Actually
douglas_schroeder has a point. Sometimes its more important to know what NOT to buy, than what to buy. How about starting a post about what speakers to stay away from? |
I wanted to add that I recently purchased a used pair of Dynaudio 42's, and to me they sound pretty similiar (from what I remember) to the original cbm-170. I'd say the Ascend has less bass, a brighter tweeter and a more detailed midrange. The 42 in comparison has a thicker, darker midrange, more bass slam and a much better tweeter. Overall they are both ruthlessly revealing and sound fantastic with certain music, but too harsh on other music. Both are much differen't than a forgiving speaker like a psb. |
I have been comparing Maggie LRS with Zu Dirty Weekend - powered by Schiit Vidar monoblocks and a Freya preamp. The Zu's are very good with a sweet sound and beautifully-made cabinets from Utah. They also let me go a little past their 60-day full-refund period while I waited on Magnepan LRS's to arrive. The music started out of the LRS's before I even sat down and I knew I was listening to something more profound. I listened to Mahler's 2nd and was even moved to tears in the 4th movement. That totally surprised me and pretty much made my decision. And the usual caveat: this is true for me and my partially damaged ears in my particular listening room. I think the LRSs'bass is somewhat muddy on genres with a driving/thumping bass lines, so eventually I will find a subwoofer to fill out the LRS's. But surprisingly, I really liked the way the LRS's handled bass on jazz trio and vocal music. The Zu's do a very decent job from high to low. Brian |
@esch, I concur with your opinon regarding the Zu vs. Maggie. I, too, tried a pair of Zu Union, and Omen speakers. In both cases, they were very close to my Vandy speakers (Treo's and VLR's), but seemed to lack the 'refinement' Vandy offers. I suspect the same occurs with Maggies. Re Bass: One thought that occurs to me is that the Schiit Vidar Monoblocks aren't up to the task of powering Maggies. Yes, they work, but I think you would be surprised if you put in a nice Class A amp, Heck, even an AB amp like McCormack should probably tighten up that bass. Schiit makes an impressive product for the money, but Maggies really like a good power source to deliver the goods. My 2 cents... Bob |
