Music Only Speaker Recommendations

Hi,

I'm setting up a stereo/CD only music only system and am looking for recommendations as to Companies who are good to work with and Speaker models I might wish to consider.

The room is 15 x20' and opens into a kitchen that adds another 20' to the overall length. I've set up with Axiom M2i's as a trial system, they're 44" from the rear wall and 7' apart, my listening position is 11-12' from the centerline- they're impressive, so Axiom is already on my short list.

I also have a Paradigm PW2200 sub in the mix and it will stay.

I would describe myself more as a music lover than an Audiophile- I'm looking for an involving and enjoyable experience with mostly acoustic music. By that I mean not electronically enhanced- not that I don't enjoy electronic music, it's just that acoustic is my 'Gold Standard', if the system sounds great with that, than IMHO, everything else will sound just fine.

My budget is flexible, I can afford to get anything that I feel would be of value, but given that these little Axiom's are a good 90% of the way to what I want, I'm thinking that I don't really have to sink ten grand plus into speakers for a musically satisfying system. I mostly listen to eclectic world music, jazz, and classical- in terms of jazz, I particularly like the 30-50's stuff.

If I might request, that rather than just reply "Super-Blatt 250's", that you mention the nature of your experience with them and why you would suggest them.

Oh yeah.. the rest of the system currently is a Rotel RCD-1070 - CD player and Roksan Kandy amp, so I've got plenty of power. I am eyeing that new Outlaw Stereo Receiver, the RR2150.

Thanks in advance!!

B&W 703's. I believe those are the best in their lineup. They are sonicaly outstanding. My next would be a pair of McIntosh XR-16's. You can get them used, these are some of the best 2ch stereo speakers ever made. I own a pair and refuse to get rid of them. Warm, and accurate.

If the M22s give you most of what you want, then why not just move up to M22s or maybe step up to M50s? They will simply expand on what the M2s are doing for you now.

I listen to a wide variety, but jazz is in there also and it sounds great on the speakers I own - GR Research A/V-2s. If you're curious to hear them, drop by their website and see if you can sign up to have one of the demo pairs drop by your place.

My next recommendation would be the Joseph Audio RM7Si Signature. These guys are simply amazing with jazz and vocals. Surprising amount of bass for their size, yet they are very neutral overall.

Check these out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Swans-Diva-2-1P-High-End-Bookshelf-Speakers_W0QQitemZ5864666907QQcategoryZ14991QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's some more:
http://www.swanspeaker.com/speaker/htm/index.asp?type=A

MacManNM said:

B&W 703's. I believe those are the best in their lineup.

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Actually, the B&W 703 is the most expensive speaker (MSRP US$3000/pair) in B&W's 700 Series product range. There is also an 800 Series and a Prestige/Signature Series (mostly discontinued) that are more expensive. The most expensive B&W speaker is the 4-way active Nautilus, shell shape, which has an MSRP of US$40,000/pair

The RBH Titus speaker (MSRP US$50,000/pair) is well liked by Gene, the Audioholics website owner.

Audioholics has a partial list of speaker manufacturers, but there are MANY more. Canton, Von Schweikert, Mordaunt Short, Monitor Audio, and on and on and on . . . Some of these products have been favorably reviewed by Audioholics; you can search the site to find the reviews.

look at onix, axiom which you already have, swans, and vienna acoustic,

dynaudio, dali, and of course salks. go to salksound.com they are very impressive.

If your budget is flexible, and have lots of power, consider the B&W 802D. The first time I listened to them, they were powered by a low power amp. They sounded nice, then the rep replaced the amp with a Bryston 14B and it sounded fantastic. Apparently they could do even better if you feed them with juice from one of those Krell Monoblock or some Classe equivalent. Price wise they are probably the sweet spot within the 800 series, relative to the more expensive 801 and 800D. What impressed me most was the way they reproduced the sound of the violin. It sounded as real as I could ever imagine.

being that you plan on keeping your sub in the mix & your listening tastes are mainly accoustic i wouldnt think that large floor standers are needed,i really like totem's line of monitor speakers, take a look at the "tabu" model & the "rainmaker" model,both are excellent sounding speakers & should match up with your kandy perfectly.

i used to own the rainmakers & i loved them,the associated gear was a krell ksa 150 amplifier,mcintosh c 2200 tube preamp & a dynaco cdv-pro hdcd tube cd player,i know the krell was overkill but i prefer big amps. i also ran that rig with a golden tube se40-se tube amp but i prefered the krell.

anyhow,the rainmakers are an excellent built & sounding speaker with a decent bass considering they are a monitor but where they really shined was in the mids,i much prefered the little totems over anything ive heard from b&w,i owned the b&w 802's(briefly) & i hated them ,i couldnt get them out of the house fast enough.

MacManMN also made a very good sugestion in a vintage speaker with the xr 16's,the mcintosh xr 7 is another fantastic sounding vintage speaker that would work well for you but stay away from the newer speaker offerings from mcintosh, they haven't made a good sounding speaker since roger russell retired.

Nht

I just received my new NHT Classic 2s and they are trully awesome! I sold a pair of Paradigm Studio 60s for a new NHT Classic system. I haven't received the Classic 3s yet but the 2s are very impressive.

I'm glad I sold the Paradigms for these. An outstanding value!

Thank you all for your replies. You've given me a lot of 'homework' to do Including some ideas I hadn't come across before.

The reason I'm in the speaker market is because my previous speakers died. They were a high end speaker that I had bought used. While I liked them quite a bit, when I attempted to repair them, I found that there was significant deterioration on the inside. Thus, one of the decisions I've made is to buy new- I think there are enough good choices currently available that I should be able to find something.

While I'm willing to purchase online, I've also decided that I will only do so from manufacturer's who specalize in online sales such as Axiom or Ascend. Otherwise, I'll limit myself to speakers where there is a nearby dealer. I've got an email out to Totem to find out if they've got one. There are about five high end dealers within a reasonable drive and I'm still discovering what all they carry. B&W is no problem, of course- they seem like the Polk of the high end I've also found Vienna Acoustics and Von Schweikert's. I've read good things about the Mozart and VR4 jr, so at least want to give them a listen.

Thanks again, and keep those suggestions coming!

I just completed my quest for a new pair of speakers myself. Boy did I have a lot of fun, put some miles on the car too. I brought my own material & headed out. On my journey I listened to Paradigm, B&W, Von Schweikert, Zus, Totem, Focal, Energy, Mirage, Klipsch, Kef, Boston Acoustics, Spendor, Def Tech, Harbeth, there's a few more but they esape me at the moment. They all sounded excellent w/ strenghts, & weaknesses. I can't say that any of them really made me sit up & listen. Then I heard a pair of AAD 2001 monitors - well the rest is history - they grabed me by the balls & wouldn't let go!! I was never floored by sound like this before. I went back two more times to make sure my ears weren't playing tricks on me. The dealer just laughed because he said I'm not the first or last to be taken in by them. I never thought that I'd be so floored by a set of speakers. Check out they're web site: AADAUDIO.COM

perato said:

Actually, the B&W 703 is the most expensive speaker (MSRP US$3000/pair) in B&W's 700 Series product range. There is also an 800 Series and a Prestige/Signature Series (mostly discontinued) that are more expensive. The most expensive B&W speaker is the 4-way active Nautilus, shell shape, which has an MSRP of US$40,000/pair

The RBH Titus speaker (MSRP US$50,000/pair) is well liked by Gene, the Audioholics website owner.

Audioholics has a partial list of speaker manufacturers, but there are MANY more. Canton, Von Schweikert, Mordaunt Short, Monitor Audio, and on and on and on . . . Some of these products have been favorably reviewed by Audioholics; you can search the site to find the reviews.

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What I'm saying is that I think they sound better than the 800 series.

pearsall001 said:

I just completed my quest for a new pair of speakers myself. Boy did I have a lot of fun, put some miles on the car too. I brought my own material & headed out. On my journey I listened to Paradigm, B&W, Von Schweikert, Zus, Totem, Focal, Energy, Mirage, Klipsch, Kef, Boston Acoustics, Spendor, Def Tech, Harbeth, there's a few more but they esape me at the moment. They all sounded excellent w/ strenghts, & weaknesses. I can't say that any of them really made me sit up & listen. Then I heard a pair of AAD 2001 monitors - well the rest is history - they grabed me by the balls & wouldn't let go!! I was never floored by sound like this before. I went back two more times to make sure my ears weren't playing tricks on me. The dealer just laughed because he said I'm not the first or last to be taken in by them. I never thought that I'd be so floored by a set of speakers. Check out they're web site: AADAUDIO.COM

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So which model did you end up getting?

pearsall001 said:

I just completed my quest for a new pair of speakers myself. Boy did I have a lot of fun, put some miles on the car too. I brought my own material & headed out. On my journey I listened to Paradigm, B&W, Von Schweikert, Zus, Totem, Focal, Energy, Mirage, Klipsch, Kef, Boston Acoustics, Spendor, Def Tech, Harbeth, there's a few more but they esape me at the moment. They all sounded excellent w/ strenghts, & weaknesses. I can't say that any of them really made me sit up & listen. Then I heard a pair of AAD 2001 monitors - well the rest is history - they grabed me by the balls & wouldn't let go!! I was never floored by sound like this before. I went back two more times to make sure my ears weren't playing tricks on me. The dealer just laughed because he said I'm not the first or last to be taken in by them. I never thought that I'd be so floored by a set of speakers. Check out they're web site: AADAUDIO.COM

Click to expand...

That site is for an AAD knockoff out of China. They're violating international copyright and patent laws. Here's the real AAD:

http://www.aadsound.com/index.htm

And the news alert of the Chinese knockoff:

http://www.aadsound.com/alert.htm

I would use these in a 2 channel setup, and then grab a subwoofer to round it out.

http://www.energy-speakers.com/v2/products/product-page.php?id=13

EDIT: Post 2222!
SheepStar

For a music only system with acoustic music in mind, I would go with Magnepans for the huge soundstage and musicality. Their speakers just sound incredible with acoustic music and create such an incredible spacial presence.

jaxvon

jaxvon said:

That site is for an AAD knockoff out of China. They're violating international copyright and patent laws. Here's the real AAD:

http://www.aadsound.com/index.htm

And the news alert of the Chinese knockoff:

http://www.aadsound.com/alert.htm

Click to expand...

I'm sorry but your info is not correct. Phil Jones worked for AAD audio for some time until they had a parting of the ways. Apparently it was pretty nasty to. So out he goes & starts his own company AAD Sound. There is a huge lawsuit under way over the whole thing. If you notice the AADSOUND site lists very few speaker lines. That is because AADAUDIO is the real company producing the whole spectacular line. The 2000 series was some of Phil's best designed speakers ever. That's why they're not even on his site AADSOUND because when he designed them he worked for the real company AADAUDIO. I hope this helps clear the confusion.

If the Axiom M2 does that high a percentage of what you like give Ascend a try. IMO the Ascend 170 is better than the M22i. The Ascend 340 has better mids and separation of detail than the M60. I have not heard the new Ascend SEAS editions to know what the improvement is over the classic Ascends but those that have are saying good things.

My only concern for you is the Ascends are very neutral and revealing. If any of the 30-50s stuff is poorly recorded that is going to come through on the Ascends. If that stuff makes the bulk of your listening make sure to audition with it. I listen to lots of Ella, Louie, Miles, Chet Baker, Brubeck, etc. and love it.

Tex-amp said:

My only concern for you is the Ascends are very neutral and revealing. If any of the 30-50s stuff is poorly recorded that is going to come through on the Ascends. If that stuff makes the bulk of your listening make sure to audition with it. I listen to lots of Ella, Louie, Miles, Chet Baker, Brubeck, etc. and love it.

Click to expand...

Thanks again to everyone- I've been Googling away on these suggestions.

TEx.. yep, the Ascends are on my short list. Too bad the 340SE's seem to be sold out until April

You are so right about revealing speakers- my old speakers were very good and as technology of the 30-50's was mono, and the recording media nowhere near as good, even with remastering, they aren't near up to modern standards. On the otherhand, if you want to hear Bix Beiderbecke, then that what you get

I guess it's a matter of listening around the defects in order to enjoy these unique artists- or get a muted very laid back speaker that I use only for those recordings

Anyhow, you raise a very good point which I've been wrestling with also. My decision is to get the speakers and system that will work ideally with the best of the modern recordings, which despite CD's detractors can be very good indeed, and just deal with the substandard ones as best I can. Thanks!

I wouldn't worry about anything post 1950 in terms of recording quality (at least with Jazz). Brubeck, Miles, and all the rest sound awesome on great speakers. The only annoying feature is the tape hiss. However, the music is so good you won't care.