Monitor Speaker Suggestions

LadyDog · « **on:** 3 Apr 2011, 01:38 pm »

Looking at a new house. The one I like the best, will be a downsize when it comes to my stereo room. Two possible rooms choices, 14x14 or 15x15. I know great, both square. One of the rooms has full wall custom bookshelf cabinets built in.

After numerous years of tower speakers, I'm thinking monitor speakers may be the way to go if the move happens. Leaning toward the room with the custom cabinets, so I'm also thinking front port or sealed?

I'll certainly look at what Selah and Salk can do for me. Any others? Any "brick and mortar" speakers I should be looking at?

Additional info that may come in handy.

budget - maybe $4k, preferably $3k
pre - dodd battery
amp - undecided.....currently use an Electrocompaniet integrated amp but am looking to sell.....partial to tubes, but speaker may dictate desire/need......anybody have a moscode for sale

cd player - norh.....also use a modwright 333es
listen mostly to rock so "truth" to the source may not be in my best interest

Before I take a bath on selling my current stuff, anyone have towers in that small of a room with adequate results?

Thanks in advance for the time.

Regards,
Jeff

johzel · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 02:28 pm »

LSA 1 Statement monitors are very nice for the money. Owned a pair before going back to floorstanders and really liked them. Note the positive reviews:

http://www.thelsagroup.com/reviews.html

"One of my favorite discoveries of this year was the LSA Group's LSA1 Statement monitor. This attractive speaker features a folded-ribbon tweeter, a 6.25" mid/bass driver, and premium-grade crossover parts. The LSA1 Statement is one of the two best sub-$3000 monitors I've ever heard. These speakers sound highly detailed, yet are unfailingly smooth and offer very good bass extension for their size. They also produce enormous 3-D soundstages and easily reveal subtle differences between good / better / best amplifiers."

Chris Martens

bpape · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 02:33 pm »

The upcoming replacement for the ACI Sapphire XL would be a nice choice. Also, Totem Mani II's. The Totem is going to be a little tougher load.

If the listening room is dedicated and you can do what you want, some narrower towers could work very well. Something like Dynaudio, Revel, etc. The new 3.5 way Rick Craig is hoping to show in Atlanta looks very interesting too.

Bry an

JLM · « **Reply #3 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 07:59 pm »

Pick the most non-symetrical room (will help with the "squareness"). Use the bookcases as diffusion panels (vary how each shelf is filled).

Shop amp and speakers together. Damping factor of amp and speaker impedance must synergize. BTW have you considered active speakers? Once you've heard the difference, you'll never go back. I can't stress this enough. Here's a great active professional monitor, that when you consider that the power amplification is included - is well within your budget:

http://www.neumann-kh-line.com/neumann-kh/home_en.nsf/root/prof-monitoring_studio-monitors_nearfield-monitors_O300

http://www.bswusa.com/proditem.asp?item=O300L

Check out discussion over at audionervosa:

http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=2789.0

Phil A · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 08:55 pm »

Quote from: johzel on 3 Apr 2011, 02:28 pm

LSA 1 Statement monitors are very nice for the money. Owned a pair before going back to floorstanders and really liked them. Note the positive reviews:

http://www.thelsagroup.com/reviews.html

"One of my favorite discoveries of this year was the LSA Group's LSA1 Statement monitor. This attractive speaker features a folded-ribbon tweeter, a 6.25" mid/bass driver, and premium-grade crossover parts. The LSA1 Statement is one of the two best sub-$3000 monitors I've ever heard. These speakers sound highly detailed, yet are unfailingly smooth and offer very good bass extension for their size. They also produce enormous 3-D soundstages and easily reveal subtle differences between good / better / best amplifiers."

Chris Martens

I have not heard that LSA model but based on the base version (which has the same drivers and a slightly different crossover and cabinet as my Mobile Fidelity OML-1s and it is my understanding they are made in the same factory), I'd certainly put the LSA Statements on my list to hear.

The Sonus Fabers are nice too and with the integrated stands (which bolt to the speaker) are towards the upper range of your budget.

planet10 · « **Reply #5 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 09:32 pm »

A sleeper.

dave

Kinger · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 09:49 pm »

Fritz Audio C7's........GREAT sounding speaker.

JLM · « **Reply #7 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 10:17 pm »

Dave, I must of slept through the name of those speakers or the link.

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #8 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 11:23 pm »

Hey Dave, those look tricked out. What's the story?

Want a monitor that does it all:

Volent VL-2s. Ribbon tweeter, long throw and $$$ ATD woofer. Goes down to 28 hz. Absolute Sound says if you are looking at speakers under 15 grand make sure you hear these. I hope to do a review in the future. Siimply stunning with electorstatic detail and transparency with real life music dynamics, 5 Grand. Or for less at $2,500.00 there is the CL-2s. Same patented twin ribbon tweeter, less costly crossover, and Morel woofer. We are now carrying the Volent line. These are the best monitors I have heard.

Rocket_Ronny

planet10 · « **Reply #9 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 11:33 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 3 Apr 2011, 10:17 pm

Dave, I must of slept through the name of those speakers or the link.

Ronny,

I have to be a bit subtle, one of my designs, and you'd have to build them yourself, or get someone else to. We'd be on the list but i always prefer to see builds done locally to encourage cottage industry.

Mark Audio Alpair7eN in the miniOnken (Fonken) specifically for them (dMar-Ken7). What they give up in capability to play loud (and maybe dynamics -- but not microDynamics), they make up for in finesse. And no crossovers or whizzer cones. FR somewhere in the 50s to >20kHz.

These done in stranded (not the lesser vertical grain you usually see) block-core Neopolitan bamboo with a clear finish. Even if you paid for a premium build & big shipping, there'd still be significant change from the budget, but (IMO) would -- depending on your priority set -- still be competitive with commercial offerings that exceed the budget.

Similar also at the beta stage for the larger Alpair10.2 & 12.

dave

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 11:42 pm »

Love to visit some time Dave. Keep blazing the trail.

Rocket_Ronny

wywires · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Apr 2011, 11:57 pm »

Look into the Fritz Carbon 7, About $2K and a bit more if you want exotic veneers. www.fritzspeakers.com. IMO, the most natural and open sounding speakers under $4K. They use Scanspeak 9500 tweeters and the carbon impregnated mid woofer with a first order crossover. Got a great review at Stereomojo.

planet10 · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Apr 2011, 12:09 am »

Quote from: Rocket_Ronny on 3 Apr 2011, 11:42 pm

Love to visit some time Dave.

Come on out... it is a nice drive over the Rockies

8th Annual Vancouver Island diyFEST

dave

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Apr 2011, 12:15 am »

Quote

Fritz Audio C7's........GREAT sounding speaker.

Quote

Look into the Fritz Carbon 7, About $2K and a bit more if you want exotic veneers. www.fritzspeakers.com. IMO, the most natural and open sounding speakers under $4K. They use Scanspeak 9500 tweeters and the carbon impregnated mid woofer with a first order crossover. Got a great review at Stereomojo.

I'd agree....a very nice speaker... that will work well with many amps....

wywires · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Apr 2011, 12:22 am »

Just to add to my previous post, I had a pair of Fritz carbon 7's in my system for about 5-6 weeks. I used them with an old Bryston 2B, a pair of Cary 300B monoblocs and an EAR 534 50 WPC amp. Each sounded good but the 300B lacked power and punch. It sounded best with the EAR and surprisingly good with the 25 year old Bryston. At an audio show in LA, I had the Carbon 7's hooked up to a Virtue Audio amp and it sounded very good even given the crappy show conditions.

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #15 on:** 4 Apr 2011, 12:45 am »

Jeff - JLM - gives some good advice on the Klein and Hummel 0300 active monitors. They are a top near field monitor in the recording industy. AudioCirlce's Russell Dawkin - a high performance recording engineer - uses the 0300s and loves them. Randy Backman of the BTO rock band uses a pair in the studio as well. I know because I contacted him to ask what he uses for listening in the home. Answer - cheap getto blaster type stuff, but in the studio the 0300s. Only real complaints about them is the overload protection kicks in earlier than some would like, so they don't play as loud as wanted by some.

Things to remember about going the pro active speaker route is:
1. You are locked in to what's there.
2. In order to build to a lower price less quality amps may be used, or digital.
3. The amps have to fit in the cabinet, so some compromises may happen.
4. Where are the tubes. You can't fit a McAlister PP-150 in there. So you have to stay in solid state land.

Rocket_Ronny

mca · « **Reply #16 on:** 4 Apr 2011, 01:18 am »

Daber Audio Monitor 3. Great sounding speaker and you could save some $$ to put towards a nice tube amp for them.

JLM · « **Reply #17 on:** 4 Apr 2011, 11:32 am »

Like Ronny mentions, going built-in active takes away from the audio hunting thrill, fun, and fustration.

Planet 10 (Dave's) suggestion of single driver brings up the need in small spaces for driver coherence (and of course you can't beat a single driver). Since small rooms can fill up with deep bass quickly, a single driver speaker (with the right amp) might be just the ticket and by default give you an active speaker.

Similar to mca's suggestion (if you must separate the amp): VMPS 626 (the midrange covers 170 - 6,000 Hz for really good coherence and with your budget you could load them up with every option).

Check out this thread for a killer (abet passive) standmount: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=89390.0

This is an interesting price point for small rooms: large standmounts or small floorstanders. Before I invested seriously in a less than ideal room I'd find out just how good/bad it sounds and what I could do to alleviate any issues. IMO many spend more than the room they're using warrants.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Apr 2011, 01:38 am »

While the Totem Mani-2 is a great idea on paper, in the real world it's one of the most frustrating speakers on the market. They require a TON of power - a friend's McIntosh MA6900's power guard lights lit of pretty often. That's not a weak amp by any means. The Mani-2s also need a bit of space - the two rooms listed won't cut it IMO. The Mani-2s are one of the best speakers I've heard when set up right. It's almost impossible to do so. I know several people who gave up and moved on because they were so hard to live with.

If you like Totems, check out the Arro. A great speaker that sounds excellent in a small room. Not a monitor, but might as well be.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #19 on:** 10 Apr 2011, 01:42 am »

If you have an Audio Physic dealer nearby, check them out. My Yara Evolution Bookshelves sounded great in my old room which wasn't much bigger than the ones above. They changed the model, and I haven't heard it's replacement. The Yara Evolution tower (single woofer) is the same as what I have, but the bass is very slightly deeper. I've heard that one in a small demo room that had minimal acoustic treatment and it sounded great.