Speakers to Hang on for Life

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009, 06:23 PM #1
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2/18



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Speakers to hang on for life

I've had three different speaker brands which have left a major impact onmy life. I was wondering what speakers others have had or still have thathave left a life long impression on you.

For me, and in order of when I owned them...

Phase Linear Andromeda/Phase IIIQuad ESL 63

DIY Newform Tweeter R45 with SEAS woofers

All of these excelled in transparency and naturalness. The Newform/SEAShave the best soundstaging (by a huge margin) compared to the other twospeakers I've owned.

The first two are dipoles and the last one sounds like a dipole withdynamics.

The best I've heard, but didn't own are...

Avalon's flagship model ($70,000) with Spectral gear- These actually fooledme into thinking someone was in the room with me. Amazing soundstaging.

Wilson Watt/Puppy with Pass Labs 45watt amp - This system went over thetop with soundstaging. The space between each performer was so distinctthat every performer was in their own space. The Avalon's did this too, butthe Wilson's seemed to take it a little too far. The music didn't blend intoone song, rather it seemed like each performer was playing somethingdifferent because they were too separated, (Hard to explain). Still, Veryimpressive! I should also mention that I heard these same speakers withdifferent electronics and they were less than captivating, more wall paperthan 3D in that system.

Third would be a pair of Magnepan 2.0 (I believe) that blew my socks off.I'm not sure what electronics were used, but the clarity and soundstagingwere very good. I heard these same speakers at other stores wi th differentelectronics and room setups and they always sounded lackluster, but nothere. I should also mention that Magnepans rarely sound good in stores.Rarely are they set up right with the right equipment. My take on these isthat they have great potential but great care has to be taken with roomplacement and electronics.

I really like the higher end Martin Logans too even though they never had a3D soundstage to the extent as the speakers mentioned above. Theysounded much like the Quad ESL's and the Quad's, at least in my home werenot 3D soundstage champs. However, they sounded smooth, detailed, andvery natural. I loved the Quads!

There are others, but this is the top of my list for speakers that havegrabbed my attention and left a permanent impression in my mind.

Anyway, what floats your boat?

rp

lty

Last edited by StevenSurprenant; 01-15-2009 at 04:40 AM.

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009, 07:23 PM #2
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If anyone knows me here they could probably answer this for me. TheDanes and I have been together for at least ten years. I also love the MartinLogan electrostats. If I had to buy new speakers, I'd listen around to be surebut I can't even think of any other speakers than these that might comeclose.

I heard a pair of Snell several years back that are worth mentioning as agood impression. Thiel wasn't my thing when I heard them but I did findthem a pleasant listen and if I was rich enough to have several listeningrooms would entertain maybe having a pair.

When I worked at an electronics store in the 80's we sold Electro Voice andthey had a pair of 15" 2-way cabinets I loved, the 1503, I believe. Don't letanyone say a horn speaker can't sound good, these were fabulous. I'd like tohear a pair today to see if my taste has changed.

O,

ody

lar

Mark Levinson #512Pass Labs XP-10 & X250Clearaudio Performance DC, Dynavector 10x5, AcousTech Ph-1pClarus Crimson loom - AC outlet to speaker terminalRevel Performa F52 main/center & S30's

SVS PC13 Ultra (sub)Marantz BD-7003 > AV-8003 > LINN 5125Transparent cables / Tributaries HDMIPS Audio Quintet

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009, 08:36 PM

QUOTE MR PAEBODY

When I worked at an electronics store in the 80's we sold Electro Voice andthey had a pair of 15" 2-way cabinets I loved, the 1503, I believe. Don't letanyone say a horn speaker can't sound good, these were fabulous. I'd like tohear a pair today to see if my taste has changed.

OOH MR P.had a pair of the 12 inch they got wreck in hurricane Andrew those weresome great speaker" for every type of music (subs were not the in thingthen. but they would have put them to shame anyway) since then i haveonly seen the professional ones. your mentioning them sure reminds of some good times i had with those ELECTRO VOICE thank you

#3

lar

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009, 04:10 AM #4

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4/18



Nice topic

My speaker history over 35 years:Dynaco A25AR 7AR 5Braun L710Ohm F -- omni-directional, full-range Walsh driverB&W DM7Paradigm Mini Monitor v.3Magneplanar MMGMagneplanar MG 1.6QR

I owned the B&W DM7's for over twenty years; they were a sad mistake andI came to really regret selling the Ohm F's. Lack of cash and other prioritieskept me from doing anything about it for far too long. Today I'm loving the

Maggies -- no mistake there.

By the way, I'd love to hear those Newform Research of yours. A possibilityfor me some day is the need to move to a smaller room were the dipoleMaggies wouldn't work: DIYs with Newform R30 tweeters could be just theticket in that scenario.

tario

h

Originally Posted byStevenSurprenantI've had three different speaker brands which have left a major impact onmy life. I was wondering what speakers others have had or still have thathave left a life long impression on you....

Anyway, what floats your boat?

Feanor's Stereo Configuration

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009, 05:47 AM

Absolute Great Thread...

See title above. Great thread, great responses. The only topic that wouldellicit (sp) a greater response from me would be "cars to hang onto for life ."I love it when a topic makes me think and remember fondly. I'm only goingto list speaks I own, loved and KEPT!!!

1. Ohm Walsh 4's - Just big enough and detailed enough to show me whatdecent speakers were SUPPOSED to sound like.

2. Epicure/EPI 100's - With a old SS or a good tube these " bookshelves " givegreat, great sound and masterful soundstage on the cheep.

3. Allison 4's - Beautiful to look at, beautiful to hear when properly placed inthe "right" room.

4. Platinum Audio Studio 3's - First and only "modern" speaker I own. I'veseen the future and it's slimline.

Da Worfster

#5

ork

s
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5/18



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009, 06:12 AM

Actually, I just moved the Newform/SEAS speakers into a smaller room andthey sound very good.

A note on Newform speakers: Many years ago I heard a original pair of Newform speakers with the R45 and even though they sounded good, I coulddistinctly hear the woofer and tweeter separately. I was very close to themwhen I was listening. This was a big problem that everyone experiencedwhich led to modifications and a user forum athttp://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Newformgroup/ . From what I've read,these modifications fixed the problem. I went a different route and useddifferent woofers (SEAS). With the SEAS, integration between the wooferand the tweeter was perfect. In addition, I think the SEAS are moretransparent that the original Newform woofers, but they lack the bass. It's atrade off, but I rarely feel the need for a sub. I am using 2 SEAS W18EX001woofers per side, but the Seas W18E001 (no X) go deeper.

As for crossover point, I've tried crossing over anywhere from 800Hz to3,000Hz and it all sounded good. At the present time, they are crossed overat about 2,000Hz.

Another bit of good news is that I using Trends 10.1 T-amps that only outputabout 5 watts which is enough to play very loudly, so power is not an issue.

By the way, your profile says you live in London, Ontario. I've been theremany times, nice town. It's grown a lot since I was first there (1970). I wasthere about 4 years ago too. I realize that times have changed, but in 1970 Iwas traveling down the Queens highway and my engine in my Volkswagonquit so they towed me to London. They put in another engine for about $200which included labor, what a deal!. What impressed me the most is that theyoffered to pay for my bus tickets to go downtown while they did the workand put me up in one of their homes for the night. They even offered me a

job. Well , because of how the people there treated me, that stuck in mymind as a place I would want to live. I realize that times have changed andthat there isn't much chance of that happening again (people change), but Istill have a warm spot in my heart for London.

Perhaps some day if you're in the area we can get together. Just so youknow, I'm still tweaking. (Never ends) I've plans to upgrade my BehringerDCX crossover with a new power supply, clock and input chip. Now if I cando that without destroying the DCX, I'll be very happy. I also plan ongraphing the output of these speakers on my computer so I can make anyadjustments I need. So far, I've only adjusted by ear. I'm even consideringchanging the system to a 2.5 where I cross over the upper range of thesecond woofer on each side lower than the other on the same side (clear asmud). It doesn't cost any money to do this and I've read where other people

have heard improvements by doing this. I have to tell you that while it's niceto be able to go out and buy your dream system, It's a lot more fun to DIY.

I also have Magnepans for my surround system and a Panasonic SA-XR25.The Panny isn't being used right now, but I have no intention of getting rid of it, it's a great little receiver. I'm using a Yamaha receiver now because of the HD decoding that it provides for movies.

#6

rp

lty

Originally Posted byFeanorBy the way, I'd love to hear those Newform Research of yours. A possibilityfor me some day is the need to move to a smaller room were the dipoleMaggies wouldn't work: DIYs with Newform R30 tweeters could be just theticket in that scenario.
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6/18



Well, let me know when you're in the Chicago area. I live about 50 milessouth of downtown.

I have to tell you that it makes me very nervous that you might come heresomeday and not like my system. It's not perfect, but it's a labor of love ona shoe string budget. I'll get over it.

If you're really serious about building your own, SEAS has free plans forbuilding the Odin MK3 with W18E001 Woofers and crossover at 2.5KHz. Thiswould be similar to my system wi th two woofers per side. All that would be

left to do i s to add a crossover for the Newform ribbon and adjust levels.Madisound has the Odin kits, but they are $1,745, which is not cheap, butthey do come with a tweeter. The woofers by themselves are about $800 (4of them). Still not cheap. Then you would have to buy the Newform R30tweeter which is $880 in USD. Throw in another $120 for parts and buildyour own box and the total cost is about $1,800. Not cheap! At this pricepoint, you would have to justify the price with how it sounds. I guess thatyou'ld have to hear my system before you'ld even consider spending thatkind of money. I would! Well, it's just something to think about.

I was fortunate because I bought the R45 and the 4 SEAS from someone whobought them new and never used them. I paid $550 for all the driverstogether.

Last edited by StevenSurprenant; 01-15-2009 at 07:01 AM.

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009, 07:58 AM #7
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7/18


8/18



My three are similar:

Magneplanar MG-IIAcoustat X / Monitor 4 / 2+2Sound Lab U-1

If I reach back 35 years like Feanor, it would also include Advents (have anupdated set of doubles in the garage today) and Braun LV-1020s. The firstsignificant ear opening event was while still in high school, I heardMagneplanar Tympani IIIs tri-amplified with Audio Research electronics.These were far and away more natural sounding than the large Bozaks, AR-LSTs and my Brauns (forerunner to A/D/S) of the day. I ended up buying aset of MG-IIs and drove them with an Audire amplifier. I sold the upperdrivers of the 1020s and used the powered 12" woofers as subs.

About a year and a half later, I was invited to dinner with two other audiobuddies to Dr. Cooledge's (he wrote for many a year at TAS as JWC) housefor a listen that began a friendship that lasts today. It was there I first heardthe Dayton-Wright XG-8s full range electrostats. They were unusualCanadian made speakers that did not share the power limitation of the earlyQuads. He drove them with amps including the Yamaha B-1 VFET andAmpzilla. They had a purity that the Maggies of that era couldn't match.

Since that time ('77), I have owned two brands (albeit with multiple flavors)of full range electrostats. I find they still offer a level of purity andcoherency not matched elsewhere. The U-1s were made in heaven for me.

rw

e Originally Posted byStevenSurprenant

I was wondering what speakers others have had or still have that have lefta life long impression on you.

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009, 09:43 AM #9
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9/18



I'll probably take it back down to 1000 or even 800. These SEAS drivers arevery good and very fast. To be honest, the reason I raised the crossoverwas because I thought that there might be a possibility that the larger conesof the SEAS would move more air and hence sound a little more dynamic. Ihave to wait till I set the crossover down again to verify this. Either way, itsounded good.

When I set it at 3000 I lost some of the imaging so I backed it down to 2000.

There are too many variables to know what to do. After I measure thespeaker outputs and adjust for a flat response, I plan on moving thecrossover around and remeasuring/Listening.

It's a hobbie and if I ever get it perfect I won't know what to do with myself.Well I guess that I could start by hanging my speaker wires from the ceiling,put my gear on cones or rubber feet, and maybe, just maybe, I'll startputting stones on top of everything. I think I have a pet rock somewherearound here that I could start with.

Actually what really peaks my interest is the DEQX,,,

The only thing is that is cost more than double of my entire system and if it's as good as some say it is, then I guess that I'm finished. Now where didI put that rock?

rp

lty

Originally Posted byFeanorI guess I'm a bit surprised that you're using a 2000 Hz crossover with theR45's. Personally I'd be hoping to take it as low as possible to get all thespeed and resolution the ribbons can deliver, but sometime things soundbetter on paper than they do to the ear.

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009, 10:01 AM

This is a very thought provoking topic. Well done, Steve.

I'd have to say...all of them! Great speakers never die, they just getrefoamed I don't know why, but I have never even considered selling orupgrading any of my speakers. I just look for another room to put them inwhen I buy something new.

For example, my Mission 780's have been serving me well for nearly 25years now. Are they that good? No. They are rather bright and don't havethe bottom end of a true full range speaker . However, when the wifedemanded I take the hulking black monoliths out of the bedroom, I simplymoved them down to my office. The crappy Sony's that were in the officebecame Frankenspeakers (thanks to partsexpress.com ) and are now keeping

me company in the garage on the weekends.

I dunno, when I went off to college, my dad gave me his old Wharfedalesand Marantz 2230 . The Wharfies are gone (sold to my roommate so I couldbuy a pre-amp) but I can easily see myself passing down the B&W's or VonSchweikert's to my kids when they run off to 'SC as well.

This probably isn't the response you were looking for, but it's myinterpretation of the question.

#10

"If you can leave black marks on a straight from the time you exit a corner till the time youbrake for the next turn, then you have enough horsepower." Mark Donohue

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10/18



Some keepers

Tannoy Definition D900IMO, they are essentially pitch-perfect i.e. they sound very tonally correctso much I get to appreciate the music captured by most recordings without

much regard for recording quality, It makes me wanna get up and danceExplosive dynamics, stable soundstage, efflortless low bass, uncontestedneutrality. This is a very great speaker

ELAC 310iJETJust a nice little speaker with excellent tonality.

Quad ESLPerfect for my future bedroom system, I want to hang on to my vintage pairforever, it sounds very sweet with chamber music and voice.

Genelec 8040/8050I do not own these speakers for ergonomic reasons, but this active speakerhas accurate tone and timbre, had the pleasure of listening to them over acouple of days in a huge music shop with a large selection of pianos, goshdid they capture the tone of the Monty Alexander's piano to a Tee.

ho

bby

It's a listening test, you do not need to see it to listen to it!

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009, 09:45 AM

But . . . .

[quote=theaudiohobby]It's listening test, you do not need to see it to listento it! /quote]

But . . but . . but . . . if I can't see it, how can I know what I'm listening

to????LOL--love your tag line.

#12

lar

"Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony."------Heraclitus of Ephesis (fl. 504-500 BC), trans. Wheelwright.

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009, 11:53 AM #13
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11/18



I've got a couple of speakers on my list that I wish I still owned. Right out of college and into my first job my first big purchase was a pair of Ohm Fs.They floated an image in space in a way I'd never heard before. Stupidly, Ilater sold them while working at a stereo store in the mid 1970s to get apair of Genesis IIIs. We sold Genesis and I got a great price. I almostinstantly regretted the move as a major mistake. About six years ago Iauditioned a pair of Ohm 200s and they were just missing the magic Iremembered.

In between, I built a set of tri-amplified transmission line speakers with KEFdrivers that I used for about 20 years. They sounded great, but I never fellcompletely in love with them. Of course, kids were smack dab in the middleof that chapter in history so they they were a great placeholder during thisperiod of audio dormancy.

While the Ohm 200s flunked the audition, the Magnepan 1.6QRs passed.They came very close to floating an image in the fashion I rememberedfrom the Ohm Fs and were even a bit more l ifelike in the lower midrange. Acello recording on the Maggies was downright eerie.

I would have probably been content to stay put with these had we notmoved. The listening room at the new house was simply too small andwrong for a pair of planars. That led to a cruise through several speakers inthe Spendor line. I've settled in with the SP1/2Es which are just aboutperfect for the current digs. When I'm in the sweet spot they are justamazing. I think they are more tonally accurate than either the old Ohms orMaggies, but lack that last bit of holographic sense of space that can be soengaging. However, given the listening room limitations, they are an almostperfect choice.

Of course, this top brings up the corollary question: what speaker purchasedo you most regret? As noted above, the Genesis were a mistake for me.Not a bad sounding speaker but just nowhere near what I really wanted. Justa youthful mistake where the prospect of a "deal" overwhelmed my sense of sound quality.

lar

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009, 12:12 PM

Great Thread

I've had dozens of speakers go through my home, some of them odd-ballbrands. I have rich friends who buy stuff, don't know how to use of it, tire of it, and then let me try it out to see if I can get it to sound better. So I've hadthe good fortune to audition and learn from gear that I could never afford orthat I would never be willing to pay for myself. It costs as much as a car,you say? Well then why didn't you get the car? Lots of it (e.g. B&O, Chord,Gallo) was bought because it looked trendy with little regard for how itsounded and more often than not, I also didn't know how to pair it with the

right gear, so sometimes I missed out on good opportunities too.

Anyhow, these are some of the speakers that made an impact on me:

Polk 600i TowersI know these are cheapo outdated speakers, but they were the first speakersthat I purchased with my own money and made me realize that with goodelectronics, there's more to the music. I didn't have friends with expensivegear that I could compare it to back then, but I'm pretty sure that undersome circumstances these speakers would have pulled their own weight -they were not complete duds. I eventually blew the drivers, so they werefollowed up by the 2000i speakers because I wanted more bass. This lasteduntil I discovered there were such things as subwoofers . I thought the 2000swere high-end speakers until I bought web-only speakers on practically a

whim (see below). They were sold these shortly after that.

SVS subsI've owned three different types of cylinder subs, two from SVS, one f romHsu. The 16-46Pci with upgraded 500W amp is my current fav. There issimply nothing else out there that can do what this monster can do for undera grand. I used to play the organ in church and swore I would never listen to

-

#14


12/18



,organ-based music that anyone I know - funny how that works. My lifechanged after I discovered SVS (and I stopped blowing speakers out).

Axiom Audio M80True story: I bought these unheard for two reasons - a single positivereview and because they were called M80's (hearkening back to myanarchist rebellious past). When I compared them to the Polks, I wasfloored. I ended up re-building my whole HT around Axiom speakers; at onetime or another I owned every model Axiom had. I very much enjoyedthese, blew the midbass drivers (as well as on a pair of QLS4s), and Axiomsupport / exchange was top notch. I eventually sold and upgraded these withViennas (see below) but it was hard to see them go.

Quad M22At almost $2K delivered, these were my first pairs of "expensive" speakers,that looked even more expensive from what I thought was a top-of-the-linemanufacturer, LOL. Great speakers, but not much of an improvement overthe Axioms. I was sorely disillusioned by the reality of diminishing returnsas I moved up in price. I thought I had bought British hi-fi, only to realizethat to get good sound I had to go much higher in price. The speakers hadgreat air and unbelievable bass, but lacked in the mids . I sold them shortlyafter having burned them in.

MB Quart QLS830Imaged like a laser, awesome sound-stage, and super-tight bass. Iunfortunately sold these without using them with better electronics andprobably would have been able to cull more performance out of them if Ihad. They were my first 4 ohm speaker that brought my amps to their knees- I learned a lot from them (even more after I sold them). These were theone speaker that "got away." Sound-wise, they are about as German as thestereotype suggests - perhaps a bit too analytical, but everyone should haveone pair of analytical speakers around for re ference and these are at the topof the value-vs-performance chart. Had I not sold them, I'd still be listeningto them.

Dynaudio 72Funny story: bought them to try and disprove to myself that I needed tospend $5K+ for a good pair of speakers. I had had a couple of much moreexpensive speakers in my home such as Vandersteen 3 series and B&O's

pyramid speakers, which aside from sounding good don't score high on theWAF/practicality scale. The Dyns sounded like crap until I bought a Passamp. That's when I realized that a speaker "system" involved a correctpairing with an amp. The Dyns need oodles of amperage to sound right. Nowthat the MBQs were gone I realized my error. Although they are greatspeakers, I didn't keep them, I gave them to my father who is using themwith NAD ref. gear - great match, but not my cup o' tea. My brother who isinto trance, rave and techno loves them, too. They are a true jack of all

trades and inexpensive for the performance level, too.

Vienna Webern, SchonbergWhen I had to combine my audio room and HT rooms together I needed todownsize. I auditioned tons of on-wall speakers and never heard one thatdidn't sound like an on-wall speaker. In-wall was even worse. Then Istumbled on a Magnolia fire sale of 7 Vienna speakers. The Schonbergs werepart of the deal, but I sold those right away, and kept the Weberns as a 5.1setup. I believe the inside of these aluminum airplane-fin-looking speakersare actually lined with wood, and these sound nothing at all like you'dexpect. A tad bright, but for movies, esp. dialog, these speakers areawesome. And upgrade from these, if I ever would, might cost me manytimes more. These are keepers for a long time to come. FYI: they do needlots of clean power to sound right.

Meadowlark Kestrel and SwiftI guess this was my mellow period where I was looking for speakers thatsounded pleasant and great at low volumes. I also "thought" that a goodspeaker needed to be carefully made out of solid wood, not MDF or othercomposite materials. I still own the Swifts - great little speaker and for whatI paid for them, a screaming bargain; definitely giant-killers. The Kestrels Ipurchased with severe water damage from someone who didn't know whatthey were - paid next to nothing for them, took them to a cabinet makerwho fixed them up and sold them for a handsome profit to boot. But becauseof this, I never got to audition them at length. Considering how much I likethe Swifts, that was probably a mistake.


13/18



Magnepan 1.6qr and MMGDespite all the rave reviews I never got what the Maggie sound was allabout. Back when I had the 1.6qrs in my home I probably never set them upproperly and used inferior amps. Then just recently I tried the MMGs andreally gave them a good workout to no avail. Then I found out that it's likelythese speakers were defective. So this is not a jab at Magnepan, but I nevergot to hear what the magic was all about. This may change one day.

Odyssey Audio NightingaleI've owned lots of Odyssey gear and the Nightingales sing, well, likenightingales. Awesome air and treble. They also look like no other speakerout there - sort of like the B&O Penta, but made of wood. The cabinets weremade by an art-trained woodmaker in Canada, exclusively for Odyssey, andI bought them based on these looks and because of my good experienceswith other Odyssey gear. They were, however, a bit bass shy, despite thespecs, and in my home that's a no-no. I eventually sold these for a lot lessthan I paid for them, mostly because not a lot of people know how goodthese speakers are. In hindsight, I probably should have kept them.

Talon Audio Khouros and KhiteI ended up with these mega-expensive speakers because my friend didn'tlike the fact that they were ugly. True story, and honestly they are. Heeventually took the floorstanders back (when it dawned on him how much hepaid for them) but let me keep the Khites for a pittance. These are, barnone, the best speakers that have ever passed through my house. The

Khouros I didn't get much time with, but the Khites changed myunderstanding of what a bookshelf can do. They image great, can handle500W ! of power, are 8 Ohm & fairly sensitive, and have fantastic stagedepth and width. I've compared them to SF, Vienna, VS, and Dynbookshelves in their price range and they outperformed everyone of them inspades. Did I mention the bass? I didn't think that was possible from such asmall speaker.

There were lots of others, but these where the ones that in one way oranother changed my perspective on speakers. The Talon Khites are now myreference. I'm sure there is better out there, but for a $5K bookshelf (new),there is nothing that compares at even twice the price. If there is, I haven'theard it.

P.S. The engineers from Talon are now at a new company called EscalanteDesign and they seem to have taken much of the design philosophy withthem. The speakers are still uber-expensive, but, in a move that is finally getting some traction in this industry, they are hand-made by fair-labor out of all natural and renewable / plentiful materials, while the internal electronics also meet European green standards for electronics. To top it off,they are an American company. This is a company I can believe in. If I upgrade, I will probably purchase one of their models. There was an auctionnot too long ago for their top-of-the-line Freemonts, but I was outbid. I'mstill on the lookout, for a good deal, though.

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009, 12:37 PM

How do you manage to destroy so many speakers?

#15

lar

Originally Posted bynightflierI've had dozens of speakers go through my home, some of them odd-ballbrands.....

There was an auction not too long ago for their top-of-the-line Freemonts,but I was outbid. I'm still on the lookout, for a good deal, though.[/I]

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14/18



009, 03:04 PM

Bass, every time.

That and cheap amps. I've learned from this, though. I haven't fried aspeaker in years.

Anyhow, I haven't killed that many speakers, have I? The Polks couldn'thandle the bass w/o a subwoofer (which I did not own at the time), and theAxioms got zapped watching Nemo, believe it or not. The sub was not set

properly, that time, if I remember right. The Maggies were probably badbefore I got them (the verdict is still out on what's wrong with them).

#16

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009, 03:23 PM

Ok 2 is maybe not many. Perhaps many in my standards. I've only everfried a speaker once, that was a 4in driver in a Velo satellite speak. Wasplaying a 20Hz tone for the sub, forget the speaks were having it fed tothem aswell and there it went.I've put some of my speakers through hell with no results. I guess I was justlucky

#17

lar

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009, 04:02 PM

thanks

Thanks, you've got remind folks from time to time that it's not a visual artshobby

#18ho

bby Originally Posted byPat D

But . . but . . but . . . if I can't see it, how can I know what I'm listeningto????

LOL--love your tag line.

Originally Posted bytheaudiohobbyIt's listening test, you do not need to see it to listen to it!


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009, 04:19 PM #19
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15/18



Not to listen, but to avoid running into / tripping over components!

rw

e Originally Posted bytheaudiohobby


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009, 07:12 PM

I hadn't realized you were a member here, too. I still look in here every

once in a while, mostly at Rave Recordings, but I haven't posted much overhere for some time.

#20

lar Originally Posted bytheaudiohobby

Thanks, you've got remind folks from time to time that it's not a visual artshobby


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009, 11:56 AM

I post here every now and again when there is an interesting thread, Ihardly ever go to Rave Recordings though.

#21

ho

bby Originally Posted byPat D

I hadn't realized you were a member here, too. I still look in here everyonce in a while, mostly at Rave Recordings, but I haven't posted much overhere for some time.


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009, 02:59 AM

uh...oh you want avoid thumping your big toe

#22

ho

bby

Originally Posted byE-StatNot to listen, but to avoid running into / tripping over components!

rw


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16/18



009, 06:25 AM

As said, this i s fascinating Steve!And.. after enjoying the Mission 737Renaissance while paying humungousmortgages in th 'eighties and 'nineties (!) I have at last made it to the770Freedoms that I couldn't afford in those days!And after grabbing these from ebay and asking Mission Service to 'do thebusiness' I am listening as I write, and loving the definition of the bass, thetiming, the textures, the voice, THE MUSIC!Since I now have brand new drivers, I was advised "no high volume whilstthey soak in"..any idea how long I must be patient..?Keeping them forever!

Paul/runt

#23

lar

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009, 12:29 PM #24
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17/18



I have heard quite a few speakers that I thought would do for a long time,and I will say something about some of them.

I have owned the following models which were quite good to excellent:

Kef 104 (later modded to 104aB), Quad ESL-63 , PSB Stratus Mini,Paradigm Signature S2 . The Quad and the Paradigm could certainly belifetime speakers--assuming they last that long.

Long ago, I heard the original Quad ESL (now often known as the ESL-57)and the Yamaha NS-1000 , which also seems to have stood the test of time.Another old speaker that impressed me was the sensitive Altec 19 , a largebox with a big woofer crossed over to a sectoral horn at 1000 Hz, whichcould be adjusted to give a very even response (but could be adjusted tosound awful, too). It threw a wide and deep image, very detailed.

The Kef 104 sounded very good on vocals, piano, and most orchestrarecordings, but crossing the 8" woofer over at 3 kHz means the off axisdispersion is not so even and the power response would have what JohnAtkinson would call an off axis "flare" around and above the crossover, sincethe woofer is much more directional there than the tweeter. This shows upon some choral and orchestra recordings. But they are quite even inresponse in a listening window and with careful set up, can still sound quitegood.

In a proper set up (fairly large room), the Quad ESL-63 is first class, butour living room is far f rom ideal for them. In a smaller room, they can stillbe very good, but other types of speakers can work better. The newer QuadESL speakers have received much praise, but I haven't personally heardthem, but in the right set up, I imagine they would sound superb.

In our present living room, I could not get piano to sound as good as Iwanted with the Quad. I discovered the PSB Stratus Mini worked better inour living room--after a Quad blew its power supply, I got them with a viewto putting them in the family room later. But for a while they worked quitewell as the main speakers, and I found I had fewer bad sounding recordings.A very easy speaker to listen to, and they work very well for us on movies.

The Paradigm Signature S2 is a wonderful monitor speaker, even smoother

than the Stratus Minis and with more even off axis dispersion. I like them alot and I have no plans to change them. They are very neutral, and thehorizontal dispersion is so wide and even that the exact degree of toe-in isnot critical, as long as they are well away from walls. The ParadigmSignature S8 is great, too, but I imagine I would have difficulty get a smoothroom response in the bass. I haven't yet heard the second versions of theSignature Series.

I have heard others which are excellent, too. Most recently, I heard the PSBSynchrony One tower which is superb. It might be ever so slightly forwardfor my taste, but they are very smooth and neutral and throw a greatimage. I might find the smaller Synchrony Two tower more suitable, sincewe have a big subwoofer . I was not quite as impressed by the SynchronyOne B monitor, which I do not think is quite as neutral or invisible as mySignature S2, but it is very good.

I also recently heard another excellent monitor, the B & W 805S , which wasvery smooth. I generally like laid back but this was perhaps a bit too laidback for my taste. But it is excellent.

lar


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009, 02:15 PM #25


18/18


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Big toe, shin and whole body into seven foot tall monoliths!

rw

e Originally Posted bytheaudiohobby

uh...oh you want avoid thumping your big toe

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