How are my speaker choices, for my budget up to $1500? help!

drphoto · « **Reply #20 on:** 7 Mar 2006, 07:12 pm »

How about ProAc 1.5? That's a nice warm, friendly type of speaker. I heard a pair in my rig. With some borrowed Sonroran Plateau cables (I didn't have the Realitys then) they sounded pretty great to me, in some ways more pleasing than the Merlins, but not nearly as transparent.

BTW: I'm not knocking any of the speakers you've listed. (just offering other choices) In fact I'd love to try a pair of the Sapphire's.

Make sure you get the room treatments as suggested. My rig doesn't sound nearly as good as it should because I have such a lousy room. Lot's of slap echo. Gotta hunt down some OC703 soon!

WEEZ · « **Reply #21 on:** 7 Mar 2006, 11:29 pm »

Just a comment regarding the Merlin's being 'analytical' and/or sounding like a 'studio monitor'...

The Merlins have a high degree of resolution and are extreemly transparent to the source. Therefore, if paired with thin, bright, enemic sounding electronics; disappointment will result.

.... however, if paired with fuller sounding solid state and/or tubed equipment, they are wonderful

One thing to keep in mind for speakers in small rooms is that speakers with a lot of bass extension will overload the room. An acoustic suspension design (such as the TSM) will allow for more flexible placement options, as there is no port to contend with.

Have a look at NSM as another source for acoustic suspension speakers. There are many choices at or below the $1500 price range and all are well reviewed. (nsmaudio.com)

Best of luck,

WEEZ!

bhobba · « **Reply #22 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 03:44 am »

Have you considered the SP tech Essenses?

http://www.4sptech.com/version2/essence-av1_features.html

Thanks
Bill

tigzstudio · « **Reply #23 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 04:47 am »

Quote from: bhobba

Have you considered the SP tech Essenses?

http://www.4sptech.com/version2/essence-av1_features.html

Thanks
Bill

those look very interesting! .. price?

James Romeyn · « **Reply #24 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 04:48 am »

$1200pr MSRP Vienna Acoustics model Haydn Grand, standmount 2-way, 6" XSP cone, 1" hand-coated silkdome, 1st order in-phase XO, 44 LBS! Finished in maple, cherry, piano black (looked great), or ROSEWOOD! One of my favorites, a great standmount, loved them (though didn't hear them at home).

You won't believe their bass cutoff till you hear them, though of course they don't have tons of power down low. But that's a good thing in your room.

I command you to hear these. I'll never talk to you again if you cross them off your list. Just kidding. Please do make every effort. As always, whatever you get depends on your taste, your room & equipment.

Also Rick Craig's Selah Audio speakers are great. VMPS 626R starts at $1600pr MSRP, above your budget but probably the best standmount I've heard. Problem though is that they really don't make cabinets for the lower priced spiral tweeter, so you either get an ugly modified cabinet for $1600 or spend $2000 for the "optional" tweeter. (One of those ugly "mandatory options", in other words.)

For stands find the guy in Canada that makes/sells stands made from special large gauge/cross-section rectangular PVC pipe. Fill it with shot or sand & you probably can't tell it from $500 steel stands. Maybe best stand values you'll find. (Great exchange rates.)

My previous favorite around this price was the $1000pr MSRP Boston Acostics VR-M60. They are still very sweet & not to be taken lightly. Imminently musical & satisfying. My future bedroom speaker if I ever finish my soundroom acoustic upgrades.

IMO you have no good choice other than nearfield listening, with the speakers practically in the middle of the room. And your room will probably overload way before your amp distorts no matter what speaker is used, so power handling is probably unimportant. For placement go to the Immedia & Cardas websites & plug in your room dimensions. Happy hunting!

gongos · « **Reply #25 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 04:49 am »

There is a pair of VMPS RM2's that have been on audiogon for awhile. You might be able to get them at your price point. I doubt you'd be able to find a better speaker for the money. Plus, if you want some upgrades done, the guy lives right next to the factory.

James Romeyn · « **Reply #26 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 05:06 am »

I love RM2's. They are great. But his 12' square room will probably have modes like they're going out of style. If the ceiling is 8' (x 1.5 = 12) we got serious problems Houston!

tigzstudio · « **Reply #27 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 09:49 pm »

Has anyone else had a listen to the Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand's?

What were your impressions?

the demo pair at my local Magnolia is tempting me to try out.!
(unfortunately they dont have any setup right now for listening to)

James Romeyn · « **Reply #28 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 10:40 pm »

The Vienna Haydn Grand & Boston VR-M60 are similar. The biggest difference is the Haydn has more musical life & emotional involvement. Other points: The Haydn has more dynamic contrast, deeper bass, & probably better detail. The 60 arrived maybe '99.

The differences above are roughly what I might expect from a good paper cone/treated cloth dome/1st order (the Haydn) vs. good poly cone/metal dome/4th order (the VR-M60). The 60 was designed by a famous British engineer whose name escapes me. Stuart ________?. I believe he subsequently designed the AAD line made in Asia.

Make sure they have some miles on them before you audition. As many reading this might agree, speakers probably need burn-in more than components. The Q & Xmax will change characteristics quite a bit, as a result of the spider & surrounds breaking in.

I heard both speakers at Magnolia with Primare CDP & preamp & B&K amp. Sweet combo, great sound, especially for such a high-volume store.

bhobba · « **Reply #29 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 10:55 pm »

Quote from: tigzstudio

those look very interesting! .. price?

Check out
http://www.4sptech.com/version2/docs/av_concert_series_price_list.pdf

Thanks
Bill

tigzstudio · « **Reply #30 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 11:02 pm »

Thanks alot Jim for the information on some very intriguing looking speakers, specs and otherwise.

Im definitely going to try to get some demo-ing in at some magnolia's in my area.

melville · « **Reply #31 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 11:21 pm »

I currently have the RAW HT-3 speakers on loan. They have pretty impressive bass (maybe more than your room can handle). The midrange is very articulate and the ribbon tweeter is great. The bass can be tamed with spikes on the bases. A plus is that, in their price range, there isn't much out there that looks as good.

I wouldn't contemplate the Totem Mani-2s unless you have BIG solid-state power. Also, their bass may overwhelm your room.

tigzstudio · « **Reply #32 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 12:18 am »

Well,

just yesterday I was able to demo and critically listen to the Vienna Acoustics model Haydn Grand's.

however the amp/preamp and source were Primare brand.

is Primare highest end stuff any good???

well anyways, The speakers dissapeared, great imaging, great air, soundstage wasnt really super wide to me, depth was pretty good... A couple things noted (the bad):

it was a 12x30 room, and it still sounded a bit bright. When the guy turned it up quite loud.. the bass was distorting as well..

Im sure they probably did not have the best front end for the speakers, but they really did not impress me too much...

so I think I will move on to trying the others on my list now, Ill let you know how it turns out.

James Romeyn · « **Reply #33 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 01:32 am »

Very glad you got to hear the Haydn's. A couple thoughts come to mind.

I only heard the Haydn's playing a well recorded grand piano w/ orchestra, demonstrating refinement over sheer output. Any compact passive mid-priced 2-way with smooth response & good refinement throughout its range (at least that I can think of) will have trouble at elevated levels & deep bass in the large room you were in. The room I sampled was smaller. Compared to 4th order xo's, 1st order such as utilized by Vienna may distort at lower output levels, all other things being equal (an impossibility). But I still generally prefer 1st order tradeoffs.

Overly bright sound can be tamed with Caig Pro Gold contact cleaner/enhancer on all available contacts, speaker siting & toe-in, & cables.

The Primare gear seems like decent value, especially if cosmetics are important. (OTOH there may be universal agreement the ModWright SWL 9.0 SE preamp is untouchable at $2200.)

I'd bet, considering how deep they go, those Haydn's really suck up the power at higher levels.

I'm sure some of the other speakers mentioned here may play louder with less distortion vs. the Haydn's. Generally you have to search hard to find bad audio advice here, even then you might fail.

In your small room, if you heard distortion with the Haydn's, it would be sourced by your room, the amp, or your ears, before the speakers themself actually distorted, IMO.

If you are going to buy new, why not just bring them home with a refund or return policy? If you find a store with several good offerings, at least one should fill your needs.

Did you try the Boston VR-M60's while you were in Magnolia? I read one nightmare report in TAS about Magnolia, but the guys in the store I visited were generally very helpful & nice.

_scotty_ · « **Reply #34 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 01:51 am »

You might want to check out The Reimer McCullough GS. See Agon link

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc.pl?spkrmoni&1142301814
Pictures and review at this link http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1147278338
Scotty

lcrim · « **Reply #35 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 02:06 pm »

I have a system in a similarly sized room (12' X 15' X 8') and have a Decware/Parker 95 system with a lot of acoustic treatments. Because it is also my bedroom, and I listen before (and sometimes after) falling asleep, the sound must be sweet and pleasant. But it is a great place to listen to "The Bad Plus" as well as Stan Getz and early Miles because the system fits that room so well.
I've been watching this thread hoping to go to school on it as I've been looking for a pair of speakers to team with my EE MM pre and power amp that I have in a more expansive space. Because the EE MM power amp only makes 8 watts per channel my choices are a bit constrained compared to yours. Mike Dzurko @ ACI was quite sure that the Saphire XL's would work w/ my amp. The Reimer McCullough GS suggested by Scotty are very highly rated and are much more efficient which could provide better inner detail at comparatively lower gain settings. But with stand mounts when all is said and done you have to factor in the cost of decent stands.
I surfed over to 6moons and read a very recent rave review of the Axiom M80 v2 towers that really caught my interest, full range sound for a little over $1000.
Louis Chochos Omega speakers are efficient, single driver speakers that are very positively reviewed.
The used Merlins also are extraordinary speakers by all reports.
Let us know what you choose and how it works out for you.

Randy · « **Reply #36 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 07:15 pm »

Another excellent brand you need to consider is Tyler. They have a couple pair of trade-in Reference monitors at $1200, a real steal at that price. These are great speakers.

http://www.tyleracoustics.com/used_equipment.html