The debate Gore Vidal and William Buckley is to be listening to...
I like Vidal... 😊
I read some of his novels... Great mind...
What speaker could safely be ordered without hearing it first?
Hi everyone,
I’m in the midst of my speaker search and curious about something.......as noted above. There are some brands I would be interested in based on reputation, reviews, looks etc but may never be able to hear first.
I’m curious what the collective group thinks would be a safe choice having never heard them first. I know there are variables as in size of room, current gear etc. Just want to see what people would suggest. The one I would note based on what I have read is Joseph Audio. I’d also be curious if people would say the same about Borresen.
So it may be a frivolous exercise but I’ll ask the question anyway. Let me know your thoughts.
222 responses Add your response
I am with Verdantaudio. I have my room pretty much set and my gear is fine. Pretty much any speaker I buy, and 90 percent are not listened to first, sound great. I have found that monitors are my choice and have gone through many in the last few years. They are definitely easier to ship, move around and store. I currently have 4 pairs that I swap out to change things up. Synergy is key and finding what you love is part of the audio journey for me. |
@m-db Can’t say I disagree. I am subscribed to my local classfields for vintage audio. It’s always a kick in the teeth when you spend thousands on speakers and you see very intriguing speakers for not much money. How about 90€ for Ruark Swordman II Plus speakers? With much discipline and patience you could build a serious setup under 300€. Granted, you’ll get 0 recognition from the “audiophile” community. It’s all just unwanted UK hear from the 2000s. These days Ruark Audio sells overpriced alarm radio alarm clocks. What a shame! It’s like a philosophy of buying the 12th best option for 1/20th the cost. And everything is pretty darn good. I wish I could rewind that clock a year or two. I would be 4k€ richer. Or have like 15 pairs of speakers and 5 amps. Just see what sticks.
|
Now that you got a ton of different recommendations, I hope this has made your search easier. Here is the best advice, Narrow your search down to a few choice "Efficient" speakers. The key word is efficient because they more likely to reveal all the suttle details and don't require a ton of expensive power. |
@mtbiker29 This has happened to many of us. When one with no experience admires a high performance something and reads a litany of positive accolades by users, not knowing they too are mostly first time fan boy users with little or no experience, who've found by providing a positive review somehow lessens their poor decision remorse. A product sitting between your speakers is exactly that something. People are taking the time to offer you overwhelming advise that, what your calling a frivolity, should to be avoided. |
This topic is kinda like target shooting w/a blindfold on. But here goes nothing. I see 2 generic possibilities: 1 - If speakers are to be located near the back wall: go for high quality sealed/acoustic suspension design. Easy pick of those: pretty much any of the ATCs. Even a stand mounted 2-way gives killer sound with great dynamics 2 - If speakers are located anywhere you want in the room, just go for high quality, period. Easy pick there would be a Harbeth 30.2 or 40.2. These need stand mounting but really don’t require subwoofer augmentation unless you want the absolute best deep bass.
(that’s my 2 cents) |
Maybe and it is very straight forward. Speakers are going to sound good or bad based on the room you are in and the equipment you have paired with it. If you have no equipment and will build the system speakers first, any speaker can be ordered as it will be matched after. if you have existing gear, the answer is a vehement no without knowing what gear you have. Then, maybe but you need to work with someone you know. Joseph audio is neutral. System match can be easy but I can show you horrible gear to match with it. Borreson is relatively bright, especially compared to Raidho. Horrible with certain gear.
|
I brought my Kharma Ceramique Grand with enigma upgrade over 12 years ago without hearing them and it has been a love affair ever since. It took me 40 years and many speakers/systems before I finally got off of the merry-go-round. They pair up perfectly with my ASR Emitter II Exclusive & Basis Exclusive along with my Brinkman LaGrange/Breuer tonearm/ZYX 4D. |
I'd try Zu Audio's Dirty Weekend ... Have never seen a poor review ... around 1600 and returnable ... Gutenberg loves them! https://www.zuaudio.com/loudspeakers/dw6
|
Sure, the listed options are great but it's all so subjective. Can't possibly seriously recommend any particular speaker that's a lock for customer satisfaction having never heard them but,... if there were one,... my money would be on LS3/5A. Have yet to find anyone with a serious rig that doesn't love all they represent and the sonic signature they present. All things considered, room size, gears, budget. I could easily toss the speakers I own into the abyss and live with a set by any of the licenced brands. I did exactly that and played a set of Rogers, 11ohm from the mid 80s exclusively for almost 3yrs. Yep, I liked them that much; enjoyed every second with them. Just my opinion. |
I sold a pair of black MA Silver 8s to a guy in Chicago a few years ago. Maybe he is you?! I went from the MA Silver 8s to Harbeth C7ES3s and then to Spendor SP2/3R2s (now known as the Classic 2/3s). I kept the Spendors up until last year. Occasionally I resent that I sold them. I’ve heard my share of five-figure speakers over the years and have owned many more four-figure speakers since. I’ve yet to encounter a more musically satisfying speaker than the Spendor 2/3, other than maybe other Spendor Classics. For certain, they’re not state-of-the-art performers in any single metric. However, when it comes to outright musical enjoyment, they have yet to be beat in my systems. No one is going to hear the 2/3s powered by a decent amp in a decent room and claim they’re unenjoyable. Only an off kilter person would claim they sound bad in such a scenario. For that reason, similar to a Mac amp or a Rega turntable, I believe Spendor Classics are one of the safest bets in the world of HiFi. They simply draw you into the music and make you forget about everything else, which is sort of the whole point. Disclaimer: your mileage may vary ;-)
|
Magico A1... It's small but boy oh boy that little bookshelf speaker can belt it out. It's spendy though, used around $5K or $6K with stands, new, add about +$3K to that. On a more reasonable level, how about a Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3 or 804 D3 (D4 is the current gen), first or second generation Focal mini Utopia's, and lastly, Raidho - that's another bookshelf that is quite impressive. But, where the rubber meets the road, you gotta go and listen to it. Happy speaker hunting. |
You don’t give any info on your setup and price limits. there are many speaker brands that will reliably sound good but your room and equipment might not be optimal for them. Well known high end brands such as KEF, Magnepan, Quad, B&W, Focal, etc are very reliable for great sound but each has its flavor of sound and differing room requirements. you won’t go wrong with any of these assuming you can give them the space and power they need.
|
You don’t give any info on your setup and price limits. there are many speaker brands that will reliably sound good but your room and equipment might not be optimal for them. Well known high end brands such as KEF, Magnepan, Quad, B&W, Focal, etc are very reliable for great sound but each has its flavor of sound and differing room requirements. you won’t go wrong with any of these assuming you can give them the space they need.
|
I don’t trust anybody else’s ears. They’re not attached to my head, and regardless of what any reviewer says in even the most comprehensive of reviews, that guy doesn’t know my room, my tastes, or my experience, and I’ve returned one too many speakers. My favorite speakers I've owned over the years have all been auditioned, and could have been returned. Here’s a recent thing: I was considering a pair of well regarded Volti Audio Razz speakers since I like horns, and they state on their site, "Volti Audio does not accept returns of product for any reason." That’s a direct lift from their site. Make a deposit and they keep the money...period. OK...Volti Audio will not be getting any of my money for any reason (maybe if they kidnap my grandson I’ll have to make an exception, but that seems unlikely). The designer/owner claims they get very little criticism and extremely few issues with their precious speakers, and warranty their speakers for AN ENTIRE YEAR. Yeah man...he also claims he’s there for his customers if issues arise. All true perhaps, but nope...no Razz for me! |
I live in a state that is more or less an audio store desert unless you count Best Buy. I’m in the similar situation you find yourself in, in that, how do I go about buying or demo’ing speakers for my system. This means I’m trying out the limited line of speakers offered by larger on-line retailers like Crutchfield or Audio Advice. Both of which I’ve purchased recent component upgrades from and been very happy with. I’ve also found a few direct-to-consumer speaker companies that I may demo for my system. My short list of options is based on my listening criteria of moderate listening volume in a largish room. Limited to stand mount speakers due to Wife Acceptance Factor. Narrowing down to the following: Aperion Verus V8B Martin Logan Motion XT B100 MoFi Source Point 8 Sonus Faber Sonetto II KEF R3 Meta JBL L82
When I"m able to build my listening room / library in a few years I'm getting the Vandersteen 2CE Sig 3 floor standers.
|
+1 |
I would say depending on the budget preferably a speaker you can try before you buy, has good reviews, and is not fussy about room placement. Make sure to choose a size that is suitable for your room size and will likely have synergy with your amp. If your amp is on the warm side, probably best not to get warm sounding speaker and vice versa. Some suggestions would be Klipsch RP500 or 600m for small rooms and apartments if a little on the brighter side works. Very easy to drive, sound great at low listening levels, and bass isn't over bearing. Also have excellent reviews. Steve Guttenberg gave the 600m Product of the Year Award. Similar to these (Sony SS-CS5) for a lot less money; Cheap Audio Man said they were one of the best sounding speakers to him regardless the price, he said they had a similar sound signature to 600m but he liked the Sony's better. Go figure... Another excellent choice with sound rearing slightly to the brighter side woud be the Emotiva B1+ Airmotiv speakers. They're a direct online distributer and accept returns if your not happy. They are one of Cheap Audio Man's best bang for buck pics. Super detailed, he liked them better then the higher end Kef bookshelfs everyone raves about. A lot of unbiased reviews on You Tube. As for a warm sound signature, Wharfedale 1st comes to mind. Make sure room acoustics are decent before auditioning. Any speaker won't sound great in a poor sounding room. The room is the most important to SQ, then speaker placement, and then synergy of components I believe is how it goes. Good Luck! |
I don't think it's a bad question, it's just an out of place question. In a professional studio you can buy speakers that are known in the industry and that have good polar patterns. In a home you usually don't start with a clean acoustic canvas so you have to at least understand the acoustics of your room first to qualify your guess about what speakers would sound good in the room. Big leaps in acoustic dispersion design of speakers in the last few years buy Magico, Wilson, Joseph and the like.
|
+2 for the Dutch & Dutch 8C's. They are the most beguiling speakers I've ever heard. I purchased them without hearing them first and consider them to be my endgame speakers. These monitors throw a cardioid dispersion pattern, which help eliminate first wave reflections and have onboard DSP to balance out room modes. They go down to 17hz (-3Db) in my room and are incredibly detailed, minus the listen fatigue that usually accompanies high resolution presentations. If that weren't enough the designers are working on soon to be released integration with BACCH (cross talk cancellation software plug-in) that does what 3D glasses do for your eyes will do for your ears. This is truly revolutionary technology that once heard is near impossible to live without. |
I purchased my Theil 3.7s without hearing them first but had 2.4s prior so I was familiar with the sound. Very happy with my decision. Before I purchased the 2.4s I did some serious speaker shopping and listening however. I was surprised at the differences between some of the reviews, what I expected to hear and some of what I heard. Ideally, I would want to audition them in my listening room but there are a few brands that I would have confidence in like Wilson, Magico and Joseph Audio. |
Having owned a Audiostore I would ask ,what is your other equipment, room size and $$ budget all 3 things count in building system synergy for example if you have a Sonus Faber which is a bit warmer, or Wilson all tubes would be too much of a good thing in warmth., that’s just a example , and also what type of front end Thst too can be tubey warm sound if you had say a Lampizator. |
