Kosst..."Direct to consumer models depend entirely on aggressive advertising schemes..." Far from it. The vast majority of ID speaker companies spend practically nothing on advertising, let alone ’aggressive’ advertising. Most rely solely on their set ups at CES’s, and word of mouth from very satisfied customers. Lots of these guy such as Salk, Fritz, Ascend Acoustics, Philharmonic Audio to name a few have been around for years because they offer great sounding, quality products at reasonable prices, offer personalized service, and have a rabid following of happy customers who upgrade within the brand.
Best bookshelf speakers <$2000
I’m building my first high fi system after being more of a portable audio person. I want to start with the speakers. Space is limited so bookshelf speakers are a must.
Preferences:
Balanced and revealing with a hint of warmth.
Midrange most important to get right over highs and lows
Timbre is super important - I listen mostly to acoustic music especially jazz
But I do need some bass as I also listen to some electronic music
Smaller is better but SQ is most important
A speaker that sounds good with different amps but also scalable with high quality sources
Wide sweet spot - I wont have money for a great amp at first but want them to be scalable for later
These speakers have caught my eyes - any thoughts on them?
Ascend Sierra 2s - Ribbon = dispersion limitations?
BMR Philharmonitor - See above. Also massive.
Buchardt S400/S300 - Wary of the sudden hype train and limited info
Silverline Minuet Grande - Limited info
Reference 3A De Capo - This caught my eye as a potential endgame speaker if I could blow up my budget a little. But concerns about BE tweeter as well as some potential snake oil stuff (cryogenic treatment (!?)), exaggerated sensitivity claims and wonky measurements put me off.
What else should I be looking at?
Edit: I could have sworn I had <$2,000 in the title... Anyway, my budget is 2k.
Preferences:
Balanced and revealing with a hint of warmth.
Midrange most important to get right over highs and lows
Timbre is super important - I listen mostly to acoustic music especially jazz
But I do need some bass as I also listen to some electronic music
Smaller is better but SQ is most important
A speaker that sounds good with different amps but also scalable with high quality sources
Wide sweet spot - I wont have money for a great amp at first but want them to be scalable for later
These speakers have caught my eyes - any thoughts on them?
Ascend Sierra 2s - Ribbon = dispersion limitations?
BMR Philharmonitor - See above. Also massive.
Buchardt S400/S300 - Wary of the sudden hype train and limited info
Silverline Minuet Grande - Limited info
Reference 3A De Capo - This caught my eye as a potential endgame speaker if I could blow up my budget a little. But concerns about BE tweeter as well as some potential snake oil stuff (cryogenic treatment (!?)), exaggerated sensitivity claims and wonky measurements put me off.
What else should I be looking at?
Edit: I could have sworn I had <$2,000 in the title... Anyway, my budget is 2k.
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- 170 posts total
Wilson Audio used Focal drivers for a long time. Dave Wilson obviously designed some very nice speakers. But when you get right down to it, his Focal driver designs didn't outperform the competitive Focal products going for less money. The Alexandria went for a cool $20,000 more than the FGU, didn't outperform them FGU, and certainly didn't look better than the FGU. And last I checked, DeVore, Wilson, and the like weren't selling factory direct. Buying incomplete drivers and completeing them is hardly the same thing as buying off the shelf drivers like Tekton does. John Atkinson would be the first to admit he's got nothing like the resources of Focal and B&W to measure speakers with. He's measuring those things out in an open field! As for print ads... Can't recall the last time I touched a print magazine. But Klipsch is all over the internet with banner and social media ads. Maybe you're unaware, but Jaques Mahul had to be convinced to sell the speakers he started building, and they quickly became a hot commodity. Focal never started off buying drivers. They started off making drivers. That company has exploded because of excellent business management, exceptional engineering, and products that earn very high praise consistently. All kinds of business sectors have followed that model. Honda pretty much did it the same way. |
Look at this new make/model, playing at the recent CAF. Recognize the mid-bass driver?? http://qln.se/prestige-three/ |
@cd318 I have three pairs of speakers. Rogers LS3/5a in one bedroom (15ohm versions). Celestion SL700 in my master bedroom. And Zu Def4 in my living room. All three are great. I understand your concern that the drivers in the LS3/5a have never been updated; but sometimes a classic is a classic, and there were several versions manufactured by Rogers. The Celestion and Zu speakers best the LS3/5a in many ways. But given the OPs preferences, criteria, and limitations, I would put the LS3/5a on any shortlist. |
- 170 posts total