Perhaps you could tell us where you would like to place your speakers relative to to your room and listening position? |
Try the Ohm Acoustics line. You can try them and return if you do not like them. Used ones are rare in current models. I have only heard two sets but both times I wondered why they aren't talked about more. |
Legacy might have what you are looking for. |
well with the placement it will be forcing one of the speakers slightly closer to a sidwall by about a foot or so on one side, and then there will be a door in between them but not too close to either speaker, they will be approximatley 10 ft apart. |
Take a look at Meadowlark. Seriously dampend and well made cabinets which help compensate for some rear proximity issues, very efficient and reasonable. |
Here I go again (broken record comes to mind): Paradigm Studio 100 v2s. Good bass, good efficiency, good frequency response, nice imageing, good build quality. Zero snob appeal. |
Check out redesigned Dunalvy SC-III.A.
10" woofer and frequency response is stated to begin at 27Hz. I have the Cantatas (not made any longer) but the redesigned SC-III's is just about the same. The new owners of Dunlavy shortened up their line by eliminating the "old" SC-III, the Cantata and the Aletha. That last two were virtually identical and the old SC-III didn't have enough low end. The new SC-III.A rolls all three models into one.
Good luck
_bob |
How far from the back wall? How far from listener (triangle' leg)? |
maybe 15-18"s from the back wall, listener position about 9-10' could very depending on size of speaker and furniture position. |
You might audition some of the Snell towers. The all have good, tight bass (37 Hz and below) and offer options not found on other speakers that make them placement friendly - such as a rear firing tweeter (can be disabled) for spatial effect, and a boundary switch to compensate for bass boom.
Chris |
Matrix -
I don't know of any speaker that meets all of your criteria!
You see, there are tradeoffs between bass extension and efficiency that make it fairly difficult to find a 92 dB efficient speaker that truly goes deep in the bass within your price ballpark.
Speking of tradeoffs, in general small speakers do the soundstaging thing well, while big speakers do the bass/efficiency thing well. Getting both, once again, is fairly expensive.
And while there are technologies that make a speaker very forgiving of placement, they are also generally outside of your price ballpark, and don't include any 92 dB efficient speakers, to the best of my knowledge.
So, let me ask you a few of questions.
First, what exactly are the problems you anticipate as far as speaker placement? Boomy bass? Early sidewall reflections?
Second, if you can't have both deep bass and fairly high efficiency, what kind of balance is acceptable to you - in other words, what are you willing to trade off?
As far as soundstaging goes, are you looking for superb imaging for one person, or pretty good imaging over a wide sweet spot?
Best of luck to you. |
A wide sweet spot, Good bass Audiokinesis, I heard The meadowlark herons today and they are incredible build and sound but again outside the price range. They use pretty basic drivers, dual 6" about a 4" midrange and 3/4 tweet, not to exotic of drivers by no means but I think all the money is in the cabinets and crossovers, they are very impressive and I believe they are transmission line type. Anything out there even comparable? I would like to hear the Legacy Signature III which seem like a whole lot of speaker for the money, but that maybe a bad thing I dont know, finding a pair to listen to will be a chore. My worries audiokinesis is that I will have a semi-unconventional listening space, not too bad but I will be dealing with partition wall and doorways so not everything can be set up symetrically. Thanks for the info I am still doing the homework so keep the suggestions coming. |
Oh, by the way a few years ago I had a pair of Definitive technology towers which were transmission line Di-pole or Bi-pole I don't remember, anyway they were of good build quality and seemed like a really good design with 2 6.5" drivers in the front and 2 6.5" drivers in the back, and of course one tweet on each side, they were very strange sounding to say the least and I'm sure it had something to do with the backward fireing drivers because every speaker I ever hear with a tweeter or whatever fireing back I never liked, especially the ones with the volume(L-pad) built in. I would just turn them all the way down so not to hear the rear driver. Anyway I guess they would be great for rears in a home theater but not for Stereo imaging. Oh well. Thats why the meadowlarks shocked me because I never hear a real good transmision line before. |
Really tough requirements considering price point and existing equipment. The Dunlavys almost meet your requirements, but are probably out of your price point, besides as much as I like your amp the impedance load might be challenging. The only other speakers that comes to mind are Thiels. Again the impedance load is an issue, and they are not nearly as efficient, but you might be able to find something at your price point. May I suggest leaving money in your budget for some room treatment? |
Check out the System Audio line of speakers. I use to own a pair and they are very easy to position and sound amazing. System Audio is a Danish company and not too well known in the states but there are a few dealers. Good luck. |
Unsound, Why would the impeadance load be a problem? I just do not understand the statement is all, what should I be looking for in impeadance and are you talking about the amp? What do you like about it. Thanks |
I do realize that perfection cannot be had at any price point, But I have heard several Very expensive speakers that have made me think that it is not so much about how much money is spent but the true synergy of the complete system. It is not possible to audition every speaker out their and definatley not possible to keep switching electronics to match a speaker every time you find a missing link. The main thing is less waisting time Searching for these products and Listening to music. My senario is a tuff one that Is why I came to the best of the best, AUDIOGON AUDIOPHILES, Any info is always appreciated. |
Matrix, you are right on about perfection at any price and at some point you just have to do it. Sometimes one adjustment does lead to another in order to get the synergy you so rightly speak of. Re: the impedance load. Most Thiels don't go above 4 Ohms (they are also very stable). The Dunlavys drop to 3.5 Ohms (they are almost as stable as the Thiels). I believe your amp goes from 150 watts into 8 Ohms to 260 watts into 4 Ohms. Now numbers by themselves are not the end all to end all, but even Thiel recommends that a good starting point is to find an amp that can double down from 8 Ohms to 4 Ohms and better yet to 2 Ohms. I would suggest trying your amp with these type of speakers before buying. I have heard your amp on a few different systems (never at great length!) and the systems they were in always sounded quite nice. Damned, if I could remeber the rest of the associated equipment. I'll keep thinking about what might work for you, as I feel for your situation. I think you are going about it the right way. Good luck and keep us informed. |
Have you guys any experiance with the tyler acoustics line. They look very good for the money, I like the design of the Addison A212, I have read that the Linbrook monitors throw possibly the largest soundstage known in any dynamic speaker only being bested by the Avantgardes which are horn and very expensive, and I have personally heard the avantgardes and Have never heard anything near the sound they put out. |
Polk LSI 15's are $1,200 from www.jandr.com
Want more? Polk LSI 25's
I heard Polk and they are clearer than my B&W. Bass (powered sub) also stomps my B&W. They are not sweet. They are also not as well engineered or refined as B&W. But your listening to rock not classical.
I found Meadowlark stuff very fatiguing and after 1/2 hour my ears were wasted. I think Polk has good compromise between Meadowlark and the "other side" like B&W or Thiel. |
Matrix -
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions above.
Okay, I spent some time going over what's available used at this site.
My first suggestion would be the Paragon Regents speaker. The Paragons were a superb line that went out of business. They used lead-lined enclosures and so are quite heavy, but the sound quality is excellent. Efficiency is quite good and they are among the most relaxing box speakers made. As I recall they use the 3/4" Dynaudio tweet, which would give an exceptionally wide sweet spot, but I may be wrong. I can't say for sure that they are exceptionally forgiving of positioning, but the bass is nice & tight which is better than boomy if you have to place them near a wall. There's a pair of Regents on sale now for $1500 plus shipping (the company name is mis-spelled as "Parragon").
If by any chance there's some stretch in your budget, consisder the Audio Artistry Vivaldi's. These genuinely are very room-friendly, being a dynamic dipole. Dipoles put significantly less energy into room bass modes, and so their bass quality is much less dependent on room acoustics. There's a pair for $2500.
There are also several Audio PHysic speakers for sale here. Their tweeter has exceptionally wide dispersion, which helps to give them a very wide sweet spot. They tend to be a bit on the warm side, so they may not be the best choice for placement close to a wall.
And finally, there's a pair of TDL "M" studio monitors. These transmission line speakers have very natural-sounding midrange and bottom end, and their tight bass should work well close to a wall. This is another very fine company that sadly went out of business, and this pair is a steal at the posted price. If you liked the Meadowlarks, then the TDL's are worth considering.
I hope these suggestions help.
Best wishes,
Duke |
