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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1907 Registered: Oct-10 | Since it offended at least one person that Bluemark's thread about using AG Speakers with Simaudio amps, I decided to take his suggestion and start a thread on the topic of speakers in general. I can't say I blame said individual for being annoyed. I hope everyone will discuss their speakers. Prior to my current speakers, I had a pair of Yamaha NS-A642s. These were made back when Yam cared about sound quality. They were floor speakers about 42" tall with 12" woofers, 3" mids and 1" soft dome tweeters. The enclosures were sealed. They had great sound except for the deep bass region. They were the only floor speakers I ever encountered that all but required a subwoofer, even for music. From the mid bass up, they really sounded great. However, we had a small plumbing leak that went unnoticed till it was too late. Well, that was the end of the Yamahas. Thankfully, the sub was up just high enough to be safe. Plumbing fixed as well as water damage to the house and I was using a pair of Sony Shelf Speakers I had handy. I wasn't happy. My wife thought the Sonys ought to be fine. Right! For the next several months, every time we went out together, I made a point of going to stores and looking at speakers. Soon, my wife realized that Sonys were far from fine. After going to stores that sold the particular receiver I have and trying different speakers with it for who knows how long, I ended up with a pair of Mirage Omnisat OS(3)s and a Mirage Omni S8 sub. I honestly can't say one bad thing about this speaker/sub team for my own taste. I will say that people who like music loud might be dissapointed as the Omnisat's sensitivity is only 89 dB and anyone interested in bi-wiring or bi-amping will have to pass on these. The omni polar design gives these speakers 360° of dispersion. Both drivers are top firing. The tweeter is a titanium dome with deflector mounted directly above it. The tweeter is mounted inside of a deflector which sits directly above the bass/mid driver's aluminum phase plug. The bass/mid driver has a ribbed eliptical surround for longer cone excursions. I sit about 10 feet away from them with the speakers less than 3 feet apart and the sound stage is incredible. The subwoofer is an 8" driver powered by a 100 watt amp. The driver has a ribbed eliptical surround too. The sub is small, out of the way and a BEAST! The Mirage team is great with both music and movies. Who else has speakers that amaze them? How about some single driver speakers? |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1908 Registered: Oct-10 | ....oops! Forgot to mention what was offensive about Bluemark's thread! It went off topic! That's what I get for posting when tired. Lol! |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2843 Registered: Oct-07 | I heard the Yamaha NS-10 a long time ago....'when they cared about sound'. Don't give up on Sony. The local shop...only 10 miles, has a pair of the Sony 'Ultimate Weapon' speakers: Read it and weep http://www.stereophile.com/content/sony-ss-ar1-loudspeaker For this kind of $$, you could get 2 pairs of Magnepans flagship MG-20.7 Not too long ago, the thought of a very good speaker coming from Japan would have been offensive, perhaps. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1909 Registered: Oct-10 | Well, that was an interesting read Leo! Those speakers are a whole different animal from the Sonys I had. Mine were book shelf speakers that sold for $60 a pair at Radio Shack. I bought them for a secondary system which never came to fruition. Once I had the omnis, I gave the Sonys to my neighbor's kid. He used them for gaming. Sony is a rather enigmatic company. It's sad that Yamaha went down hill. Those 642s were amazing! |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2844 Registered: Oct-07 | The character of Sony....the company....has changed dramatically over the years. they made some of the first 'transistor' portable radios. they wouldn't make 'em under another brand...it had to be Sony. The Trinitron? A landmark in the CRT display market. My family had an early, 19" on a cart. We had it until you simply could not get mechanical tuner parts. But sometime after that, between Walkman and PS2....things changed and not for the better. Sony now makes......MONEY. Almost all pretense at being a tech leader in consumer goods is gone. They held maybe 20 patents concerning light engines for projection TVs. Yet...virtually EVERY set manufactured in the LCD and SXRD lines was defective due to PLASTIC filters in the light engine aging poorly. I'm still PO'd about the lawsuit settlement and the fact that owners had to OPT OUT to prevserve their rights. I have no idea if they made any effort at all to contact owners of the sets. I doubt it. I'm sure your 60$/pair speakers were worth half what you paid. As for 27,000$? No possible way. Were I gifted with 27,000$ 'for stereo only', I'd have a pair of 3.7s, a pair of Pass 'a' amps and preamp. A pair of XA160.5 amps is 'only' 13000$ @Reno. (used) Add an electricians bill and maybe an upgrade to a 150amp service to the house, a x-10 preamp and there......you've shot 27 large right to the moon. Sony speakers for that kind of money? Not for me. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1910 Registered: Oct-10 | "I'm sure your 60$/pair speakers were worth half what you paid." Yeah, that would be a fair assessment. Although seeing the kid next door get use out of them is priceless. "Sony speakers for that kind of money? Not for me." AMEN! |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1911 Registered: Oct-10 | "The character of Sony....the company....has changed dramatically over the years. they made some of the first 'transistor' portable radios. they wouldn't make 'em under another brand...it had to be Sony. The Trinitron? A landmark in the CRT display market. My family had an early, 19" on a cart. We had it until you simply could not get mechanical tuner parts. But sometime after that, between Walkman and PS2....things changed and not for the better. Sony now makes......MONEY. "Almost all pretense at being a tech leader in consumer goods is gone. They held maybe 20 patents concerning light engines for projection TVs. Yet...virtually EVERY set manufactured in the LCD and SXRD lines was defective due to PLASTIC filters in the light engine aging poorly. I'm still PO'd about the lawsuit settlement and the fact that owners had to OPT OUT to prevserve their rights. I have no idea if they made any effort at all to contact owners of the sets. I doubt it." I couldn't agree more. It seems that '02/'03 was the cut off. I bought a Sony Hi-Fi VCR and 27" CRT TV on the same day in late August, 2001. The TV still works like brand new. We no longer have VHS tapes so, I sold the VCR for $10. It still worked like brand new when I sold it. In '03, we bought 2 Sony DVD players. Neither lasted much beyond the warranty. Back to speakers (hopefully Lol), anyone wanna talk about speakers that amaze them? Ones you own or have owned? Ones on your wish list? |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfColumbia, South Carolina America Post Number: 14793 Registered: Dec-03 | I agree on Sony. Used to make really great, innovative stuff, like the Aperture Grille Trinitron tubes that were much sharper than the original Shadow Mask design. Now, they just ride on their name, a lot like B&O and BOSE do, relying on customers to buy strictly based on name recognition. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1915 Registered: Oct-10 | We could list many companies that have gone that route. Sadly, most consumers are not aware of what the cos. They're loyal to are doing. Neither can they be made aware of it. Many people look at me all crazy when I point out that Sony, Bose, etc are not what they used to be. So Leo, GW and anyone else, how about some speaker discussions? |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1919 Registered: Oct-10 | http://www.legacyaudio.com/ How 'bout these? |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 15881 Registered: Feb-05 | Sony is still on the cutting edge AND they are still making junk. Pretty much the same as they have been for decades. Covering both ends of the continuum. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1920 Registered: Oct-10 | But at least their pre-'03 junk lasted. |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 15883 Registered: Feb-05 | No it didn't. I bought a Trinitron in the 90's that had the tuner go out in a week. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1921 Registered: Oct-10 | That's only one example Art. My sons still have the 11 year old Trinitron and it works like brand new. The Sony Hi-Fi VCR was 10 yrs old and still working like brand new when I sold it. The TV was on 16 hours most days and the VCR played more movies than a theater and neither showed signs of wear. I had 2 walkmans that were over 10 yrs old when they quit after being played for hrs on end and I know quite a few people who have 20+ yr old Sony receivers, source players and other gear all working just fine. So, I'd say your tuner deal was a fluke. Otherwise, pre-'03 Sony gear DID last. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1922 Registered: Oct-10 | ....oh and I forgot to mention, I had Sony LBT-D570 (the '96 compact system). It didn't have the best sound, but the cd player and tape deck held up to a whole lot of playing and recording over a 7 yr period. You simply can't base your assesments on one unit Art. |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 15884 Registered: Feb-05 | Geez, I didn't know that was only one example. I'm not going to argue with you James. I've owned lots of Sony products both good and bad. As I said they have made and continue to make cutting edge products AND junk, nothing new about that. I stand by it. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1925 Registered: Oct-10 | Then we agree to dissagree. So how ya doin' Art? What kind of speakers are you running these days? |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 15887 Registered: Feb-05 | Dynaudio...doin' fine and you? You should join us at AK. They have some great music forums. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1926 Registered: Oct-10 | Doin well Art. Thanks for the invite, but what is AK? |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 15888 Registered: Feb-05 | AudioKarma. |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2846 Registered: Oct-07 | I kind of see what you mean about Sony, Art. Didn't they attempt an OLED display? Can you still get it or is it gone? The company at one point was very capable of taking a chance and seeing it thru. I still have my ICF-2010 shortwaver receiver. I can still sell it for what I paid for it. 15 years ago. My point was that Sony took a near-perfect idea. The SXRD incarnation of LCoS....Liquid Crystal on Silicon was fine. Such small spaces between cells (pixels) that you couldn't seem 'em on a 60" screen when using a magnifier, huge dynamic range, good blacks and 'fast'. A very film-like picture, too. THAN they added cheap-o plastic filters and WHAM. Instant 10,000 hour lifetime and failure early on the 2nd lamp. Factor in the huge mismanagement of the 'event' which covered not only the tranmissive projection LCD sets but the reflective LCD in the form of SXRD and there 'ya go. The 3 chip SXRD was so much better than the DLP of the same vintage it wasn't even a contest. BUT, go to the movies today and what do you view? DLP, 3 chip projectors and NOT the SXRD which would have been my choice. Sony still does make HOME projectors but I haven't bothered to even try to find out if they fixed the filter issue. Not to forget that Sony held bunches of PATENTS on light engine technology, some of which doubtless covered heat effects and cooling. While Sony is making a 27,000$ pair of speakers, I'm not on board. I coulda' heard them, too. Elected not to. For that kind of money, you could buy an incredible system. I can imagine that for 5000$ or 6000$ a company could do some incredible work. My brother just gave me a report on some 836 series Focals. 1/10th what the Sony cost.....and terrific for all they do right. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1927 Registered: Oct-10 | Thanks Art, I'll have to check that out. Leo, for $27,000 or less, you could have a system that's well respected by even the most demanding audiophile. Btw, did you say Maggies are only available new via mail order? If so, that would explain their absence in stores. |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 15891 Registered: Feb-05 | Those 27K speakers are cutting edge and like TAD for Pioneer express the best thinking of Sony engineers around loudspeaker technology. The way I hear it they are very good, even for the money. I can't afford them nor do I want to but am not everyone. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1928 Registered: Oct-10 | Thanks again for the invite Art. I joined AK last night and made some posts this am. I decided to use the same nick as here so that you'd recognize me, but all that fits is "SuperjazzyJa". So far, it seems like a good forum and with all the various genres of music I listen to, it's like being in Heaven! |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1929 Registered: Oct-10 | Forgot to mention Leo, I got the Sony speakers for $40. They were originally $60, but had been discontinued only to be replaced by a model with black woofer cones instead of off white. WOW'! WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT! Lol! |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2847 Registered: Oct-07 | Magnepan has a small but well regarded dealer network. The MMG is ONLY mail order but can be shipped back on YOUR nickel and sometimes at full credit, if you get the upgrade bug. A guy over on the Planar Asylum is doing just that. The MMG at 600$ is a pretty good deal and they 'resell' pretty quickly if not beat. Even old ones. The DIY crowd loves most Maggies. Crossovers? Stands? total ReFrame? Yes to all....... and more. |
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Gold Member Username: SuperjazzyjamesPost Number: 1931 Registered: Oct-10 | Thanks for the info Leo! |
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New member Username: Palange5139CORNELIUS, OR United States Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-12 | I have some vintage janszen z-824 speakers.....I have never heard anything better |