thinking more about this...
maybe put $13k ito speakers and $12k into a new room...
maybe put $13k ito speakers and $12k into a new room...
2017 ‘Keeper’ speakers under - $25K
Heading towards the second half of 2017, I thought to ask here what other’s feel based on their experiences, wants or desires, exactly which recent production speakers under $25K, would be the ones you would want to marry.
Or be in a very long term fundamentally though not totally committed, relationship.
One wherein if they promise to satisfy on demand, you promise to keep them clean and sufficiently supplied with power and the purest of signals, not to leave dirty clothes on the floor, and to take the trash out daily, er, uh, regularly.
Actually, those last two items are predominately conscience driven and do not command perfect adherence.
Which speakers hands down just flat out captivated your attention, fancy, or were so compelling they made a significant impact.
In short, Speakers that have taken your breath away .
As speakers are merely one part of the ching let’s qualify things somewhat.
1. Speakers which can run very well in medium sized rooms. EX. 14 to 18ft wide, and 17 to 25ft long or deep, with ceilings from 8.5ft to 10ft H, or so.
2. If a sub was or should have been added, please, mention that as well.
3. If an Ultra high end setup, massive SS power amps, Tubes, or flea watt amps, were feeding and or driving them noting it would be appropriate.
4. Recent production since 2015. New or used.
Although it seems prudent to list only current production speakers, I know adding on the facet of pre-owned adds a lot more choices for the ‘desert island’ I got mine, you get your’s, scenario, but what the hey. It beats that 250 to 500 plus hours of run in new units usually insist upon.
If links to accounts or info on them is available, please include it.
As this is about options anyhow, let no design be excluded.
Or be in a very long term fundamentally though not totally committed, relationship.
One wherein if they promise to satisfy on demand, you promise to keep them clean and sufficiently supplied with power and the purest of signals, not to leave dirty clothes on the floor, and to take the trash out daily, er, uh, regularly.
Actually, those last two items are predominately conscience driven and do not command perfect adherence.
Which speakers hands down just flat out captivated your attention, fancy, or were so compelling they made a significant impact.
In short, Speakers that have taken your breath away .
As speakers are merely one part of the ching let’s qualify things somewhat.
1. Speakers which can run very well in medium sized rooms. EX. 14 to 18ft wide, and 17 to 25ft long or deep, with ceilings from 8.5ft to 10ft H, or so.
2. If a sub was or should have been added, please, mention that as well.
3. If an Ultra high end setup, massive SS power amps, Tubes, or flea watt amps, were feeding and or driving them noting it would be appropriate.
4. Recent production since 2015. New or used.
Although it seems prudent to list only current production speakers, I know adding on the facet of pre-owned adds a lot more choices for the ‘desert island’ I got mine, you get your’s, scenario, but what the hey. It beats that 250 to 500 plus hours of run in new units usually insist upon.
If links to accounts or info on them is available, please include it.
As this is about options anyhow, let no design be excluded.
- ...
- 136 posts total
Glad to see the Focal Sopra on the short list. I went to listen to Maggies (I like detail) I listened to the maggies and wasn't as excited as I wanted to be. Then I listened to the Focal Sopra 2's. I knew I was getting these!!! Absolutely loved them. Got electrostatic detail from a dynamic speaker with bass. I was a Dynaudio guy (still am ...kept my Contour 3.3's but sold my Sapphires) but these Sopra's are just so detailed/lifelike that they took over as my main speakers. My room is smaller than yours (approx. 18 x 12' ) and wondered if I should have waited for the Sopra 3's but was told the 2's would be better for my room. I would go for the Sopra 3's in your room. If you buy something before hearing the Sopra 3's then my advice would be not to go listen to them as you may have regrets! Good luck with this endless hobby! |
blindjim I am headed quickly into the sunset, retirement is calling, but would live to chat. Have some great ideas for you. www.soundsrealaudio.com |
Sorry, I simply did not see the second page. 8-)) sheesh My gratitude for all the input herein is immense. Thanks all if I miss someone.. Chances are quite high that if or when I’m able to launch the new squeaker enterprise, I’ll soon be moving, so the room will be either similar or hopefully, larger by some. Likely not by a lot, but some. Hopefully wider, about the same in depth. Can’t say at all about ceilings. My expectations are that during my travels, I’ll walk into a room and the sound will pin my jaw to the floor, it will be within reach financially, and I’ll hand over my plastic or go to a local bank and get the bread.. sancho22 > After 52 pairs of speakers: DeVore O/96 - with the appropriate room and matched electronics - Second the Vandy Trio with Vandy subs - sublime Blindjim > What is the correct or merely a great elec match for Devor’s? Mresseguie > I won't try to dissuade you from the Poseidons, but I'd like to direct your attention to the new Daedalus Apollo speakers. Blindjim > Daedalus is merely on the short list of imagined choices. Nothing is set to stone. Logistics there might be a limiter. Thanks for the nod to Apollos. Michael > “Next down on my list would be the AZ Crescendos, but their price tag is higher.” jim > again, distance or availability with any or all of those listed here or on my own list, could be concerns. I seriously doubt I’ll purchase ANY speakers without hearing them. Period. Not at some of these prices. pokey77 > I feel like I'm sorta in the same boat. I've heard systems from less than $10k total to well over a half a million. 1. Mbl - The Corona line. for $32k you can get an integrated, CD/DAC, and a pair of Mbl 126 speakers. I've heard a great number of Mbl electronics/speakers over the last four years and I can't get enough. I always sit in their room much much longer than any other room. 2. ARC LS28/VT80 RefCD9 source with Wilson Audio Sabrina speakers. they both make such nice music. 3. Heard the Sabrina with the ARC GSi75 integrated and found that experience very nice. Blindjim > thanks loads. See above for feedback on what and when I’ll reach for the wallet. Ebm > Used Magico Q3 or S3 mk2 jump on them ASAP!!!!!! Blindjim > we’ll see. Thanks much. cb5300 > I would probably buy a pair of Legacy Audio Aeris... Of course, on the other hand, I have been completely happy with my 11K Focus SE's.... blindjim > I’ve given more than some thought to the Legacy’s. deepee99 > … speakers ought to occupy 70% of your hardware budget. Blindjim > tanks for the input. sorry. 70% is far too high IMHO. deepee99 > speaks in need of re-habbing blindjim > check. I have a pair I pray I can send back and get completely re-done up in Jacksonville. 11 years ago they sold for about $4K. just some very nice sounding 100lb. towers. They eat watts. bassdude2 > Legacy Audio Aeris blindjim > they intimidate me. They could even be smarter. Hddg > XTZ Divine Alpha, no hesitation Blindjiom > tanks for stopping by. rodge827 > Lowthers blindjim > very informative and much appreciated. I’ve always been astonished at what a single driver can do from their reports. I’ve never heard one. mr_m > the Vandy Quattro Wood CT with 2Wq subs might meet your need. They don't require large or expensive amps to sing, With the built in bass adjustment along with the subs, you can perfectly dial in the bottom end for just about any room. Cheers, blindjim > thanks Tim. Doubtless, somewhere along the line I’ll run into a pair of these, so we’ll see. The ‘grief’ was a minor issue but not handled well at all. 4425 > No tubes needed on latest Wilson's with new soft dome tweeter. It's very extended and smooth. Not exotic which is fine with me. - Had Revels before and think highly of them as well. Blindjim > interesting. I always found former WAS units dry or overly hard with leading edges of notes, and felt in nearly every case it was a setup or synergy issue given their popularity. Atmosphere > I think you can get into a set of Classic Audio Loudspeakers model T3 for the budget you've mentioned. The speakers are easy to set up in most rooms. I have them about 6 inches from the wall behind them and they image very nicely. You don't need a subwoofer (they easily shake the building with only a few watts as they have dual 15" woofers in each cabinet) and they are easily driven by tubes as they are 98 db and 16 ohms. Blindjm > that is a compelling argument. Thank you very much. I can only say now as with all other advisories, we’ll see. Swampwalker > I’ve learned some things along the way. I like tubes. A good tube system to my ears sounds like music, a good ss rig sounds like a good ss rig. So once that was settled, it means looking for tube-friendly speakers. The beauty of a high eff speaker is that it mates well with tubes AND it does not require horsepower size amps. That means you can use modest powered amps that do not break the budget. The Thor EL-34s would be great, but if you have not heard the Classic Audio/Atma combo that Ralph Karsten demos at shows like RMAF, you should. A pair of M-60s produced rock concert level volume in a very, very large room not the little converted overnight rooms, but one of the very good sized conference rooms. That allows you to keep your amp budget down and put more $ into the speakers. I used to own M-60s but let them get away (my bad), but now I have a fully loaded S-30 that does just fine in my 14x 23 room. The Hornings use a modified Lowther for the mids, a wave guide tweeter, and multiple smaller (maybe 8") woofers in a modern slim tower cabinet. The Classic Audio speakers use horns with conventional very large woofers. To my ears, no shout in either one. If you prefer the VAC sound over an OTL, you can get a used Ren 30/30 for about $3-4K that will give you all the dBs you will ever need with high 90 dB speakers. I mention these two brands because I have used them both with 95/96 dB speakers and thought they worked very well, and you will hear only the best comments on the level of service VAC and Atma-sphere provide. Blindjim > thanks Swamp…. Because I’m here but not all there, once the proposition of actually seeing High Eff speakers as the course, then comes the well, OK>.. horns… well then which ones? Which amps? Which style SET amps? @@ I appear to be the only one in the crowd I know of that has used a tube preamp and tube monos as were the dodd EL34s @ 120wpc… maybe. Running in ultralinear I had no gripes. A little wish for more of this or that, but in all, was pretty happy with the amp and spkr combo back then.. Put it this way, I sure regret having to sell the Dodds and Sonata IIIs due to some dregs of society and LEO response times.. Existing hesitations in dedicating myself to tubes and High Eff speakers solely, surround the genres of music I enjoy. I used to like both kinds of music. Country and Western. My tastes have matured some and have spread out like Georgia Cud-zoo. I’m all in on the likes of AC/DC to Zydego. I dig Ella and Hartman, holiday and turentine, Parker, Felonius, Classic rock, old school R&B, blues especially, and so many others. Even Fourplay, Spyro Gyra, big band jazz, pop, blues, and rock. Folk, alternative, and now am getting into symphonies, and eegad, perhaps opera, but don’t tell anyone . So I want punch and drive when its called for and as well as imaging and accuracy when the source material provides for it. Lastly, I’d want the speakers to look as traditional as possible. Not open baffled, or some Frakenstuff array. Mostly. How much I’m willing to sacrifice my desires hangs on what is delivered, I suppose. I pray I’d not cut my nose off to spite my face and choose a lesser pair for esthetics over performance, if push came to shove. I’ve no current spouse to assuage so it is my call flat out. Huge thanks Swampwalker. randy-11 > thinking more about this... blindjim > see above on the ‘room’ aspect. It might well change too. Gdhal > And in that case, he would still have enough for the Golden Ear Triton Reference :) Blindjim > tanks. Never heard of those, but have now and its the ‘why’ of this topic. Cool. 2bz > I listened to the Focal Sopra 2's. I knew I was getting these!!! Absolutely loved them. Got electrostatic detail from a dynamic speaker with bass. - Sopra's are just so detailed/lifelike that they took over as my main speakers. My room is smaller than yours (approx. 18 x 12' ) and wondered if I should have waited for the Sopra 3's but was told the 2's would be better for my room. Blindjim > IIs are cheaper too. - If you buy something before hearing the Sopra 3's then my advice would be not to go listen to them as you may have regrets! Good luck with this endless hobby! Blindjim > lol. Nope. There’s an end. Many just don’t see it when they get there. Soundsrealaudio > www.soundsrealaudio.com Blindjim > thanks. Maybe so. I found out a while back, I don’t know everything. Problem is, I have to constantly remind myself of it. |
- 136 posts total