Heard the Goldmund in the city. Sounds best with Goldmund amps. Very good but not for me. That store had Kaiser, Raidho, Magico and Goldmund. I really liked the Kawero the best but they have 2 issues for me. First is that on certain tracks they get very bright. Like through my head bright. Where you frantically grab for the remote to turn it down bright. When that isn't happening they are truly stunning speakers. I don't know if I'm more sensitive to it then others, but I have now heard them in 4 different rooms including that store and 3 different shows. The same thing happened in all rooms with different equipment. The second issue is regarding design. They have a multi rear driver array which gives them incredible base extension. BUT, they need a LOT of room to really breath or they get flubby and lose. The manufacturer admitted that any closer then 4-5 feet from the front wall to rear of speaker is not ideal. My room doesn't afford me the luxury of getting the speaker out more home 3-4 feet off the front wall. So that and the brightness removed them from my list.
Acoustic zen are great speakers. I heard them at Axpona. They sounded great with tube gear, but nothing that took my breath away or caught my attention. Many speakers did that- very good but nothing that really set them apart from the rest.
Franco Serblin - nope. Never heard of them.
I heard the Boenicke W8SE+ At THE Newport with all Allnic amp/pre/front. About $150k worth of gear all said. They shined! I really enjoyed them. Like really. They caught my attention! And the fact that they are diminutive and gorgeous didn't hurt the lust factor. I actually went home and am trying to get one of my smaller local dealers to start carying them. With a variation in price from $8k-$18k depending on internal/external upgrades they are a wide approval factor dream speaker and worth the investment. All that said, they certainly are not in the same category as some of the $40-$100k contenders I was looking at. But I'd buy a pair for my family room in a heartbeat if I had the extra scratch!!!
Acoustic zen are great speakers. I heard them at Axpona. They sounded great with tube gear, but nothing that took my breath away or caught my attention. Many speakers did that- very good but nothing that really set them apart from the rest.
Franco Serblin - nope. Never heard of them.
I heard the Boenicke W8SE+ At THE Newport with all Allnic amp/pre/front. About $150k worth of gear all said. They shined! I really enjoyed them. Like really. They caught my attention! And the fact that they are diminutive and gorgeous didn't hurt the lust factor. I actually went home and am trying to get one of my smaller local dealers to start carying them. With a variation in price from $8k-$18k depending on internal/external upgrades they are a wide approval factor dream speaker and worth the investment. All that said, they certainly are not in the same category as some of the $40-$100k contenders I was looking at. But I'd buy a pair for my family room in a heartbeat if I had the extra scratch!!!