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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 38 Registered: Aug-05 | All, I sincerely followed the suggestions about auditioning and did audition the following speakers for both HT and Music 1. Totem DCs, Forest, Arros 2. B&W 604, 704, 703 3. Revel Concerta F12 Until now I liked B&W 703, All totems for Music alone ( DC not good for HT ), Revel F12. I really really liked B&W 703 and Ssabripo suggested that Swan Diva 6.1 sounds very similar to B&W 704. Unfortunately I liked 703 , but not 704. They sound totally different. So My Swan option is doubtful now. Here are the other auditions i am doing this week or next week 1. Spendor's S5e 2. Quad 22L / 12L 3. Pro Ac Studio 140/130 4. Rega 5. DynAudio Audience 72, 82 6. Linn Ninkas I wish I can audition Rocket RS750/RS550 and Swan Diva 6.1s. I really liked the deal on Swan 6.1s. Can anyone let me know how Rockets RS550/750 sound compared to any of the speakers I mentioned above ? Thanks Raks |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 1762 Registered: Mar-05 | I've never heard the Rockets or Swans but I can't imagine them being better or even equal to the speakers you have listed there. If the price difference is not huge I would probably go with what's on your list. |
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Silver Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 838 Registered: Jun-05 | You should really look into the Odyssey speakers www.odysseyaudio.com |
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Unregistered guest | I auditioned the spendors some weeks ago, I loved them. they fill the room very well, but they lack some bass at the very low end. I agree with all of stereophile's review, very truthful http://stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/904spendor/ |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 42 Registered: Aug-05 | Tawaun, Is Odyssey Audio another Internet Direct Company ? That means I can not audition them. I saw your postings about Odyssey Epiphany. How do Odyssey Circe perform ? Tawaun..I saw one of your old posts that says Spendor's S5e are almost equal in musicality to Totem Arros. Is it really the case ? If so, then I can conisder Spendor S53 as it goes down on bass all the way to 40 hz and so can be a good HT set-up as well. Raks |
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Silver Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 856 Registered: Jun-05 | Yes you could,why dont you go hear the Spendors,skip the Circe the Nightengale would be the one you would want,What do you want a floorstander or a Bookshelf? |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 43 Registered: Aug-05 | You mean Odyssey has showrooms where we can go and demo the product ?? Regarding Odyssey Epiphony, I saw your earlier post that said they are very very musical. Since you are also recomending Nightingale model, is Nightingale Musically equivalent to Epiphony ? Sometimes floorstanders are not considered as musical as bookshelves. If both of them are equals, I would prefer a floorstander. Otherwise even a bookshelf is fine. Is Epiphony as good as Arros Musicaly ? Thanks Raks |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 44 Registered: Aug-05 | Tawaun....In the case of Epiphony, that center channel speaker seems to be tiny compared to any other center channel. So I dont kniw how good HT will be ? |
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Silver Member Username: CheapskatePost Number: 283 Registered: Mar-04 | i am a convert that believes that NOTHING offeres more bang for the buck than magnepans. they totally rocked 20 years worth of "only acoustic suspension minimonitors are "hi-fi" preferences and sound better than speakers 20X their price to my ears. $1200 MG12s vs. $20,000 class a rated B&Ws. planars have their compromises, but to my ears, they get out of the way of WHATEVER they're playing like no box/cone speaker can sonically. i'm no longer an image specificity freak. i'd rather hear something that sounds real than something that doesn't but that i can point a finger at now. if you find that you like quads (if they're the electrostatic variety) then consider magnepans as they are closely related to quads but cheaper. |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 45 Registered: Aug-05 | Budget Minded, In Quads I am considering Quad 22L and 12L. I am not considering elctrostatic speakers. Raks |
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Gold Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 2217 Registered: Jan-05 | I think budget minded needs to put down the bong before offering his advice. |
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Anonymous | I think that paul needs to go bounce on a buttplug to relieve some of his tension. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 1786 Registered: Mar-05 | ROTFL! My oh my, that was the funniest Anonymous comment I've read for a long time! |
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paul looks like this Unregistered guest | this is my guess as to what paul really looks like anyway http://server3.internetdump.com/users/hooked_on_sex/bbw_004.jpg |
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Silver Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 881 Registered: Jun-05 | Rakesha,the Odyssey Epiphonys offer all the qualities the Maggies offer with out the drawbacks,as does the Totem Arros,The Epiphonys are in the same pricerange as the MMGs and they will blow the pannels off of them,so dont get caught up in that Panels are superior in transparentcy crap,thats totally bogus,and only a moran would fix their mind to think that any $1200 speaker would sound better than the $20,000 B&W signitures. |
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Silver Member Username: AudioholicPost Number: 143 Registered: Apr-05 | Rakesh gal, The Quads are going to present a more difficult load to your amplifier, requiring you to have high quality electronics. Most planers and electrostats throw a larger than life soundstage, but have silky smooth mids (due to lack of phase shift). If that appeals to you and you have better than average electronics, try them. You may or may not be happy with the bass performance. Always keep in mind your amplifier when looking for speakers. Best bet is to listen in your home on your equipment. Good luck. |
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Silver Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 892 Registered: Sep-04 | Raks In direct competition to the B&W 700 series, Dynaudio have launched their Fusion range. Their 220 is the competitor to the 703 (it retails for the same money here in the UK), the 140 is a large standmount and the 110 is a small standmount. They are all well worth a listen. The only reservation I have is that the excellent centre speaker is very wide (but at least it's not as high as the B&W HTM7). Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 65 Registered: Aug-05 | Paul Thanks for letting me know the inherent dependency for Quad Electrostats. But I am considering only Quad 22L which is a reguar tower speaker. So I dont think it is that power hungry Raks |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 66 Registered: Aug-05 | Frank, Good choice you have recommended from DYnAudio. The only reason why I have not auditioned it yet is...the dealer close to my place does not carry DynAudio Focus. He said they will be getting new ones in 2 weeks ago...may be he was referring to Focus only. I will audition that if they have it Raks |
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Bronze Member Username: RikmeisterHometown, Pa Usa Post Number: 40 Registered: Jun-05 | i would look at vienna acoustics too. quad and dynaudio and energy veritas and totem and dali are also very good |
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Bronze Member Username: BritthoFrisco, TX USA Post Number: 93 Registered: May-05 | Rakesh Gal, What kind of amp are you using? After looking over your list there are allot of different tastes that I see. The Rega's are dry and efficient and very accurate. They sound best with NAD and NAIM gear imo. I am having the ProAc 140's delivered this week! Very excited about them. They worked well with nearly anythint that was paired. They were simply awesome with Audio Research gear from what I heard from the store. I did not opt to listen to a 10 grand set up for obvious reasons. No one likes to settle. I love the fact that you are looking at the Spendor's and the Linn Ninkas. The Spendor's to me were not as dry as the Rega R5's and not quite as lush as the ProAc's. A good compromise and they will suit the musical taste of many who do not listen to rock very often. I tried to audition them with using some blues music and rock and they just did not jam quite as well as the ProAc's. However if I were listeningto mostly classical and female vocals the Spendor's would have been the pair to choose with the Arro's coming in a very close second place. Do they come with the active cards? Out of all the speakers listed to me the ones that worked well with a variety of amp's and sounded consistently good were the ProAc's. That was my conclusion and hence they were the ones that I went with. With the correct equiptment the Arro's are a pair of the most musical speakers that I have ever heard. (really) However you NEED good gear to enjoy them. The gear that I could afford led me to the ProAc's to complete the package. They just did everything extremely well. I spent some time with the B&W 703,4 and 5 in the beginning of my listening experience. The store that sells B&W in my area is a joke as it really is only a home theatre store with a minor in music. My favorite of all the B&W's that I heard was actually the 603 S3's as they were not as picky about what was driving them as opposed to the 7 and 8 series models. Being less percise actually heled the 603 S3's sound more musical to me. Go figure. Good luck in your hunt! Sincerely, Britt |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 67 Registered: Aug-05 | Britt, You are right...Rega was eliminated as I felt it was bright for my taste. Pro Ac studio 140s are at the high end of my budget. I also felt they are slightly brighter...but I can not say ths for sure as I could audition them only mins before they closed the showroom. But I do like Spendorf's for their vocals and musicality...I felt they are next to Totems for vocals. I also liked the way instruments, strings sound in Linn Ninkas...I felt they are better than Spendorf's...but I felt Spendorf;s are better in vocals compared to Linn Ninkas. I have not auditioned HT perf yet...But the ones in my consideration are Linn Ninkas, Totems, Spendorf's, Quads 22L. Just by the gut feel....I think Linn Ninkas and Quads may do the best for HT followed by Totems and then finally Spendorf's. But I need to audition the HT still. I will also consider Pro Ac Studio 140s for one more audition for Music and HT Raks |
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Bronze Member Username: RaksPost Number: 76 Registered: Aug-05 | Britt, Can you please elt me know what center channel and rear channels did you go for along with your ProAc Studio 140 ? Also, how is the performance of ProACs for HT effects ? I am particularly interested in the front three speakers. Thanks Raks |
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Bronze Member Username: BritthoFrisco, TX USA Post Number: 95 Registered: May-05 | Hey Raks, Just stereo application for my home at the moment. I decided to funnel the budget into the best 2 channel system that I could since we listen to 90% music if not moreso. In time I will be granted a home with a rec-room which will be then wired with surround sound. But for now stereo is the way that I chose to go. I have not listened to a movie yet on the ProAc's and just music. On some CD's though they have sounded bright and a bit thin. U2's War CD sounded thin and Joshua Tree sounded better. Man I wish U2 would spend a buck or two to remaster their early stuff so that it could be brought to life better. I mean even Van Halen remastered their early work in HDCD format I believe in 1999. Come on U2! If I were doing home theater then I would basically be looking at a very basic set up speaker wise that would probably total around $1500.00. If that was the case then I would be giving Tim a call to send me 5 of his Ling's since obviously they have a great musical quality to them and for even the advertised market price of $399.00 per pair you could add a sub for your bass and ta-da you are set. With that your voicing would be dead on for all 5 speakers. If you would like to at least listen to them ask Tim if he can forward the test speakers to you to try out. There is nothing better than a home audition IMO. As for the ProAc's I don't know what else would really "work" well with them for surround use. I hope that i don't get blasted for saying this but some Linn ceiling speakers would make pretty good rear surrounds and then you could pick up the used B&W center channel at Audio Solutions in Dallas to complete the set up. I hope that this helped at least some. |