Over the years I've made some mistakes I might help you avoid. Speakers more than any other component have a "sound".
Give up any notion of putting speakers on a universal scale from "good" to "bad". Recent research suggests that different people process and therefore hear music in very different ways. This must be true, as some systems I have considered unlistenable have been adored by people whose judgement I respect. BTW this also means you should actively disregard the "conclusion" from any speaker review. You must find what you like. And for less then awful-big money you wont get it all in a speaker (if then), so you need to be honest about your priorities. For ME speakers line up along three axes. You might find the same helpful. Think about it: what aspect of the music really speaks to YOU. Is it the harmonic richness of a voice like Norah Jones' or Johnny Hartman's? Is it the feeling of being "inside the music" that you get when you put on a super well-recorded, well-produced track?. Is it the visceral impact of the Stones or Mahler? Once you are well grounded in your priorities, speaker reviews can be helpful if used to interpret if a speaker aligns with those. Narrow down your search by determining if a "boxless" planar design is for you. The three brands you will most likely run across are Magnepan, Martin Logan and Quad. Quad planars will be hard to later augment for surround, so you might rule them out. Planar speakers have a sound all their own, and if it really floats your boat, it is unlikely that anything else will do. If for reasons of sound or practicality these dont do it for you then you can move on. I have lived in places like Alaska, rural Scotland and Montana, so I empathize with the need to sometimes get a bit more direction than "go listen". So here is where I will stick my neck out and give you brands to think about. For comparison sake, I will use $2K (new price) as a max budget. (If you are in the US, take the advice about Audiogon.com). They are well respected, excel at what they do, and are exemplary of the different "poles", if you will, of priority in sound. There are certainly many more brands out there, but these I have either owned or been very familiar with. If nothing else, you might use these to anchor your search. Harmonic Richness: Vandersteen's Model 2 has been around forever. There is a reason. It does this rich harmonic thing sooooo nicely. If looking at planars, Magnepan is voiced in this direction. Inside The Music: Spendor gives you the polite British version of this sound. Good models available under $2k. Detail and spatial cues galore. They are one of the origial makers of the iconic, inside-the-music LS3/5a. The more exciting and in-your-face American version of this sound is Thiel. In planars, the Quad ESL (but way beyond 2K new). Visceral Impact: The classic Klipsch speakers (Klipschorn, Cornwall) could be had used under $2K. I have heard their recent designs only in stores, but they seem to carry on this tradition. In planar speakers, Martin Logans. -- atkinsonrr ------------------------------------------------------------------------ atkinsonrr's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7214 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29736 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
