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Bronze Member Username: NytefogPost Number: 12 Registered: Dec-05 | Hi, I'm looking to get a stereo setup. I am looking for speakers that have high highs but all sound full, and rich....very musical. Any recommendatios would be great. I'm looking to spend from $2000-$4000 for a pair. Thanks |
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Anonymous | axiomaudio.com |
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Silver Member Username: Rysa4Post Number: 284 Registered: Jul-05 | Hello Patrick. I just got back from CES in Vegas which is my annual chance to really sit down and hear a lot of audio gear and compare. One extremely impressive and pleasing speaker this year was the Merlin TSM, retailing, as I just looked up, at 2800 dollars for a pair. All aspects of my audition were met with excellence in all areas. My only comment is that these guys require a fairly high 30 watts minimum. This does not mean that a 70 watt Denon is sufficient in anyway. They are 8 Ohm dipping to 6.5 ohm minimum. The musical experience is stunning and the equipment does not get in the way of the sound. A good thing. Another recommendation in your price range is the Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1s. Again, a great musical listening experience same as last year. Unfortunately, the list if disappointments is much longer than the list of excellence. But these two are good ones in my book. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4746 Registered: Dec-03 | Patrick, One of the most musical speakers I have encountered at that price point would be the Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor. One of the better speakers I have used. You should give it a try. |
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Bronze Member Username: DavidpaPortland, Oregon US Post Number: 94 Registered: Nov-05 | since no-one else here has mentioned them. www.aerialacoustics.com Also since I have been told before that I dont value stereophiles (the mag) reviews, you will see some of the best reviews for this speaker line in the reviews, which there is a link at the aerial website. Obviously that means nothing if you dont hear them yourself, so look to see if there is a dealer near you to audition, which you will also find through the site. You will not be wasting time listening to these (any of them) speakers. |
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Silver Member Username: GavincummNew York USA Post Number: 469 Registered: Feb-05 | I would definatly take a look at the Paradigm Signature series speakers. I can hands down reccomend them without any reservations, and won't embaress themselves in front of much more expensive company. I will also second the Gallo Ref. 3.1's They are amazing as well. |
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Bronze Member Username: GtsumVA Post Number: 42 Registered: Mar-04 | Could also add the Von Schweikert VR4 jr to your list. It is at the high end of your price range, but they are incredible |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1134 Registered: Sep-04 | Patrick There is little point in us making recommendations when we know nothing about the system you're using and the room they're meant to be driving. We could recommend Totem Mani-2s to you but if you don't have an exceedingly powerful amplifier, they'd be awful. More info please. Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: NytefogPost Number: 15 Registered: Dec-05 | ok, right now i have a rotel rsx 1067 that i like to use as a amp/preamp. The room i have is 15x10 with 9ft ceilings. I currently have B&w 603's but they don;t reproduce rock well. I also listen a a little bit of hiphop. Thanks for any suggestions. |
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Bronze Member Username: NytefogPost Number: 16 Registered: Dec-05 | i also have a ARCAM cd73. |
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Bronze Member Username: NytefogPost Number: 17 Registered: Dec-05 | I like some speakers that can put out some bass. Does anyone know if i can add an amp to my rotel rsx-1067 so i can drive a set speakers just for music? |
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Silver Member Username: GavincummNew York USA Post Number: 476 Registered: Feb-05 | if you like speakers to put out some bass, take a look at the gallo ref. 3.1's and Von Schweikerts. They will put out great (quantity and quality) bass, but not at the expense of the mids and highs. Being that you stated that you do listen to some hip-hop, this is very important. |
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New member Username: KidstereoPost Number: 9 Registered: Oct-05 | How much are the Von Schweikerts? |
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Silver Member Username: EdisonGlendale, CA US Post Number: 836 Registered: Dec-03 | You might want to add a subwoofer - that could be all you need - you might be happy with the sound enough to not upgrading your speakers. I say that because you might have to upgrade other components to match the $4000 speakers, to get the best out of them. If I were you, I would just get a sub, and see if that will do it. If not, you might be looking into spending even more money on other components as well. Hsu makes good ones. |
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Bronze Member Username: Patriots_fanPost Number: 29 Registered: Jan-05 | There are so many brands out there and most of us posting on here haven't heard them all but based on my own experience the brands I would reccomend are Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, and maybe even JMLab. Like you Patrick I find B & W to be lacking in versatility. While they sound great for classical and vocals, they leave a lot to be desired when listening to hard rock, rap or anything else that requires some punchy warmth to sound good. As for Rotel i don't think they are warm enough. My fav system pairing would be NAD with PSB or Paradigm but that's just me. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1150 Registered: Sep-04 | Patrick, Here are some models you could consider that I rate, and which have a full rich sound. I am taking the system into account: Dynaudio. They make several ranges. In your price bracket you could consider Audience 72SE, Audience 82 (if available), FOCUS 220 (possibly). Totem Acoustic. Forest, Hawk. Small floorstanders(smaller than your 603s) with excellent performance (very deep bass from the Forests). Hailing from your side of the pond, these are likely to be excellent value. Regards, Frank. |
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Gold Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 1372 Registered: Jun-05 | I would say the Epos M22 at $2k in the states is a monster deal at what they offer I think they are about 800 lbs over on your side.If I had what you had to spend I know its a standmounter but it plays bass deep in the 30s,and it just may be the best speaker i've ever heard the Dynaudio C1,do make sure you go hear a pair,I know speakers are usually objective,but I imagine anyone thats heard them wouldnt put them at the top of their list for speaker at any price point.They are the best speaker I've ever heard,and I dont know a standmounter that comes close to combining all thier talents,as matter of fact other speakers that do are in the superspeaker category. |
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Silver Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 158 Registered: Nov-05 | "Like you Patrick I find B & W to be lacking in versatility. While they sound great for classical and vocals, they leave a lot to be desired when listening to hard rock, rap or anything else that requires some punchy warmth to sound good." I say there m'Lord, I cannot agree with your statement. Any B&W speaker in particular? Or have you heard hard rock, rap or anything else that requires some punchy warmth across their entire range? Because, by gosh, my 602's certainly sound good good with their punchy warmth when playing hard rock etc. Patrick, I'd listen to the "S" series Spendors - say the S8e's, but you'd need some decent power behind them. BTW - the 603S3's picked up Stereophile's budget speaker of the year for 2005. B&W's also like some decent power behind them even if the specs don't really show it. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 845 Registered: May-05 | Rantz - You and I had this discussion a while back. I think the reason for disagreements in this is because everyone has a different idea of what "good" bass is. One person's clean and tight bass is another's boomy and muddy. I have to agree with the majority of Thistlewick's last post. My experience with them is the 603 tower. I thought they left something to be desired in rock music. I thought they sounded kind of dry and didn't present the emotion of the music. Most notibly, I didn't think my Black Sabbath LP's (original UK pressing) didn't have the edge or liveliness they should have had. The fast faster bass guitar and drums in Paranoid made this most obvious to me. Another notible one was Mudshovel by Staind. PSB and Paradigm had it in spades. The B&W 703 and 704 are a different story though. If I could afford those and the amplification to drive them, they would be high on my list. Patrick - I also listen to a lot of hard rock (old and new) and some hip-hop to change it up a bit. Sadly, forget about getting great bass out of most hip hop. The better the speakers, the worse it sounds for the most part. Most of it has poor recording and production quality. Sometimes I think the WuTang Clan would sound better on a pair of Cerwin Vegas than my PSB's. That's because the CV's would hide all of the flaws. I personally like PSB and Paradigm. I also like the B&W 700 series. If I had the budget you stated and had your gear, I'd look into Paradigm Studio 100, B&W 703, and Totem (can't remember the model). These speakers do need some good amplification because they can dip down in impedence - I think the B&W 703 have been know to go to about 3 ohms and the Paradigm Studio 100 to about 2 ohms. This can suck the life out of an amplifier. I don't know how good the power supply of your receiver is, but I bet it would make a huge difference if a power amp was added. I'd put the rest of the money into a Rotel RB-1070. I've heard this amp with both the B&W and Paradigms and it sounded very good. That's just me though. I haven't heard every speaker mentioned here, so I can't say that these are the best ones listed. The best thing you can do is go out and listen to as much of this stuff as you can. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 847 Registered: May-05 | Patrick - Your receiver has pre-outs for all channels, so you can connect external amps for any channels. |
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Gold Member Username: TdbdadrummerWellsburg, WV USA Post Number: 1060 Registered: Aug-05 | You know, why can't people be happy with a $350 pair of CV V-12F's like me lol. For some reason, when I see $4K to be spent on ONE pair of speakers...I see that money being put towards something useful, like a car, college, (more V-12F's lol). You know...Wow... |
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John Wagner Unregistered guest | Tawaun, how good are these Epos M22 speakers? |
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Silver Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 159 Registered: Nov-05 | Stu Yes, we did. However I don't play a lot of hard rock but I do play hard blues along with softer blues and jazz with some soft rock thrown in. My comment was regarding the Lord's generalization of B&W's. I haven't listened to the 603's very much, only in the dealers, so I can't really comment too much about them. IMHO the 602's, though I know some here disagree, do play a warm, solid bass and friends have had the same comments upon hearing them. Since upgrading my amplification from the Marantzz SR-7300 (105wts per channel) I noticed beneficial changes in the 602's even without playing at high volumes. It was like they had begun eating energy bars. But then, my idea of high volume may be different from yours and others. :-) |
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Daniel34 Unregistered guest | B&W 602 speakers are good speaker for the price, and IMO are neutral - really not sure about them being "warm" though. 603 S3 is not a bad speaker, but again, IMO, there are "better" speakers in this price range to be had. To me, neither of these are great for rock music. Vocals, jazz and classical sound OK with decent amp. and CDP. I agree with Stu's opinion on 603s, that's exactly how I would describe them too. But I agree with both, Rantz and Stu about "personal preferences" though ;-) This is just another opinion which might help somebody make an informed decision. |
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Silver Member Username: Ca_convertCardiffUK Post Number: 179 Registered: Jan-05 | Interesting as an observation between the musical preferences between UK and US. IN the UK the 603's are easily one of the warmest biggest slamming speakers under £350. The size of the box and those ports tells you what they might sound like and they do. Its not just my opinion, check out what hi fi reviews (2 months ago), Hi Fi Choice, Hi Fi News, plus my local dealer who sell more of these than any other speaker (Cardiff is studentville so budgets are tight). I personally found them superior for Rock and Blues (ACDC thru to Keb Mo) than anything else at the price. Why anyone would want to add a sub to them is difficult to understand to be honest, there's almost too much bottom end unless you live in a castle or listen al fresco. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckParkhill, Ontario Canada Post Number: 1045 Registered: Dec-04 | I heard the 603's at Natural Sound in Toronto, a lot Yamaha stuff in the store.The pair were powered by a V2600RX Receiver in stereo, store was pretty full. With some placement, store very full, I could like the 603's a lot. Robert Palmer's 'Doctor Doctor' A song I listen to and play alot, sounded very quick and punchy. One Particular bass line, a drop after 'gimme the news' worked down to, my guess, 40Hz, as placed. I like 'em. $750 $cad. 660 usd. |
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Gold Member Username: T_bomb25Dayton, Ohio United States Post Number: 1374 Registered: Jun-05 | Extremely good,I already have the M12.2s,and think im gonna add them to my collection,and in a about year when pay off a few existing bills the B&W 802d will be in my possesion,thats the kind of sound I like,if they could hold me up until I get the 802s,or if I cant ever buy the 802s I would happily live forever in day with them and the M12.2s,thats how good they are. |
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Silver Member Username: GavincummNew York USA Post Number: 484 Registered: Feb-05 | TW, are there any places where I can order the epos online (I know...I know). my "local" dealer is roughly 3.5 hours away from me, and i'd love to hear them. you have done nothing but rave about them. |