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Upgrading - Pls Suggest Speakers to Review

I have been reviewing speakers for my system that consists of the following:

SME 30/Graham Phantom/Koetsu RSP
Manley Steelhead
Reimyo CDP-777
Jeff Rowland Synergy IIi/302
Synergistic Cables
Revel Studio
Music tastes are primarily acoustic jazz and vocals of various types
Room size is 23 x 18

So far I have heard:

- Wilson Maxx II and WP7 - Too dry for my musical tastes
- Avalon Vision/Diamond - Nice, but not sure if they would work well with solid state, though
- Wilson Benesch Chimera - Nice, but a little "light" and thin sounding in my system,
- Sonus Faber - New Amati and Stradivari - Very musical; good speaker; Amati did not have enough low end though
- Piega C-10 ltd - Better than I had expected
- JM Labs Utopia Be (can't remember the model) : hard to tell as the room was awful

Question to all:

What other speakers should I audition/am I missing? I've owned a variety of planar speakers in the past and am not sure I want to go back there based on sheer size/width. Others that I would like to review so far include:

Von Schweikert VR-7SE
Line arrays of some type
Kharma??

All input is most appreciated

Carl
carl2001
gregm
3,021 posts
 
Anything you specifically dislike about the Salons? They're nice spkrs AFAI remember...

Anyway, back to other spkrs:

*Genesis (new V & up). You'll probably like these.
*new Piega 10 (I liked those; so did you)
*Avalon Eidolon? Can't see why they'd dislike the Rowland. You'll probably like these too.
*JM lab: I've heard them play well with a Rowland (the bigger model whatever it's called). BUT the Utopia line (that has some bass extension) will probably dominate yr room.

Really, there are many good and expensive speakers out there -- especially my own, which are the best, of course:^)

Any pointers to steer us in the right direction?
tpsonic
1,092 posts
 
Check out the Kharmas,Selah Audio produces line-arrays around the Fontec tweeters/Dayton aluminum Reference drivers.The Talon Raptor or Jena Labs Reference monitors,VSA 9/11/15.
mdhoover
690 posts
 
Of course, the upper echelon Kharmas are a must listen in that price range as well.
mdhoover
690 posts
 
In that price range you may want to consider the Intuitive Design Denali's at $65K. I own the Intuitive Design Summits, and they are phenomenal. My room is a little smaller, but not that much. The Summits have very good bass, but do roll off around 40 hertz, so I have them supplemented with a Rel Storm 3. But to give you an idea of their low end output, I've got the Rel crossover set at 27 hertz to avoid overwhelming bass.

I wrote a review about the Summits. If the Denalis are as much better than they are as the price suggests (Summits are about 3500, stands about 1500, total ~5k, plus Stillpoints), then they must be breathtaking. The Denali speakers are said to have great dynamic range and phenomenal soundstaging. If spending that kind of money, I'd certainly give them a listen.
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