Dear Maria,
I have heard the Cremona on several occasions and I don't think it is up to the quality of your other components.
I own the Guarneris and although I can assure you that with your system the midrange and treble will be wonderful, you should look into whether the Lectron could drive the Guarneri's bass adequately. I've had some difficulty finding the right amp/preamp combination to really make them sing. You may want to take a look at the Amati Homage (budget?). I also second looking at the Verity. Jeff |
I got ya on that one Doug. You see, I am still musically relatively undeveloped. However, my better half, who is the actual musician, is developed. So far, she has bought three LP's with encouragement from me to buy more.
Which did she purchase you might ask? Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.
So you see Doug, I may, with any luck, get there :-)
Thanks for your help,
Peter |
Peter,
As Dan_Ed said, Nick's modded Lectron is far more capable with a wide range of speakers than anyone could guess from the specs. It has the transparency to play cleanly with horns and the oomph to handle tough crossovers and efficiencies in the upper 80db range, like our B&W's.
As you probably know, Nick drives ATC monitors with a Lectron that's pretty much identical to yours. There are no problems with volume or amp stress in his system. He can rock without distortion at chest crushing SPL's, and his listening room is *much* larger than yours.
The ATC's aren't my cup of tea and I'm unfamiliar with most of your other speaker choices, but from the description of what you're seeking I'd keep them on the list. The Merlins also work really well with the Lectron. A little less weight and body than the ATC's, better for Edith Piaf and the single malt I think.
I did notice that your idea of "everything" in music was missing a little from the classical side. For real music you need real speakers, not them head bangin' ATC's or those seductive Merlins. ;-)
|
Thanks Johnny. John, how do the encores perform with rock, bigger movemnts, loudness, etc. Like I stated before, I've heard verty's are great in intimate setting but may not perform with well on the rockin' you out scene.
This of course may be ok with me but i just want to get a feel for their performance. Say, how far apart do you have yours and how far do you sit from them.
That goes for all recommendations folks, that info would be most useful to me as i figure on how to get floorstanders into my room.
Thanks for all your great sugestions all.
Oem, Nick can be contacted through Larry Marcus at paragon Sight and Sound.
Cheers,
Peter |
I know of a pair of Veritys that you could get at a good price. They are my favorite speaker and for your applicatio n they would do nicely. Pair of Fidelio Encores for between 5000 and 6000. Call Decible Audio in Chicago. |
Hi Peter,
I see you are interested in the Verity Fidelo Encore and the Parsifal Ovation. May I recommend the Verity Parsifal Encore? These are what I use, and I love them. I've owned them for 2 years and have no desire to upgrade.
You have to understand that the Parsifal monitor was introduced in 1995. In 1998, Verity added the bass cabinet and the Parsifal Encore was born. The Ovation came out in 2005. My pair of Parsifal Encore's were made in 2004, and you could get a pair for much less than the cost of a pair of Ovations, figure $6-8K depending on finish, age, etc. I doubt you could get a pair of Ovations for under $10K. I believe the biggest difference is Verity went to a larger woofer for the Ovation (8" vs. 6").
Cheers,
John |
I can't imagine you not wanting to hear one of the Vandersteen speakers. They all are a steal at each of their price points... |
Thanks for the help folks. I've never heard horns before and have wondered about their sound. i am surprised no one has put in a vote for the verty's since they recieve such good reviews from folks here
Dan ed, where do I find out more info about the Edgarhorn? I admire your DIY attitude. How mush of a time investment is such a feat, biulding a speaker?
I'll look into the Avantegarde's Chris. Thanks for the suggestion.
How about audio physics? Any opinions there?
Cheers |
08-07-07: Mariasplunge
Those look interesting Johnnyb. What room size are you listening to those in and how far away are you sitting from them? How do they handle rock?
The living room is nominally about 16'x18', but it's in an open architecture with 15' high cathedral ceiling and an open sweep to the front hall, the dining room, and a half-flight of steps to the upstairs hall. These omnis, even the small satellites, are particularly adept at filling large spaces with sound. I originally hit on them for my next door neighbor, who was looking for a new stereo to fill a similar space with open architecture. And Mirages rock. I have a pair of the older full-range bipolar Mirages in my "big rig", and they're linear to 29Hz and with a good amp, deliver plenty of rock-solid thump. The OMD-28s are several generations newer, are more expensively built, and would be even faster, cleaner, and more extended. All Mirages I've encountered can rock hard, while the full-range ones scale extremely well from solo and small-group acoustic to big band and full scale orchestra and chorus at the other end. When the original Mirage M1 Bipolars came out, they immediately became a Stereophile Class A component at about half the price of the next cheapest speaker in the category. These OMD-28s would be worlds better. |
Hi Peter,
As Nick explained to me, the Lectron was designed for horns by a horn-lover. I've recently hooked mine up to some speakers I've just build using Edgarhorn DIY Titan's. Depending on how much you're willing to take on, these can be done in your price range. I still have some work to do on the speakers but so far the match is great! The only issue that arises is LF extension. But most horn schemes make use of subs. You might be in the same boat if you went with the Merlins. |
Hi Peter.I see you have upgraded your system quite a bit since your beginning posts.Wonderful system.If you dont have a fortune invested in CD's I would put digital aside for now, possibly forever and go for the Sonus Faber.They are very sweet.If you crave dynamics with effortless flow look for
horns Tannoy comes to mind.My room is 12x21 and have similar tastes in music(if its good its good)and have enjoyed both speakers in my room.Now maybe you can advise me. How can i contact Nick Doshi.Good luck
Marty |
I have a couple of addenda to my previous post. First, concerning the Mirage OMD-28s, I listen to ALL kinds of music on my Omnisats sourced from LP, and they never disappoint, whether it's solo, small group jazz or acoustic folk/pop, electronica, new age, piano, big band, or large scale orchestral. They'd probably be better off with a big, powerful SS amp though. OTOH, something to look into to go with your 50 wpc tube amp would be the Zu Audio Druid or Definition Mk2. These speakers have a sensitivity rating of 101 dB. The Druids have a nominal impedance of 12 ohms, which would be very tube-friendly. The Definitions, unfortunately, are rated at 6 ohms. Here's a review of the Druids which specifically mentions that they do their thing well at all volumes. That is something you're more likely to get with a highly sensitive speaker (and 101 dB is way sensitive). All speakers I've mentioned are somewhere in or around your price range. The Mirages are $7500/pr, the Druids $2800, and the Definitions $9000. You could bridge the gap between the Druids and Definitions (and retain that amp-friendly 12-ohm load) by getting Druids plus a Zu Audio subwoofer. See Zu Audio's website. |
That's an easy one for me..... Avantgarde Duo's! I have had a pair for about a year now and love em. They can can play Hip-Hop and AC/DC with enough slam that your chest will hurt, then turn right around and play Billie Holliday so beautifully you could cry..... I am like you and run the musical gammut (last night I went from Erikah Badu to Ben Webster meets Gerry Mulligan to Heifetz/Beethoven violin concerto (oh, and The Band)).... AMong others. They are incredibly efficient and can play very quietly and not give up any detail..... And no, when they are set-up correctly they don't sound honky (i.e. have horn colorations).
I am not familiar with your amp, but they do like tubes. Most people use SET's with them but you can surely use a PP design as well.
Chris |
Those look interesting Johnnyb. What room size are you listening to those in and how far away are you sitting from them? How do they handle rock?
Thanks,
Peter |
If you want a real departure, check out the Mirage OMD-28. This is Mirage's high end assault on 2-channel playback incorporating a much higher-spec version of their Omnipolar module. I got married in my living room in Dec. 2004; we had musicians provide live music for the ceremony and afterward. A couple months later I got some Mirage Omnisats and a subwoofer for the living room system. The Omnisats replaced some Wharfedale Diamond floor-standers, and the improvement in the illusion of reality was uncanny. The Mirages energize the room the same way live instruments had done a couple months previously. Nothing else has sounded so live in the room as the Omnipolar units. So a high end, full-range version with much more sophisticated drivers and cabinetry should be interesting indeed. It would eliminate the sub/sat positioning and tuning I face and significantly improve resolution, dynamics, and linearity, while maintaining a carefully tuned ratio of sound radiation based on Mirage's 20+ years of research into speaker/room interactions and psycho-acoustics. |
Yes, budget will be in the 5 to 7k range (for used equipment)with the outside chance that I would forgo getting a higher quality cdp and spend more on say the parsifals or amati homage, 10-13k range. This however is an outside chance.
I should say that even if you have no expereince with my particular system or components, just getting an idea of how these listed speakers perform, i.e. if there is a "house sound" would be very useful for me.
For example, I've heard the verty's may not handle rock music so well. Info like that is very useful for me. Thanks fo rthe recommendation RW.
Thanks all,
Peter |
Stating a budget would be helpful. Barring that, I am going to recommend my (obviously bised) choice: Gallo Reference 3 - floorstanding (but with very small footprint), excellent with ALL types of music, easy to drive and can play loud when desired.
Try to find a local dealer who will allow you to do an in-home demo to see how they work in your setup/environment...
-RW- |
Since you are in a mid to far field listening position and you like loud then I'd go with a three way of your choice (may present amp challenges however) although from personal experience the SCM 20's can go extremely loud compared to other two ways but 50 Watts will not make them sing....I'd go at least 150 watts.
If you want to stick to your 50 Watt tube and want loud then I'd forget ATC and the others and go with horns or a nice two way supplemented with an active subwoofer.
The two speakers you selected at higher end. I would not highly recommend either due to impedance load consideration on one and a dip in the upper mid range response on the other. |
