[sneezingdog]

I ordered the Sensation 901 over the weekend and have to decide on speakers. I've seen two threads in this circle on speaker choice and have a general idea of what people are using. Does anyone have a sub $1K favorite speaker choice for classical music (combination of chamber and orchestra).

Thanks.

[Construct]

Some suggestions:
Axiom m3 (newest)
Dayton audio kit speakers (aluminum woofer, titanium tweeter)
Paradigm titan
Polk audio Lsi9
Vintage Infinity or polk monitors

[rollo]

  Maggies. 3A to 3.6.


charles

[Construct]

  Maggies. 3A to 3.6.


charles

Can you hope to get 3.6 for under $1k???  Maybe some 1.6...

[Danny Richie]

I ordered the Sensation 901 over the weekend

I have one of those headed my way now too.

How big is your room? Listening music level? And all that stuff?

[dba]

...and which part or parts of the spectrum do you most enjoy and are you a spaitial sound (i guess YES) type or direct type?

Classical is a fav genre of mine but i find people assume it is unique in its building blocks whereas it is very similar to any complex genre that has been well mixed. If you like to hear every little finger on a string and the in-take of breath of a wind instrument then extention in the high-mid to highs is important and i'd say look at Planars or Ribbons both of which aid the spaitial response too (depending on cabinet shape).

 

I have one of those headed my way now too.

How big is your room? Listening music level? And all that stuff?

[rollo]

Can you hope to get 3.6 for under $1k???  Maybe some 1.6...

  My bad did not read your entire post. Well you can buy the 3As and install [ yourself] the 3.6 ribbons  Used 3As are about $1000. IMO still better than the 3.6 overall except the ribbons.
  charles

[nigelnaim]

I am also interested in speakers below $1000.00 for the Sensation M901/Piano M1 combo.  I listen to a wide variety of music including rock, blues, folk and jazz.  I am currently using the Paradigm Atom Monitors, but I am looking to upgrade.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[oskar]

I'm using my stock Sensation 901 with Monitor Audio rs6's. I know many things have been said about this speaker but when I spin some tunes, Sheryl Crow, Dylan, E Costello, Joni, Terry Evans, The Band, John Hiatt, L Lovett etc. I forget all about the gear and just listen. It sounds incredible. And I know it'll be better when I get going with the buffer, batteries.....et al. When you consider that the rs6's can be had for well under a grand nowadays I don't know how you can do better if you want a full range pair. Just my 2cents.

[justplainmike]

FWIW...I'm currently using Axiom M3's with my One.2 (stock PSU).  I find them to be quite nice and way, way better with this amp than anything they were paired with before.  That said, I think now my speakers are the weak link in the audio chain now.  They do have a couple of stand out features though:
1) Sweet tweeter...no sibilance with any kind of percussion (Cymbals, triangles, Glockenspiel, etc)
2) Laid back midrange-  I've listened to quite a bit of orchestral music (recently Dvorak, Copeland, Vaughn Williams, Rimsky-Korsakov) as well as some Yo-Yo Ma (Solo and Appalachian Journey/Waltz) and I'm in love with the sound of strings, Cello in particular.
3) Voice, esp. female vocals, are very good w/these speakers.  Haven't listened to much Choral stuff but Jazz vocal is fantastic.

Short story long...you can do alot worse for less than a grand but there's probably some better deals to be had on A-gon too.  BTW, I got my Axioms on eBay for like $220 shipped so that was a pretty good deal at the time.  I'm looking in the 2k range for an upgrade...speaks to the high expectations that these have set.  Cheers!!   

Mike

[tabrink]

Not sure there is a better experience than the Omega SuperHemp!
On a scale of 1 to 10 they get a 13.5.

[JLM]

I 2nd any recommendation for Omega speakers and Louis, but it’s hard to find his stuff for under $1,000.

I love my Ascend Acoustics CBM-170’s.  I’ve had since almost the beginning.  If you can see past the cheap vinyl finish they hit way, way beyond their price.  David really does put the value inside on this one.  They’re extremely musical, do amazing imaging, have great dynamics, and have a natural high level of resolution that’s great for unamplified music (classical, jazz, etc.).  As small standmounts they obviously don’t offer much bass.

Unfortunately the CBM-170’s are in my HT system (which is a low priority to me) so to me they’re over qualified.  But recently they filled in while my $2,000 commissioned speakers were getting modded and honestly I didn’t suffer much.

So I can hardly imagine what the Sierra’s sound like.    The cabinets look great, slightly less efficient, but almost a full octave more bass, and I’m sure much improved drivers.  And you just can’t find sub $1,000 speakers that offer a 7 year warrantee, matched drivers, and include the measured frequency responses.  In an average sized room I’d guess that you’d be very hard pressed to do better.

[justplainmike]

So I can hardly imagine what the Sierra’s sound like.    The cabinets look great, slightly less efficient, but almost a full octave more bass, and I’m sure much improved drivers.  And you just can’t find sub $1,000 speakers that offer a 7 year warrantee, matched drivers, and include the measured frequency responses.  In an average sized room I’d guess that you’d be very hard pressed to do better.

Seth and many others on this forum have spoken highly of the Sierra's.  I saw in another post that Ascend recommends the Iceblock amps with the Sierra's though.  Sensitivity issue?  Not sure how they woule pair with the Virtue amps...