Post by Khorn September 24, 2004 (11 of 22)
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Couple of points:
The first and most important is how the speakers sound to you.
Another important thing is what you will be driving them with and the space they are loaded into. Also what levels of playback do you require? Without this info it's almost impossible to recommend anything.
If you can get a home audition of whatever you decide upon that will make a big difference. You might get the speakers home and, after listening for a bit, find that they just don't "do it for you".
Don't rush into it. I presume you will be living with your choice for some time and a little more effort now will pay off in the long run.
Choosing speakers should be a fun experience so make the most of it.
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I'd try the Tannoy Sensys range - they should come into your price bracket and usually produce a reasonable sound at an unreasonably low price! They're the cheapest "full frequency" speakers I've found whilst looking. Sadly I haven't got around to auditioning them (or their more upmarket Eyris range) so I can't comment on how these sound but previous Tannoy's (£ for £) have been at least as good as most of the competition if not better.
Happy hunting!
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synthy said:
Sorry to ask this, but there are so many audio equipment forums that are so full of crap that I thought I'd ask here. I'm looking to buy new speakers, a 5.1 system of some kind. Since my main app will be listening to SACDs, what speakers do you guys recommend for under $5000? I was looking at B&W systems, but there are so many moderate high-end speakers.
Talk about a loaded question! There are so many damn good speakers out there and no doubt the good folks around here will mention the stuff they own, but don't forget to look around at some of the lesser known names. And when I mention a 'brand' check around at the various lines, the prices can vary quite a bit.
Yes B&W, Kef and Tannoy are great, but take the time to check out Soliloquy, Meadowlark, and even MB Quart, yes MB Quart, known for car audio, they actually make home audio gear. I've got MB quarts all around at the moment, and I will review them when the mood strikes.
I actually put my money down on a pair of B&W new 700 series (704 tower) and that put the brakes on my B&W dreams. I almost went for the nautilus actually. The cabinets are the most rock solid I've come across, but the sound just didn't excite. Accurate, tight but just didn't really sing to these ears. It could be an equipment issue, but my gear isn't the "circuit city" specials so who knows.
The soliloquys I wanted so badly to try at home were never available in the veneer I wanted when the money was available, isn't that how it always goes. Ditto for the meadowlarks.
I even checked out Sonus Faber, but as good as they are, not a bang for the buck product. You end up paying for a lot of cabinet work.
Oh I almost forgot the speakers I came within inches of owning, Norh! http://www.Norh.com I had my eye on the synthetic marble 7.0. (scanspeak woof/tweet)
In the end I decided to play around with the MB Quarts for now, I STILL want to try out the Norh speakers though. The 6.9 at $995 Vifa woof + ring radiator tweet is a deal.
I'm sure I left out like 30 other great brands, keep on lookin'!
- Tony
http://www.StrangerSoundLabs.com
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Post by madinoz September 30, 2004 (14 of 22)
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Hello, I'm a newby here so go gentle on me please!
With regards to your speaker selection, I know others have mentioned the point about using a speaker specifically designed with a super-tweeter. Assuming your SACD player and amplifier is of a broadband type (most decent ones are these days), it would seem a good idea to choose speakers which feature a super-tweeter in their design.
A lot of the speaker brands mentioned already have speakers in their range with super tweeters (i.e KEF have on with the Vifa dual-concentric super tweeter available as a two way and a two and half way design which will allow voice matching between rear and front speakers.
I have designed my own speakers using this tweeter and the Peerless HDS woofer to good effect.
Avoid the Sonys with a super-tweeter (but I think from your original post that you already would have known that)
Just my two cents worth.
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Post by pann September 30, 2004 (15 of 22)
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synthy said:
Since my main app will be listening to SACDs, what speakers do you guys recommend for under $5000?
First, the fundamental measurements have to be sound, then give an audition not in a store, but at home if possible.
I would recommand Vandersteen speakers. I own them.
A pair of Vandersteen 3A for left and right.
A pair of VSM-1 for rear left and right.
A pair of 2Wq subwoofer.
Total amounts to about $5000.
No need for center speaker IMO, please see my Profile for an explanation.
I live in San Francisco Bay Area, you are welcome to come hear my system.
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Post by synthy October 1, 2004 (16 of 22)
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No need for center speaker IMO, please see my Profile for an explanation.
I live in San Francisco Bay Area, you are welcome to come hear my system.
Thanks again everyone. I'll strongly consider the Vandersteens, I've heard a lot of good stuff about them. Unfortunately I'm in Connecticut, so I can't take you up on your offer. I'm curious how you mix the center channel signal into your main speakers. I've never been too enthralled with the benefits of a center channel, because I listen soley in my "sweet spot" so smeared center imaging has never been a problem.
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Post by seth October 1, 2004 (17 of 22)
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sound_labs said:
I actually put my money down on a pair of B&W new 700 series (704 tower) and that put the brakes on my B&W dreams. I almost went for the nautilus actually. The cabinets are the most rock solid I've come across, but the sound just didn't excite. Accurate, tight but just didn't really sing to these ears. It could be an equipment issue, but my gear isn't the "circuit city" specials so who knows.
B&W speakers require a burn-in period. Their out of the box sound tends to be thin. This could be the reason.
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synthy said:
Thanks again everyone. I'll strongly consider the Vandersteens, I've heard a lot of good stuff about them. Unfortunately I'm in Connecticut, so I can't take you up on your offer. I'm curious how you mix the center channel signal into your main speakers. I've never been too enthralled with the benefits of a center channel, because I listen soley in my "sweet spot" so smeared center imaging has never been a problem.
While I'm glad I have a center to complete the system, I'm surprised that more than a few SACDs don't use it at all, and those that do, the sound can be so faint as to be superfluous. I collect Classical only, however.
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Post by pann October 1, 2004 (19 of 22)
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synthy said:
I'm curious how you mix the center channel signal into your main speakers. I've never been too enthralled with the benefits of a center channel, because I listen soley in my "sweet spot" so smeared center imaging has never been a problem.
In your SACD player, there is a place for you to do an initial setup. In the SETUP, there is place to select your speaker configuration. You may chose the one configuration which does not have (specifically leave out) the center speaker. If you so chose, the sacd player's firmware will mix the signals to create a homogeneous sound stage.
BTW, I strongly suggest you buy at least one subwoofer (I have two ). If you do buy, please send me a email, as placement of the subwoofer can be tricky. Sometimes you even have to flip the polarity.
FYI, the following link is very informative:
http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search.mpl?forum=speakers&searchtext=vandersteen
Also, many high-end stores will give you some discount, but you HAVE TO ask. the convention is that they will eat the sale tax. In California it is about 8.25%.
Happy hunting,
James
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synthy said:
Sorry to ask this, but there are so many audio equipment forums that are so full of crap that I thought I'd ask here. I'm looking to buy new speakers, a 5.1 system of some kind. Since my main app will be listening to SACDs, what speakers do you guys recommend for under $5000? I was looking at B&W systems, but there are so many moderate high-end speakers.
You are right, there are so many really good quality systems with good sound it really is a very personal choice. I, like you, listen primarily to music and more and more to SACD and multichannel music. If you are looking at B&W the new 700 series would be an excellent choice and fit your budget. I am in the process also of sorting through my choice which I hope will maximize music yet still be functional for movies.
Ideally, we should pick a system of 5 speakers exactly the same such as the B&W 704 series which with 2 pairs (can we even buy a "single" speaker?) should put you in the $5,000 range. The problem is that most of us cannot utilize 5 full range speakers do to space and other considerations. I would love to have at least the front three channels be identical. But, if you cannot place your center in front of or below your screen without blocking your view and a 704 is certainly not going to fit on top of your tv, what's a poor boy to do? Do you go to 705's all around? Will a vertically positioned center atop a tv create an ackward "lifting" of the sound from the center channel?
Right now the only compromise I can think of is to purchase four of the exact speakers for front and surround and the horizontal center channel making sure that the driver construction and configuration are identical to get as close to a seamless sound match as possible.
Ideally for me it would be a 42" or so plasma screen mounting high enough on the wall so that I could have identical speakers across the front and then matching speakers in the rear. If my choice is to have the music slightly out-of-whack do to the difference in type and position of the center speaker, or having to look slightly up at a screen (mounted slightly higher than ideal to allow for clearance below of the full range center channel) I will choose looking up the 10% of the time I watch tv and movies rather than "listen up" the 90% of the time I listen to music.
In terms of speaker brands, from personal experience, I would recommend B&W, Paradigm and PSB, although there are many, many fine brands that may meet your personal tastes, budget, and needs.
Good Luck
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