SHOULD sound like." Clean, tight, dynamic with good bass extension, soundfield and imaging are very good, with no muddiness, nasality or harshness on male or female vocals. Instrumental attack on piano and acoustical guitar are first rate. The dual rear ports allow easy room tuning in the bass. They do like to be 3-4 ft away from walls, as do most 2X8 floor standers. If they aren't enough, you can move up to the Gold series which steps up the basic config, swapping in a ribbon tweeter and more sophisticated driver and cabinet builds and an incredible Macassar veneer cabinet option for $7500/pr.
Of course everyone should own a pair of Magnepans at some point in their audio journey, A pair of 1.7is and a pair of REL T/9X subwoofers would fill your room nicely given an amp with 100-200W/ch that likes 4 Ohm loads. And it looks like you have that already covered. Like all dipoles they really need to be out away from the rear walls and corners. Observing that rule, the immensity of the soundfield they can generate simply can't be done with a box. Any qualms about bass are easily handled by the RELs.
Finally, KEF LS-60. A phenomenal all-in-one speaker/amp/streamer system. Just plug and play. With 700Watts of triamplified power per speaker, KEF has done a stunning job in an impossibly slim cabinet. Just stream using your favorite source using your phone as a controller, or buy an inexpensive Android tablet and dedicate it to that task. Need more bass? KEF offers the matching KC-92 twin 9" sub with 1000 Watts of power. If listening is more important than tweaking with your gear, this is the way to go.
The nicest part is any of these can be had for less than $10,000.
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