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First round of auditions disappointing

Well, I finally got out and did some actual listening over the weekend, and I can see that I have quite an adventure ahead of me.

I listened to the Focal Profile 928, Polk LSi15 and a couple of Martin Logan's (Vista and Vantage). The Focal was by far the worst of the bunch; as a matter of fact, it was downright awful, and at a price of $5K for the pair?????????? Good grief...

The Polk LSi15 was better, but far and away from what I expected, given the good press. I use to own Martin Logan Sequel II's, and liked them for their midrange qualities. The newer Logan's were pretty nice, but far too dead in the dynamics department. Very nice rendition of vocals though, and great soundstage presentation.

The more I listened to the typical box speaker, the more I believe that design won't satisfy me. My wife, who is really not "in" to music, commented to me that the Focal sounded "like a box," so there you have it.

I'll probably have to wait until CES, because there is little in the way of "high end" in my area.
seadweller
bbchem
62 posts
 
I agree with you totally, but happened upon a pair of Omega Super 3 Alnicos. These are Single driver types and although they are in a box, they are the most open and natural speakers I have heard and I have owned 30 pairs different types. Check out Omega line.

Seadweller, there is an Omega dealer in Clearwater
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Devore Gibbon Super 8 is another dynamic speaker that is known to create an image "free of the box".
david12
1,398 posts
 
Can the Adagio's play loudly in a large room with two 6.5" drivers?

Yes, absolutely, I have heard them demoed in a large room and they play very loud, the transmission line certainly deepens the base, I am not sure if they account for loudness. More important for me is they play soft, without the soundstage collapsing, that is the test of a good speaker to me. I bought one of the first pairs in the UK and everyone the importer demoed the speakers to, bought them, everyone. That includes someone who had just bought Quad 989's and had only come to listen to a CD player. I understand Robert Lee can't make them fast enough.
tim916
52 posts
 
Judging from the speakers that you auditioned, it seems like you went to Tweeter (or SoundAdvice?). Tweeter is a horrible environment in which to evaluate speakers. I know because I used to work there, and every room in every store sounds bad. It's really a shame. Any of the speakers you listended to can probably sound pretty good if they are well set up.

Find a good shop that has a good, acoustically treated room and audition there.
joeyboynj
621 posts
 
I own a pair of JM Lab - Focal 918's and they sound wonderful. They are not boxy at all. TAS recently reviewed these and they received high accolades. IMO Martin Logan speakers don’t even come close to the emotion of a Focal. Also, since I like deep bass I added a Rel subwoofer. It mates really well.

Sounds to me that you did not audition them in the correct environment and with the correct equipment. See if you can get an at home trial. If you don't like them, you can return them if the store has a good return policy.
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