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Best spkrs for rock: Dunlavy V-Watt/Puppy-Revel??

Hi:

I listen to mostly rock, classic rock and female vocals, VERY LOUDLY.

My main system now consists of:

NHT 3.3s,
NHT SubTwo Subwoofer (60Hz & below only)
Sony SCD 777es SACD player,
BAT VK5i preamp,
Audio Research M300mkII tube monoblocks,
MIT 750 Shotgun Tube Biwires,
MIT 350 Twin 30' ICs.

I will also be buying a used Cary 306/200, Audio Aero Capitole MkI, Wadia 860x or Electrocompaniet EMC-1 CD player as my main source.

I have a LARGE listening room with lots of glass & high sloping ceilings, app. 20x40 ft.

I want to upgrade my speakers, and I am considering a used pair of either Dunlavy SC-Vs, Wilson WATT3/Puppy2s, Aerial 10-Ts, Revel Ultima Studios, etc., etc.

My system is a tad bright right now, but not objectionaably so. The imaging is stellar, and the soundstage depth is good, not great. I want smooth, rich, warm sound, yet detailed and clear, and as I said, I listen at VERY loud volumes for extended periods of time.

Because of the size of speakers involved, I will obviously not be able to hear them with my system 'til I buy them, but, I guess I can just buy a good used pair here on Audiogon & sell them and try another pair if I need to.

Any comments/suggestions?

Thanks - Jeff
jeffj
drewfidelity
178 posts
 
Listen to a pair of ProAc 3.8's before you make your final decision. All of the speakers listed are very good choices. Many of them are designed to be extremely accurate monitors. I would say that rock music is not necessarily designed to be listened through these types of speakers. I think that you will find that some recordings will sound unbelievable and some recordings will sound very poor through some of the rather accurate speakers that you have listed. Revel, Wilson, and Dunlavy, in my opinion, fall into this category.

The ProAc rocks. It does not have a bright presentation. It may not be as accurate as the Revel or Dunlavy speaker line, but I would argue that it is a more musical speaker line. It errs on the side of easy to listen to and less detail specific. The ProAc 3.8 rocks.

I would think that of all the speakers mentioned so far the other great rock choice would be the Legacy speaker line. I have heard them in other peoples systems who prefer rock and they had a great sound. Listen to as many speakers as you can with your equipment before making a decision, but do yourself a favor and make sure that a pair of ProAc's are on your list.

Good Luck,
Drew
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Haven't heard them, but as a design consideration for high-level use in a large, reflective room, I wouldn't overlook checking into some of those newest large Dynaudio models in addition, which at least on paper seem well-engineered to cope with your type of situation.

Onhwy61: Listen, if Mejames has owned as many of John Dunlavy's speakers as he proclaims, and still can't spell the man's name correctly, I wouldn't get too worked up about what he says...
;^)
gregm
3,021 posts
 
Some very instructive advice above. I'll second Onwh's mention of active ATC's: keep them on your list. I have heard them with jazz, rock, blues -- loud. Detailed sound, "monitorish", but good musicality if a bit forward sounding. The ATC (100) sounded good on classical, too. You'll have fun!
steved
30 posts
 
I own Watt/Puppies and have heard the others you mention except for the Dunlavy's.

But I'd suggest none of the above. I'd look for a pair of Genesis V if you want smallish speakers (Wilson size) or the bigger Genesis if you can handle larger.

They will play extremely loud, extremely deep, are very transparent, and have a range of adjustments to tweak to your room.

Steve
mejames
986 posts
 
I was in a hurry when posting. Its my voice recognition software which spells it as Dunleavy I forgot to correct the incorrect spelling which should be Dunlavy. So I do know how to spell it correctly. I also know very well the capabilities of these speakers have about 4 years listening experience with them. I didn't know this was English class thought it was audiogon?
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