Are you thinking you need a monitor because you don't have the physical space for a larger speaker or because your're concerned about too much bass ? If it's the latter then I'd say that your room looks amply big to accomodate small floorstanders wihtout overdoing the bass.
So now to recommendations. I would seriously consider monitors and a separate powered subwoofer. For your budget you could get a Rel Strata 3 (used) and a pair of GMA Europas, or Spendor S3/5s, Proac 1scs etc etc. By getting a separate subwoofer you can have all the bass you need and tune it to the room, using positioning and crossover settings. The monitors can then be placed for optimum midrange and stereo soundstage. This is a more flexible setup than floorstanders. I have this type of setup and I like being able to turn the sub up on recordings that sound a bit thin and turn it down (or off) on recordings that are a bit bass heavy. My room is 11x11 ! Yes .. this is a crude tone control, but it makes all of my CDs and LPs very enjoyable since I never get too little or too much bass.
One floorstander that comes to mind would be an older pair of audio physic virgos, but these are supposed to be well out into the room, which may not work for you. |
I would highly recommend looking at the Usher X-718 or X-719 monitor. Not your average stand mountspeaker as it weighs in at about 35 lbs each.
I now use the X-718 for a lot of my modification testing or when bring in a new product. The bass in these speakers is unheardof for the price (under $1k new!!) The rest of the presentation is everything you would expect from a high end speaker system. The midrange is articulate and lifelike with the upper end having an exceptional sense of air. The build quality has to be seen to believe. |
I second the recommendation for ProAc's. While I am not familiar with the 1scs, I recently heard a pair of Tablette Reference 8's, which had incredible low end for their size (10.5" tall). Their price is quite good, too, and at $1,200 list per pair, you could still afford a decent subwoofer. However, for $500 (list) more, I ordered a pair of the Tablette Reference 8 Signatures, which go even lower (38Hz, versus 40Hz) and supposedly sound much more than $500 better. Also in your price range would be a pair of used Thiel SCS3's, which are rated to 46Hz, but sound even lower, and have great detail and imaging.
And I agree, that to get good deep bass, and still have main speakers to fit the size of your room well, monitors and a powered sub are probably the way to go. Most floor standers that are properly scaled to your room are probably going to need a little help in the low end to meet the goals that you are stating, so they could use a sub as well. For floor standers, new Thiel CS1.6's or used CS.5's (or 1.5's), Totem, Meadowlark, and ProAc come to mind.
Tom. |
CHECK THE SOUNDSTAGE REVIEWS OF THE SHAMROCK EIRE OR GO DIRECTLY TO THE SHAMROCK AUDIO WEBSITE & CHECK THEM OUT. BASS TO 35HZ BRFORE IT STARTS TO ROLL OFF & IS NOT BOOMY/BLOATED BEFORE IT GETS THERE |
totem's mani2 is an incredible monitor that goes low, but may be a bit above your price range, even used? i would suggest two other totem models, the tabu, which i currently run with excellent results. not the last word in bass definition for a monitor, but it goes low enough for me, and lower than most monitors i've heard that keep the mids and highs 'right'. and for a 'small' floorstander, consider the totem sttaf. good luck in your quest... |
Thanks for your reply's, have any of you had any experience with the Cliffhanger Bulldogs? Or maybe the Soliloquy 6.o? |
The used Platinum Solo's for about $600 per pair have extremely satisfying bass, along with full range sound, and musicality. I have used with 35 watts per channel tube amp, and in a room your size always enjoyed it. I don't know if your amp will definitely allow you to crank it up, as there have been posts by those who stated they needed multi-hundred transistor watts per channel to achieve best performance in their larger listening rooms. |
I recommend JM Reynaud Trentes which have terrific midrange and high end but the bass coming from those 8" x 10" x 16" boxes is nothing short of amazing. I know the way they handle the bass on the first song on Kid A (Radiohead) is very satisfying but the way they do acoustic music is even better. Plus they are easy to drive, 30 watts will do fine. I used to have Maggie 1.6s which have great bass as well and these almost go as deep but are more articulate IMO. |
try a pair of Aurum Cantus...quite fascinating. |
i second Jh2os response about the Mani 2's from totem. very musical full range monitor. they are expensive but worth every penny. they are rather ineffecient, so you need a good powerful amp to drive them. i upgraded from a pair of totem 1's mated with a REL sub in my audio room. For $2000 used, you can buy a small totem floor standing speaker. I would audition the staff, hawk, and forest speakers, and of course the mani 2's. |
Coincident Triumph UHS.
Give em a shot.
BE |
Hi,
I just picked up a pair of these from KAVD and for the price they are a very impressive speaker.
I have owned JM Reynaud Offrandes and the Focus Audio 688 monitors,two very impressive speakers.
The bass on the Aurum Cantus is precise with depth and texture.
The g2 ribbon tweeter is one of the best I have heard and the driver intergration is excellent.
Fit and finish is excellent.
Kellsie AV Design is the importer and mods the speakers to achieve the level of bass and intergration.
He is a great guy to deal with and has them listed on Audiogon under KAVD.
IMHO these are a real sleeper.
I'm also going to give his Kavent/Shengya CDP a try. |
First heard the AC Leisure2 SE in its original form at a freind's home, and I was really impressed with the build quality and performance. Recently ordered a pair from KAVD, which is modified in many areas. The result is much better and simply fantastic. It has the best highs, clear smooth mids, and an incredible bass for this size of a monitor. I can clearly hear bass E at a tightly controled fashion, which indicates a bass extention close to 40Hz, very rare in this league. |
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You might want to consider a pair of Dave Ellis 1801 monitors with cabinets made by Jim Salk (www.salksound.com). Absolutely gorgeous cabinets in custom wood with award winning driver design. Add a Vandersteen or VBT sub later on to pick up the lower frequencies. |
I'll chime in on the Totem Mani-2s being great for bass as well as just about everything else. Amazing speaker. I really didn't want to spend the $$ on them, but be advised you can get them used for around $2K. I'm not fond of spending that much cash buying used so I "settled" for the ACI Sapphire 25th Anniversary Edition which gives about 80-90% of the performance for 1/3 of the cost.
The ACI Sapphires low freqs are one of its many strong points as far as I'm concerned. It reaches down fairly deep but not earth-shatteringly so. It's a rather large monitor at 35 lbs [Scan Speak tweeter, Vifa 7" woofer]. One of the great values in audio today as far as I'm concerned [you can only buy them direct from ACI for $1300]. An even better deal is if you can get ACI to sell you the Jaguar as a monitor-only pair as they did for years and years. IIRC they sold at around $2300 or so, but now only seem to come with hefty low frequency modules at a price of $7000 (yikes!).
I have not heard the Quad 12Ls unfortunately, but I do own the 11Ls. Good but not great in the bass department, it really sings in the mids. The 12Ls have a larger woofer and supposedly richer bass. The Quad 11Ls are perfect for a small apartment or office. |
I use Spendor S3/1p (6.5" 2way) for my HT system specifically because they're much more efficient and have far superior bass to the otherwise fine S3 or LS3/5a...also mate perfectly with the spendor SC3 center speaker, which is basically a double-woofered S3. Too bad Spendor's discontinued it, as turned sideways it's a helluva monitor too...both it and the /1p are like S3s on steroids. |
