I am looking at buying speakers for roughly $1000. they should be floor standing and look nice, not boring. I have a Nad 319 amp and listen to electronic music via two technics mk2's and through a pioneer djm600 mixer. I need speakers that have good bass response so that I won't need a sub. I listen to music at medium levels but would also like them to sound loud for parties. They should be 4 ohms as my amp recommends that as minimum impedance...
J. Vigne
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From another post on this forum about 4 Ohm speakers. Your request for "loud" makes the situaion more important to consider.
In theory your amp should double its power when the impedance load is halved and half its power when the load is doubled. The problem arises in the real world use of speakers and amplifiers. Not all amps can perform up to spec in a real world situation. Particularly when the impedance load is lowered. No speaker will remain at a constant load over its entire frequency bandwith. A 4 Ohm speaker will undoudtedly fall lower than 4 Ohms at some point and may be as low as 1.5 - 2 Ohms at some point. This is a difficult load that most amps will not tolerate and could lead to failure of components. Combine this with the nature of a speaker to also rise in impedance (particularly at the frequency of the port tuning) and you have an example of a speaker that few amps can adequately drive.
See "defintions and descriptions" under the "Speaker" portion of this forum for more information on impedance and the effects on an amplifier.
Paradigm Studio 40 or 60. If you can save and get the 100s then youll have it made. Loud and clear! I have...or had...2 pairs of 60s in my room and it rocked!
newbie007
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I have heard many good things about paradigms but I cannot find a dealer in Switzerland or even in Germany. Any ideas? Online shops or somewhere else?
you can buy Canton Ergo's series or LE-109 for smaller budget...Very good speakers...Loud and clear
BeerBudget
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Take a look at the new Ohm Micro Walsh 36 Inch. John Potis over at 6 Moons did a review on them and awarded them their "Blue Moon" award for performing above and beyond the 1000 dollar category.
They are 900 in black and 100 more with real veneer although they are currently offering a special - 900 and your choice of veneer.
newbie007
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Jean-Philippe,
Yes, I have listened to both Canton Ergo and LE. I didn't like the soun too much from the LE109 but the Ergo 702Dc was superb. The bass in the LE109 seemed to be a little overpowering and the highend was not as clear as the ergo....
My dealer is letting me take home some pre-owned B&W Martix 3's and a pair of Kef 105/3 for around the same money as the canton ergo's. I'm going to take a listen to these over the next week and see how they compare.... thanks for the advice!
Did either of your used speakers work out? They are both solid choices. Since it is important to you, I like the look of the B&W over the Kef. I was in a similar situation and it came down to the Dali Suite line and Ohm Micro Walsh. I am very happy with the six months the Ohm H/T set up has been in my home. The sound is better at 6 months then they were at 3 months. They are cherry and keep getting darker and richer in color. John at Ohm says it should continue over the next couple of years. I will probably have an upgrade itch before then.
there are many nice speakers in this range and the differences you hear between speakers can be smaller than the diffs. you hear w/any given speaker between the audio shop and your home. that said, it still pays to listen to as many as you can and trust your ears more than what you read. IMO, i think monior audio is worth a listen. the paradigm studio 60s are very nice but list at $1500 or 1600 per pair and are thus out of your stated range. monitor audio s6 lists at 1000/pr and are very nice. i chose MA s8 (sim. price as studio 60) over studio 60 and b&w 603. to my ear the MA's sounded more forward (more "front row" to borrow another's phrase) and better w/rock, while having as good detail as the others. the s6's are nice but i def. noticed a big improvement w/the s8's, esp. w/the bass. also, since you mentioned looks.... that is even more subjective than sound, but MA is known for nice looking cabinets, esp. compared to the very bland looking studio 60s.
Erskine
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By not having a separate sub, you probably will not be able to adjust the LFE level sent to the fronts. If you have a separate bass control that is active with all movie sound formats, you may be able to compensate to your liking.
What you hear is what you get, and you will always wonder if the receiver is properly redirecting the LFE channel to the fronts accurately.
A lot of the Large front speakers are not magnetically sheilded, but this is not a problem if you can space them from the TV a bit. You might also check the height of the floor speakers you purchase, and be prepared to elevate them slightly to get the mid&highs at ear level.
I used a pair of Cerwin Vega E715s without a sub for a couple of years and they provided very good LFE effects for me. They're rated to 26 hz, under $700 a pair. Still have them.
Power will make a difference in this configuration. I started out with a 100 watt amp, and noticed quite a difference when I upgraded to a 130 watt amp.
After I added the subs, I found I wasn't missing a whole lot, except when I wanted to show off and crank up the bass. Using just the fronts I also noticed that the LFE impact wasn't as punchy, probably because of the power rating of the Amp, 130 watts/ch versus a stereo sub amp of 350w/ch.
I my input was helpful. Home theaters are a blast, and I wish you good luck.
FYI, Subs are a guy thing. Resistance is futile, you will eventually get one.
Monitor Audio S6's would be my choice at that price range. Very nicely finished speaker, looks a little different to most with the metal domes. Performance wise it's superb. Excellent base responce and a good soundstage. Unless you want to shake the house down I wouldn't have thought you'd need a sub. They are a fairly simple 2 way design rated at (I think) 6 ohms, which will be a nice drive for your amp. The speakers come with 2 port bungs (1 top and bottom) these are worth experimenting with especially if you have a small room or have to put them close to walls. They will tend to boom a little in a small room. The S6's will sound very nice with what you have but as you upgrade your equipment the speakers will just get nicer. In the right system these speakers are real giant killers often performing almost as well as it's bigger brothers and certainly offering the better value. They are also (If you want) supported by a sub, centre and rear speakers in the same range. I still own a pair as a reference speaker.
I listened to the Dali's and Moniter Audio Gold series side by side and was shocked, SHOCKED to hear the Dali holds it's own against the MA top of the line speaker. Dali's are just hard to find.
hmmm...This is the first time I here someone saying this about Canton. Their force is the high end and mid. It's probably a matter of opinion. I have a Denon 3805 with an anthem amp to drive them and they sound much better in the high and the mid then my BW602. And in the 109, there is not much bass..they lack a little bass...Well, i guess it's a question of opinion...
Stone, Put the MA silver series and the golds next to each other and see if you can justify the price difference? I couldn't and I really like MA. There's a big difference in the cabinetry and the speaker drivers but not in the resulting sound. Guess maybe it comes down to budget and looks on these. I Haven't heard the Dali's but I have heard good things so if I can find some I might grab a listen. You may want to hear JMLAB CHORUS series very nice sounding speaker, very versatile with different types of music. A little bright with the wrong kit but still a very nice high performing speaker.