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Any WARM, MUSICAL speakers out there?

I have been auditioning a number of speakers in the under $12k category, and I am frustrated at the almost total absence of any "warm", "musical" speakers out there. They are almost entirely the so-called "accurate" or "analytical" variety. Example, to my ears anyway: the Wilson Sophia. Very accurate, analytical, COLD and non-engaging, even through CJ tube gear. One would think that some of the CJ warmth and musicality would have come through, but the Sophia did not alow ANY of that!
I would like to find a musically engaging, warm speaker that does an excellent job with human voices and midrange detail, as the Cremonas do. I will be pairing the new speakers with Conrad Johnson tube electronics. (Yes, they are lush and warm, but that is what I like!)
The ONLY ones providing the warm musicality I seek that I have found are the Sonus Fabers, such as the Cremona. I found the midrange and uppers magical and musically involving.
However, they are not good at rock and roll. Electrostats such as Quads are even worse in that regard. As Sam Tellig pointed out, they (Quads) do NOT rock.

Note: There are no Legacy dealers (for the Focus 20/20) anywhere near me, and the Klipschorn so-called dealer near me only had two of the very smallest models available for audition.

My only two remaining ideas I have are Silverline (as in Sonatas or the new Bolero) and Vienna Acoustics, such as the Mahler or Strauss.However, the Vienna dealer only carries solid state electronics, and I want to hear them through tubes. Does anyone think that either of these might fit the bill?
In his review of the Sonus Faber Cremona in the Aug/Sept. 2003 issue of The Absolute Sound, Wayne Garcia writes,
"...It is one of the few full-range speakers from the non-analytical school (particularly those under ten grand) that I would even mention in the same breath as MartinLogan or Quad." (p.75 of TAS)
Does anyone know what the other "few" might be????!!!
Any ideas?

Thanks
Steve
bigpowerballs
stehno
1,453 posts
 
Tok2000, I'm not sure which Vandersteen Model 5's your friend has, but the Vandersteen Model 5's I've seen provide a line-level interface between the pre-amp and the amp that provide for RCA or XLR connections depending on preference.

This strategy saves the amplifier from being taxed by having to reproduce the lower bass regions (since the built-in amp handles this region) and thus allowing for greater flexibility in the amplifier the user opts for. Vandersteen touts this as a unique feature.

Perhaps you are confusing the Model 5 with the Vandersteen Model 2W Powered Subwoofer. The Vandersteen Model 2W Powered Subwoofer does allow for high-level feeds and Vandersteen touts this as a good feature, which you did mention above.

Perhaps you listened to your friend's subwoofer and not his Model 5's? Talk about pizza for breakfast.

-IMO
jtee
13 posts
 
I would like to second the Vienna Acoustic Mahlers. I almost bought them for myself when I was looking 2 months ago. I heard them hooked up to plinus amp and Meridian transport/pre. Magical...I kept thinking ear candy...sweet warm sound...you could definitely live with this enchanting sound. In fact someone has a used pair for sale for 6K. Could get some additional gear for your budget.

BTW, I ultimately opted for the neutral sound of the Revel Ultima Studios but if I had the space for a second set of speakers, I would buy the Mahlers.
esoxhntr
196 posts
 
I think you should try to hear some Martin Logan Prodigys, or Verity Audio Parsifals.
sean
6,229 posts
 
Don't know about current Vandy 5's, but from what i saw of them in 1999 and talked to Richard about, they are directly driven off of the amplifier inputs feeding the rest of the speaker system. I questioned Richard about this quite a bit as i saw major problems with doing something like this, but he insisted that it was both safe and a good way to do things. If they had line level inputs for the powered woofers back then, i was not made aware of that fact. Could be a newer feature though, i don't know. Sean
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tok20000's avatar
tok20000
608 posts
 
Ok here is how it works on the Vandy 5's Stenho,

You are right about the crossover box between the amp and preamp. HOWEVER, that box is merely a crossover that starts the roll off at 100hz. This rolled off signal is then sent to the amplifier which in turn amplifies it and sends it to the Vandersteen 5's.

The Vandersteen 5's reconstitute the bass signal from the high level signal sent by the amp. Basically, if your amp's bass is rolled off naturally the Vanderstein's 5 bass will also be rolled off.

The Vandersteen 5's are NOT directly connected via low level input to the preamp for the bass. Theoretically, if the Vandersteens WERE connected via low level input to your PREAMP, your amps bass would NOT affect the speaker's bass. This is NOT the case though. Vandersteen 5 bass is derived through the reconstitution of the rolled off high level signal which is sent to the speaker by the amp. Thus, if your amp's bass sucks for whatever reason, the reconstituted signal will reflect these problems in SPADES.

This is not a new feature. Vanderstein thinks this is the best way to do a crossover AND integrate bass.

My friend has the original Vandy 5's.
I have heard them and the 5A's.

KF
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