Rebbi, a lot of good advice here. Mapman, I see that I missed out on the Ohm threads... Let us know what you think of the Arros!
Small room, "budget priced" speaker advice, please
Hi,
I recently sold my dearly beloved, old Vandersteen 2C's here on Audiogon (and I hope SgtPeppers is loving them at this moment!) :-) I did this because in our remodeled house, my new listening room (which will double as a guest room) is just too small for the 2C's. The Spousal Acceptance Factor was just too low. ;-)
I have a PS Audio Elite-Plus integrated amp for power (around 70 W/Ch) and a soon-to-be-shipped-off-for-a-refurb Sota Sapphire for an analog front end (I have "miles" of vinyl)! I will also get a CD player at some point.
For now, I need to find a pair of best-of-breed, truly "budget" speakers. By "budget," I'm talking upper limit of $850/pair. (Gone are my free-spending, single days... I'm a dad now...) :-)
Listening habits: lots of 60's and 70's folk and rock, some jazz, Donald Fagen/Steely Dan, a little classical. Listening volume: not too loud. Sonic preferences: I value transparency and imaging/soundstage. Bass should be accurate above all, as opposed to chest-pounding powerful.
I've looked at Paradigms, which I know are highly regarded at lower price points. Trouble is, our one, local dealer is primarily a TV/home theater outfit, so you're trying to hear them in a showroom crammed with other stuff... you know the drill. I've also hit a high end shop. Listened to a pair of PSB small towers and disliked them; they sounded muddy and veiled to me. Listened to a pair of the smallest Rega's and liked them quite a bit, but would want to go back to listen again. I even wrote to PS Audio for advice; they recommended the "baby" Epos monitors, but they're out of my price range.
Thanks if you've read this far. Knowing how subjective all this is, I'd still welcome any advice you have to offer about what I should try to audition.
I recently sold my dearly beloved, old Vandersteen 2C's here on Audiogon (and I hope SgtPeppers is loving them at this moment!) :-) I did this because in our remodeled house, my new listening room (which will double as a guest room) is just too small for the 2C's. The Spousal Acceptance Factor was just too low. ;-)
I have a PS Audio Elite-Plus integrated amp for power (around 70 W/Ch) and a soon-to-be-shipped-off-for-a-refurb Sota Sapphire for an analog front end (I have "miles" of vinyl)! I will also get a CD player at some point.
For now, I need to find a pair of best-of-breed, truly "budget" speakers. By "budget," I'm talking upper limit of $850/pair. (Gone are my free-spending, single days... I'm a dad now...) :-)
Listening habits: lots of 60's and 70's folk and rock, some jazz, Donald Fagen/Steely Dan, a little classical. Listening volume: not too loud. Sonic preferences: I value transparency and imaging/soundstage. Bass should be accurate above all, as opposed to chest-pounding powerful.
I've looked at Paradigms, which I know are highly regarded at lower price points. Trouble is, our one, local dealer is primarily a TV/home theater outfit, so you're trying to hear them in a showroom crammed with other stuff... you know the drill. I've also hit a high end shop. Listened to a pair of PSB small towers and disliked them; they sounded muddy and veiled to me. Listened to a pair of the smallest Rega's and liked them quite a bit, but would want to go back to listen again. I even wrote to PS Audio for advice; they recommended the "baby" Epos monitors, but they're out of my price range.
Thanks if you've read this far. Knowing how subjective all this is, I'd still welcome any advice you have to offer about what I should try to audition.
- ...
- 205 posts total
I am so late in replying to this thread! If the OP has not yet taken out his credit card, I highly recommend the Morrison Audio Model 7 speakers: point-source, omni-directional in design, these speakers are perfect for a smaller listening environment. Check them out at Morrison Audio |
Jpaik, Thanks for the link. It looks like the Morrison speakers use more conventional drivers to achieve the same general effect as the Ohms. Interesting that he is rather fixated on the poor "quality" of most "stereo" recordings - have to wonder if this is an explanation for why some (most?) recordings might sound a bit "incoherent" when reproduced on omni-directional speakers? Perhaps we live in an age where most recordings are designed to be reproduced through what Morrison calls "PA speakers". I would have to agree that the number of true stereo two mic recordings is probably a minuscule fraction of the total recordings made. In addition, Morrison seems to agree with my friend who owns the Walsh Ohms that fancy cables are just a bunch of Who-Ha. Very interesting. Morrison also suggests a valid approach for double blind testing. http://www.morrisonaudio.com/morrison_donsview.htm Will have to try this sometime. |
In addition to the design and production of his line of speakers, Morrison has been very active in the recording of music: typically done in a venue other than a recording studio. Morrison's recordings feature just one pair of microphones, and no mix. "Live off the floor" recordings of unamplified instruments -- and depending on the music genre there may be a vocalist. Call it "real stereo", or "true stereo" or whatever, the results are jaw-dropping. I have a couple of his recordings and they are wonderful. So to some people his views on multi-microphones and mixes may seem rather fixated, but in truth his vantage point is based on years of experience and results. I wish there more than a miniscule number of true stereo recordings available. |
- 205 posts total