Need ideas in quest for new speakers .....

David C · « **on:** 31 Jan 2010, 01:35 pm »

I need some ideas in the quest for new speakers. My system is a Transporter (flac files) to a Nuforce P9 pre amp, Nuforce mon V3SE amps to B&W CM7 speakers. We are moving to a new house soon and the room will be fairly large with high ceilings and hardwood floors. Yesterday I listened to the B&W802Ds and the Usher BE10. An update of the 802's is coming this spring so the old version is out. The Usher sounded very good but looked terrible, even the screws that held the mid range in place were not countersunk. At $16K not the quality I expected. I liked the 802s. I did not take my gear to the shop and they used Naim electronics and it did not sound very good at all compared to my Nuforce gear. Very muddy sounding. My wife even thought my CM7s sounded better at home than the 802's (except for the low end bass). No dynamics at all. Next time I will take my amps.
I have looked at Avalons, not heard the Revels or the Wilsons. I have a budget of around $15K . Any ideas???

rollo · « **Reply #1 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:04 pm »

Maggie 20.1s if you have the space. They love SS amps. Theil CS3.7s as well. Revels are a bit richer sounding a fine speaker though.

charles

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #2 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:08 pm »

Salk HT4

I like the 802D and if a gun was held to my head and I "had" to have them, then okay, but the HT4 does every piece better - bass - mid - highs.

Greggo · « **Reply #3 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:09 pm »

IMHO that is a nice range to be in as I feel the 10-15k per pair of speakers is at the extreme knee of diminishing returns and regardless of what the balance is in my checking account I would be hard pressed to spend more for speakers if serving the music really was my first priority. I won't bother mentioning what I have heard versus waiting to hear as my opinion shouldn't matter much other than to give you ideas that you may want to follow up on with your own research and auditioning:

1) Besides the B&Ws that you like, I would'nt drop that kind of coin without putting KEF and Revel to the test.
2) Harbeth M40.1 will leave you completely unimpressed due to looks and tradition, or will completely blow you away as one of the more musical boxes ever built.
3)Rockport Mira and DeVore Fidelity Silverbacks are two interesting boutique brands that seem to have much to offer and a very loyal following.
4) ...and last but not least Salk and Selah, both here on audiocircle are always worth a look for various reasons and as nice alternatives to the usual dealer brands.

P.S. - and if you are open to things completely out of the mainstream at the moment but possibly the next best thing to sliced bread, then give GedLee a look as well as AudioKinesis, they are somewhat different but of very similar philosophy regarding waveguides, multiple subs and controlled directivity (narrow directivity), but like harbeth, they are both at their best with substantially wide cabinets.

Happy Hunting,

Greggo

zybar · « **Reply #4 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:16 pm »

Vandersteen 5A's would be my choice.

A true full range speaker with a powered sub-woofer from around 120Hz down with 11 bands of eq capability built in.

Whatever you go with, try and listen to as many speakers as possible to narrow down what is most important to YOU. Although you will get a great speaker at this price point, they all still have strengths and weaknesses. The key is to align those to your needs and wants.

Best of luck.

George

David C · « **Reply #5 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:19 pm »

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I have been reading about the Salks but dont fancy the idea of buying a speaker that I cant listen to first. It looks great and the AC feedback is great but where can you listen to them???

zybar · « **Reply #6 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:37 pm »

Couple of other possible choices:

Magnepan 20.1
Magico v2
Emerald Physics CS1's
Theil 3.7's

These will all provide a very different presentation than the 5A's.

George

WGH · « **Reply #7 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 02:53 pm »

The Wilson Audio Sophia Series 2 are close to your budget. The bigger Wilson Sasha's have a very refined sound, if the Sophia's sound is anywhere close then you should check them out. Wilson speakers also have excellent fit and finish. The Sophia's are featured in a long article by Art Dudley in the February 2010 Stereophile.

Wayne

zybar · « **Reply #8 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 03:00 pm »

Quote from: WGH on 31 Jan 2010, 02:53 pm

The Wilson Audio Sophia Series 2 are close to your budget. The bigger Wilson Sasha's have a very refined sound, if the Sophia's sound is anywhere close then you should check them out. Wilson speakers also have excellent fit and finish. The Sophia's are featured in a long article by Art Dudley in the February 2010 Stereophile.

Wayne

Wayne,

My buddy who lives a few miles away from me has a pair of Sophia 2's that are driven by Pass XA100.5's and they are indeed a nice speaker. Not your typical Wilson sound for those who haven't liked the Watt Puppies in the past. Also, you can get some pretty good deals on the Sophia 2's as people move to the Sasha speakers.

George

shep · « **Reply #9 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 03:48 pm »

http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/speakers.htm
I've heard nothing but praise for these. You could save yourself a whole lot of money and buy the pair Aurther Salvidor is selling (if they're still there) and put it towards great wires and lots of music!

http://www.high-endaudio.com/used_he.html
The silverbacks are probably a very good recommendation as well. Both are easy to drive.

questfortone · « **Reply #10 on:** 31 Jan 2010, 04:06 pm »

I've heard the SP Tech Rev with Nuforce mono amps ( at Ted's house) and they sound wonderful. If you have the room for these speakers, you must hear them too.

2gumby2 · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 10:26 am »

I like the Thiel CS3.7s best and the Magnepan 20.1s sound very nice as well if you have the room. Salk and Selah speakers are also great choices.

chosenhandle · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 03:06 pm »

ever hear a nice pair of omni speakers? With you big room, you may be very impressed with the sound. I own the Duevel Bella Luna Diamante's and don't think I can go back to traditional directional speaker. I love the sound and they play well in bad rooms. As opposed to most omni's they are very efficient and look beautiful. My wife even likes them! Price is well within your budget as well.

bummrush · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 03:36 pm »

Legacy

woodsyi · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 03:37 pm »

I was really impressed with Classic Audio speakers. I think I was quoted that price for a show special T1.3.

I would definitely look at these first if I were looking for speakers and had that budget right now.

chadh · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 03:49 pm »

Quote from: woodsyi on 1 Feb 2010, 03:37 pm

I was really impressed with Classic Audio speakers. I think I was quoted that price for a show special T1.3.

I also loved these when I heard them at the Audio Karma show the past two years. But I don't have much exposure to $15k speakers.

Chad

decal · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 04:49 pm »

I have to agree with the earlier post on Harbeth 40.1's.Unless you are really old school(like me !!),the looks are a turnoff.The sound they produced in a crappy showroom with ARC electronics was stunning.If you can stomach the looks,they are definitely worth a listen.

JackD201 · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 05:13 pm »

VR-4 SRs could possibly be a fit for you. I haven't tried any of the 3 iterations with Nuforce gear but the Mk.1s and Mk2s went well with Jeff Rowland 201s and 501s, Red Dragons, Spectron Musicians, and CIAudio D200s. I have the Mk3s but haven't tried them with any digital amps yet. All I have on hand is a Bel Canto S-300i that doesn't have even half the juice of your Ref 9 SEs.

jhm731 · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 09:28 pm »

Suggest you contact:

http://www.artisanaudio.co.uk

and see what models from Green Mountain Audio they have available for demo.

ajzepp · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Feb 2010, 09:40 am »

Magnepan 20.1 (particularly in a nice open room such as you have)

DeVore Fidelity Reference Silverbacks