You've got quite a wide variety of speakers there. I personally have never found an Alon speaker which captured that elusive quality - musicality. I've not heard the big Sonus Fabers but have heard two other models. Both made real music and looked beautiful. The new Wilsons are supposed (according to reviews) to have less if any of their previous sound, which I always thought contained quite a bit of artificiality. I've only heard one Genesis model and it, too, lacked real musicality; too mechanical sounding for my tastes. As I'm sure you know, matching amplifiers is very important!!! For sheer beauty of sound and music I don't think you can beat Proac 3.8s. They also have real deep bass but need 100 hours break-in before sounding real good. I am using Proac 2.5s, bi-amped with an 2a3 SET on the tweeters and a Transcendent Sound 25wt OTL on the woofers. Except for a slight reduction in the volume from the tweeters (oddly enough, the extension and air is fine) this is the best sound and music I've ever had. |
The Watt Puppy 6s would be my suggestion. They are incredible in terms of imaging and detail. They are wonderfully musical and incredibly fast and accurate. They are also quite reasonably sized. The only other contender on your list would be the Sonus Faber Amati Homage. |
Hi Rwd, May I suggest the Avalon Eidolon. Good luck, Tom |
Greetings "Rwd", One of the finest loudspeaker systems available is from Tyler Acoustics. The Linbrook $12,000 system is TA's finest accomplishment that will play music as well as any speaker at any price. If you're in Las Vegas this coming weekend (i.e. January 6-9, 2001), they will have this system on hand for demonstration at the St. Tropez Resort Hotel in room 1803 (next to the Alexus Park Resort Hotel). You can also see this new flagship online too... http://tyleracoustics.home.mindspring.com/linbrook.html Happy listening! Best regards, -Donald J. Winslow, Owner W ENTERPRISES NORTHWEST -Portland, OR USA http://www.wenterprisesnw.com/start.htm wenw@uswest.net |
check out the newform research nhb645 or r645. http://www.newformresearch.com/ http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/Speaker/product_8052.shtml 30-day in-home trial, yure only out shipping if ya don't like 'em. giant-killers at the price - <$2500... |
I have a pair of Sonus Faber Extremas. (Retail $11,000) I have never heard anything that comes close. I highly recomend audtioning a pair. |
I strongly recommend adding the Revel Studio and Salon to your list. I listened extensively to most of the speakers on your list before making my purchase and found the Revels to be, in my opinion, the most musical sounding. As for dealers, I suggest you contact Mike of Frank at Audio Outlet in Mount Kisco, NY -(914)666-0550 - www.audiooutlet.com. These guys are extremely friendly and knowledgeable and gave me what I consider to be an excellent deal. What is also good about them is that they carry many brands and have a lot of items in stock to audition and compare. For example, they carry Revel, Wilson, Audio Physic, Dynaudio, Verity, ProAc, Avalon, etc. As a matter of fact, I believe they are currently selling their demo Eidolons and a couple of their Wilsons. Furthermore, they will accept trades or help you sell your current equipment. I highly reccommend these guys. Hope this helps. Ed G. |
Thank you all for the a quick and thoughtful response. I will take all of your suggestions....and when this is over I hope to report back to you all. |
If you want small and great sound, you should listen to the new Merlin VSM Mellinium. |
they're probably not small enough, but i compared the jm labs mezzo utopias to wilsons watt/puppy 6, eggy's rosas, audio physics virgos and revel salons and ended up with the mezzos. good luck. |
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I find Alons quite musical, if a bit fussy about the electronics they are mated with. Alons are NEUTRAL amd will not add a "character" of their own. I love my Alon Vs, especially their huge soundstage, coherence and transparency. You don't say what kind of music you listen to, but you did mention "stage, depth and bass". One of the things I enjoy about the Vs is that they ARE full range and able to handle complex music and wide dynamic swings with aplomb. The Circes have that same soundstage and uncanny coherence, but are quite a bit more refined and even more transparent. Alons are voiced with tube equipment and do sound their best with tubes somewhere in the system. (I'm running mine with ss amp and tube pre.) I also second the ProAcs. Very differnet from Alons. I heard the 3.8s sounding very fine in an all Cary system playing jazz. Another option might be Wilson-Benesch Actors - John Marks recently raved about them in TAS and he has very musical ears. Good luck and report back on what you find. |
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I second the motion on Thiels. |
Hi Rwd, Coincident Tech. has a new speaker called the Total Eclipse. Very efficient, works great with SET amps. Coincidentspeaker.com. Hi Pops, how ya be. |
In that price category the Vandersteen 5's are almost unbeatable. Stay away from the incohherent speakers that use high order crossovers, like the Revels, ProAcs, etc. They sound great in the dealers room and become fatiguing at home. They are not "right" ! I would add to the Vandersteen the Thiels 6 and 7.2, the SoundLabs electrostatic, the Sonus Fabers, the avalon Eidolon, the smaller Pipe Dreams. There are others which I have not heard which seem worth listening. |
Hey Brulee, what's up - I'm hangin. |
Rwd: If possible in your area try and audition the higher end Reynaud speakers. They are all supposed to be musical instead of HiFi. I own their cheapest model and could not be happier with the sound. |
hi joe_c, dint ya say a while back that yer an all-digital man? and that ya don't care for toobs or preamps? i guess this would explain, at least to me, anyways, why ewe like the vandy's. no offense meant, cuz i know that vandersteen has a big following, but i never liked any of their speakers - too syrupy/bland, not much soundstage, not very revealing - gimme a proac *any* day! ;~) perhaps they can be synergistically mated nicely w/digital & solid-state equipment... regards, doug |
The Vandy 5s are musical (i heard them recently), I've never heard a pair or Thiels that were. It's all about musicality, do the speakers make music or do they make "accurate sound"? Personally, I'd go for the music; go for the Proacs or Vandys |
Go for the Genesis 350. You can adjust them in almost any fashion and to almost any room. Perhaps there is too many parameters to play with... Another fine thing with them is the 1500W bass amp so you only need 30- W to drive the tweeters and midrange, i.e. a small tube amp is sufficent. No need for expensive Krell monos. Put the money on cables and room treatment insteed. IMHO (I am Swedish -hence my english) Hans |
