Speaker recommendation for Hardrock , Progressive Rock music

wagnju · « **on:** 1 Apr 2011, 06:06 pm »

I mainly hear to Hardrock , Progressive Rock music like , Nightwish , Angra , Magnum , Judas Priest ... and I'm looking for some speaker recommendations that fit my music taste and also my equipment that consists of a Marantz PM KI Pearl Amp and Marantz CD KI Pearl SACD , ... !
I also hear some classic music and musicals , but no Jazz or Country .
I have had Kef XQ5 , Dali Icon , NHT XDS , NHT 2.5 , B&W 804 , TDL SMC , ADS M12 , Swans Diva 5.2 , Von Schweikert V2 , so far , but nothing really did satisfy me. The ADS and TDL came close , but stupid me I sold them in search for better !?
Anybody out there with some recommendations ?
many thanks
Juergen
Price Range $2000-4000 , used , new , DIY

JohnR · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Apr 2011, 12:28 am »

Stating a budget range might help people make some recommendations - ?

JLM · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 11:24 am »

I'd steer towards stuff like JBL, Pi (DIY), or Klipsch (basically home versions of concert monitors).

Seems what you're after is high efficiency/spls, lots of bass (but not terribly deep), and in your face presentation (horn loaded mid/high frequency comes to mind) to acheive the growling/aggressive character of rock.

Depending on how much classical/musicals you do, I'd avoid most of the "nuanced/audiophile" stuff (lots of which it seems you've already tried).

My other thought is to seriously consider active speakers (professional stuff). The dynamics and strength of bass is unreal compared to typical passive designs. And for the money, they're killer.

jtwrace · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 11:41 am »

My GedLee Abbeys sounded amazing last night when I played Tool. In fact, I haven't played Tool because no speaker that I've had has been able to play it well. Last night was amazing!

wagnju · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 12:02 pm »

Hi Jtwrace
I have had a pair of Gedlee Nathan's borrowed for 2 weeks from a friend but I wouldn't recommend them to somebody with the same music taste .
Very good speakers though with the right music ( classical , Jazz , voices )and electronics .
Juergen

jtwrace · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 12:04 pm »

Quote from: wagnju on 7 Apr 2011, 12:02 pm

Hi Jtwrace
I have had a pair of Gedlee Nathan's borrowed for 2 weeks from a friend but I wouldn't recommend them to somebody with the same music taste .
Very good speakers though with the right music ( classical , Jazz , voices )and electronics .
Juergen

Interesting. I own Abbeys and find the complete opposite. Please explain what you didn't like.

wagnju · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 12:05 pm »

Hi JLM
Any particular recommendation for JBL or Klipsch ?

Juergen

2gumby2 · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 12:51 pm »

For your price range, I would recommend the Fritz Speakers Carbon 7 and if you think you want more bass you could get some very nice subwoofers from Elemental Designs. The Carbon 7s sounded great with everything I heard through them. I use ZZ Top as a test CD for speakers and the Carbon 7s sounded fantastic. These speakers do not need audiophile recordings to sound good. I have two Elemental Designs A5s subwoofers in one of my 2-channel systems and they are a great value for quality bass output.

wagnju · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 01:53 pm »

Hi Jtwrace
The Nathans are good speakers for Jazz, organs and voices , but not that perfect for orchestral , bombastic and dynamic music. You would have to add min. 2-3 subwoofers to get the Nathans to my taste . The Nathans are a little bit too much focused on mids .
My friend is using 4 subs with his Nathan !!?? but Jazz is his favorite music .
As said just not my taste
Juergen

Quiet Earth · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 01:58 pm »

Just a thought . . .

If you have gone through that many speakers, then auditioning more speakers might not be the best solution. Maybe the type of amplification (or source component) is what you have outgrown.

orientalexpress · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 02:05 pm »

i recomemded this http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=86291.0
i heard this speakers with digital amp,solid state and Tubes amp.It's Rock

lapsan

jtwrace · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 02:29 pm »

Quote from: wagnju on 7 Apr 2011, 01:53 pm

Hi Jtwrace
The Nathans are good speakers for Jazz, organs and voices , but not that perfect for orchestral , bombastic and dynamic music. You would have to add min. 2-3 subwoofers to get the Nathans to my taste . The Nathans are a little bit too much focused on mids .
My friend is using 4 subs with his Nathan !!?? but Jazz is his favorite music .
As said just not my taste
Juergen

Well, I don't know what else to say other then every GedLee speaker requires 2 or more subs. I use four myself. In terms of the sound for Orchestral, again, I couldn't disagree more. I'm afraid that you have not heard the system properly setup as so many systems aren't.

If you are curious you see here on what it takes. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=86403.msg913119#msg913119

Every GedLee owner will tell you it takes time and patience to get it right but once it's done....

In the end, it's a matter of what you like. I'll be curious to read what you purchase!

Rick Craig · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 02:40 pm »

Consider building a CBT array kit. I would love to compare them side-by-side with a GedLee system.

Quote from: wagnju on 1 Apr 2011, 06:06 pm

I mainly hear to Hardrock , Progressive Rock music like , Nightwish , Angra , Magnum , Judas Priest ... and I'm looking for some speaker recommendations that fit my music taste and also my equipment that consists of a Marantz PM KI Pearl Amp and Marantz CD KI Pearl SACD , ... !
I also hear some classic music and musicals , but no Jazz or Country .
I have had Kef XQ5 , Dali Icon , NHT XDS , NHT 2.5 , B&W 804 , TDL SMC , ADS M12 , Swans Diva 5.2 , Von Schweikert V2 , so far , but nothing really did satisfy me. The ADS and TDL came close , but stupid me I sold them in search for better !?
Anybody out there with some recommendations ?
many thanks
Juergen
Price Range $2000-4000 , used , new , DIY

wagnju · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 03:12 pm »

Hi Rick
CBT array Kit ????
Help me out a little bit !?
thanks
Juergen

wagnju · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 03:21 pm »

Just a thought . . .

If you have gone through that many speakers, then auditioning more speakers might not be the best solution. Maybe the type of amplification (or source component) is what you have outgrown.

I have had also several different amps and sources over the last years , from mono , digital, tubes , ... but at the end the speakers had the most impact in sound quality. For sure amps sound all a little bit different but the difference with speakers is much more . Just placing or changing your speaker setup has more impact than changing your amp . That's my opinion with my wooden ears .

Quiet Earth · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 03:32 pm »

Maybe you need to increase your budget then.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 04:19 pm »

Here's a link for some information on CBT's...http://www.xlrtechs.com/dbkeele.com/CBT.php

I've heard six different speakers using the CBT concept and it works really well.

Quote from: wagnju on 7 Apr 2011, 03:12 pm

Hi Rick
CBT array Kit ????
Help me out a little bit !?
thanks
Juergen

JoshK · « **Reply #17 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 05:26 pm »

I've never had the chance to hear a CBT arrays but with most arrays you have some pretty good dynamics.

I have similar taste in music and I am finishing up some Gedlee style speakers (DIY). In my opinion you'd need to try out one of the larger Geddes speakers before dismissing them.

I agree with high sensitivity (which suggests lower power compression all else being equal, which matters for dynamic music especially) and larger speakers like Geddes, Pi Speakers or JBL, or Altec 19s. A lot of "audiophile" speakers are too chinless to give rock justice. When you hear rock on a pair of 15" hi-eff woofers nothing else will sound right, at least to me that is true.

These are very highly rated on another forum and lots of rock and rollers like them:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1307314503&/Altec-Model-19-Studio-monitors

The Four Pis would be the top of my list. With your budget you can have a local cabinet maker make boxes for you. I'd opt for the JBL 2226 & B&C 250s. That woofer has god like status with rockers.

I'd recommend the Geddes Summas but they are out of your budget plus you need subs, which you seem to be adverse to.

Audiokinesis probably has some options that would be similar.

jtwrace · « **Reply #18 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 07:04 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 7 Apr 2011, 05:26 pm

I've never had the chance to hear a CBT arrays but with most arrays you have some pretty good dynamics.

I have similar taste in music and I am finishing up some Gedlee style speakers (DIY). In my opinion you'd need to try out one of the larger Geddes speakers before dismissing them.

I agree with high sensitivity (which suggests lower power compression all else being equal, which matters for dynamic music especially) and larger speakers like Geddes, Pi Speakers or JBL, or Altec 19s. A lot of "audiophile" speakers are too chinless to give rock justice. When you hear rock on a pair of 15" hi-eff woofers nothing else will sound right, at least to me that is true.

These are very highly rated on another forum and lots of rock and rollers like them:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1307314503&/Altec-Model-19-Studio-monitors

The Four Pis would be the top of my list. With your budget you can have a local cabinet maker make boxes for you. I'd opt for the JBL 2226 & B&C 250s. That woofer has god like status with rockers.

I'd recommend the Geddes Summas but they are out of your budget plus you need subs, which you seem to be adverse to.

Audiokinesis probably has some options that would be similar.

As you're well aware of you don't need Summas for rock...the Abbeys will get you 90% to the Summas from what I've been told. As I've mentioned above it takes subs and proper setup.

Mike B. · « **Reply #19 on:** 7 Apr 2011, 07:55 pm »

This is what I would do if I really wanted to rock out. Buy up a bunch of Cerwin Vega box speakers and make a huge stack filling one wall of your room. You can series and parallel them to end up with an amp friendly load. Buy a huge wattage output pro amp. Somewhere around 500 to 1000 watts. You should be able to make the walls move in and out with this type setup.