Bjorn's Audio Video

[2channel lover]

I'm in that place now. Honeymoon is over, but I'm still happy. I have no burning desire to upgrade. My only 2nd thought is... maybe I shoulda got the Phils instead of the towers..? Not gonna dwell on it. I put a lot of work into balancing, placement and studying to get as much as I can from my equipment and I think my humble setup is still one of the best systems I've heard.

I think we all might do something different if we had it to do over again....Speakers I think I hit the sweet spot there on the LCR...I thought about the Phil3s, but at 2' deep, they would've been a much bigger challenge to position them.

My 2nd thoughts...Get the Song3 Encore over the Song3-A and scrap the center channel for a while...Jim Salk actually talked me off that ledge the day I ordered...he said you got 2 great subs already, get the Song3-A you won't regret it...We'll find out here in a few weeks time.

The other one, I should have gotten the Monolith5 or 7, even though it's just for surround channels...imo you can't have too much power.

That said...I'm over it. The only major audio purchase I see myself making anytime soon...adding a 3rd VTF3mk5 for nearfield.

 

[2channel lover]

Dedicated audio shops (or HT shops) in the USA are indeed few and far between! Big Box stores almost certainly contributed to that.

I have 2 here in town that I like, and I think think there may be 1 or 2 more that I have never visited. But, I'm in a large city.

There are several shops that are "install only", and they don't even have a show room!

The Revel dealer here operates like that. They do custom installs. I called twice and never got a return call. Then called Revel to find out why their dealer was not responding. The Revel sales rep actually called the owner and he eventually called me back...hell, I felt obligated to come for the demo then.

Our GE dealer also sell B&W, and the Monitor Audio dealer sells, Paradigm, ML...I could not find a Legacy dealer here.

 

[2channel lover]

B&M dealers as in brick and mortar?

Yes.

 

[slipperybidness]

The Revel dealer here operates like that. They do custom installs. I called twice and never got a return call. Then called Revel to find out why their dealer was not responding. The Revel sales rep actually called the owner and he eventually called me back...hell, I felt obligated to come for the demo then.

Our GE dealer also sell B&W, and the Monitor Audio dealer sells, Paradigm, ML...I could not find a Legacy dealer here.

Yeah, the Monitor dealer that I found here is like that. No show room, just a little office and a little storage area for gear waiting for install.

I guess they expect you to buy stuff exclusively by their own recommendation

No thanks

 

[Mitchibo]

These high-end gears (speakers and electronics) are definitely fun to play with and look at.

What makes me laugh the most about the 802D3 isn't the $7K price hike, but the specs:
1" tweeter, 6" midrange, 8" woofer = fake FR of 14Hz-35kHz (the F3 was close to 40Hz on Stereophile).

14Hz, really?

When I bought the Linkwitz Orion, the price was around $9K. Then about 2 years later, the price increased to $15K, but that was due to actual design changes and subsequent cost increase and inflation.

So the $7K price hike by B&W isn't a total shock to me, assuming B&W actually added some cost/ design changes to the speaker, not just hot air.

Now in terms of being in awe with the SQ of these expensive speakers? There is a good reason they do double-blind testing when comparing speakers & amp - so that you don't take a look at the speakers and see the $22K aesthetic or price tag.

If you are lucky enough to own them in your house, well, just like anything else, IMO based on my own experiences, the honeymoon period will eventually end.

I'm definitely just one among many guys who have owned and then sold high-end speakers like Salon2, 802D, Likwitz Orion, etc.

There was a time when I was more into analyzing, critiquing, and critical listening. That time has past. Now I'm all about enjoying the actual movies, TV shows, and music.

Interesting take on things. So in your opinion is there a median in price/performance, given moderately good equipment and room acoustics? In terms of cost where do you think that approximate peak in SQ vs $$?

 

[Mitchibo]

My TV and AVR are about 10 years old. Definitely time to upgrade, but I've been putting it off, mostly hoping that OLED would finally become standard.

Really, with the current prices of OLED, I'm about ready to roll the dice with LG

I’m ready for oled too but thinking Sony, however they are stupid expensive right now. Maybe some good Black Friday sales coming up.

 

[Mitchibo]

I think we all might do something different if we had it to do over again....Speakers I think I hit the sweet spot there on the LCR...I thought about the Phil3s, but at 2' deep, they would've been a much bigger challenge to position them.

My 2nd thoughts...Get the Song3 Encore over the Song3-A and scrap the center channel for a while...Jim Salk actually talked me off that ledge the day I ordered...he said you got 2 great subs already, get the Song3-A you won't regret it...We'll find out here in a few weeks time.

The other one, I should have gotten the Monolith5 or 7, even though it's just for surround channels...imo you can't have too much power.

That said...I'm over it. The only major audio purchase I see myself making anytime soon...adding a 3rd VTF3mk5 for nearfield.

If you lived near me I’d give you a hell of a hook up on Monolith 7 still in the box. Too heavy to ship.

 

[Mitchibo]

The Revel dealer here operates like that. They do custom installs. I called twice and never got a return call. Then called Revel to find out why their dealer was not responding. The Revel sales rep actually called the owner and he eventually called me back...hell, I felt obligated to come for the demo then.

Our GE dealer also sell B&W, and the Monitor Audio dealer sells, Paradigm, ML...I could not find a Legacy dealer here.

Did you go in for the demo and listen to any Revel’s?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Interesting take on things. So in your opinion is there a median in price/performance, given moderately good equipment and room acoustics? In terms of cost where do you think that approximate peak in SQ vs $$?

I would say between $5K - $6K per pair actual street price or $6K - $8K MSRP.

 

[Pogre]

I was surprised to read here that a lot of you complain about having no shops in vicinity. I found that strange, I thought there must be more of them than where I live.

These are just walking distance:

Audio dream

Planet Audio

hd-multimedia

Sonus Art

Audio Cinema Art

Sigma audio

Even this is not all of them that are walking distance from my place. Are you saying you don't have these around you or were you talking about something in particular?

I don't know. I'm gonna Google all of those and see if there's at least one of them in my area. When I Google "hifi" or "speaker store" or any combination I get squat in my area, tho @Bucknekked did tell me about a place out here that has some pretty fancy stuff. They prefer appointments tho and have a half million dollar system I hear... kinda shy about going to that one!

The closest bb with a Magnolia room to me is more entry level mid to hifi. They just added the room to an existing store. Something went wrong with the switching equipment or installation and it doesn't work properly. You can only listen to 1 set of speakers and 1 receiver/amp. That's it. They don't know how to get the other equipment to play so you can hear other stuff. They said the folks who installed the systems went out of business or some poop and it never got finished? I dunno.

 

[Pogre]

Dedicated audio shops (or HT shops) in the USA are indeed few and far between! Big Box stores almost certainly contributed to that.

I have 2 here in town that I like, and I think think there may be 1 or 2 more that I have never visited. But, I'm in a large city.

There are several shops that are "install only", and they don't even have a show room!

Yup. I get a lot of that when I bust out my google-fu. Most shops are install only or appointment only. Many don't even have showrooms. I never tried, but I assume appointment only would be for serious buyers. I'm just out to listen to stuff.

 

[Mitchibo]

I don't know. I'm gonna Google all of those and see if there's at least one of them in my area. When I Google "hifi" or "speaker store" or any combination I get squat in my area, tho @Bucknekked did tell me about a place out here that has some pretty fancy stuff. They prefer appointments tho and have a half million dollar system I hear... kinda shy about going to that one!

The closest bb with a Magnolia room to me is more entry level mid to hifi. They just added the room to an existing store. Something went wrong with the switching equipment or installation and it doesn't work properly. You can only listen to 1 set of speakers and 1 receiver/amp. That's it. They don't know how to get the other equipment to play so you can hear other stuff. They said the folks who installed the systems went out of business or some poop and it never got finished? I dunno.

I was very intimidated in going to my local B & M store that only did “listening appointments”. I emailed the store and they told me to come on in. I did. I went and listed in three different rooms. Mind you, I’m in my work cloths but the sales guy was very cool and said nothing condescending. At the end of the session I told him I wasn’t ready to commit. NP. He was polite. Later I did get the speakers I wanted. All that to say... give them call or drop a line. You never know. If they treat you like sh$# then...you don’t want to patronize them anyway. Sometimes it’s best not to have a store close by.

 

[2channel lover]

I’m ready for oled too but thinking Sony, however they are stupid expensive right now. Maybe some good Black Friday sales coming up.

We've got two of the Sony 4k sets...65" 900 series and 55" 850 I think...the 900 is their top shelf set...I've found the best time time buy the upper end sets is transition time.

Unless you're going OLED...imo the best, most natural looking LED picture is Sony...Samsung is a great picture as well if you like it a little brighter.

 

[2channel lover]

If you lived near me I’d give you a hell of a hook up on Monolith 7 still in the box. Too heavy to ship.

I've been known to throw the clubs in the car and take off for a weekend...

My theory for getting the Emo A500 was sound I think...80 wpc all driven is fine for surrounds...it sound great with the movies we've watched.

I have to say, having heard your speakers...F208...job well done...I'm very curious to see how the Salks measure up on the low end especially.

 

[Mitchibo]

We've got two of the Sony 4k sets...65" 900 series and 55" 850 I think...the 900 is their top shelf set...I've found the best time time buy the upper end sets is transition time.

Unless you're going OLED...imo the best, most natural looking LED picture is Sony...Samsung is a great picture as well if you like it a little brighter.

XBR-65A1E Is the apple of my eye. I have a 900 series (led) 4K. While it’s great it’s not perfect. Still leaks light in the corners. More cowbell.

 

[2channel lover]

Did you go in for the demo and listen to any Revel’s?

Yes...it took a while, but I was able to meet the owner and like I was saying they're installers and most of it is inwall work, but they had a pr of F206 and F208 that were going for an install in a large HT job they and I got to spend a good bit of time with the larger speaker in 2.0.

I demoed about 12 or 13 speakers ranging from 3k a pr to the Monitors which were a little over 6k...at the end there were two speakers I felt were clear step up from the B&Ws. The Monitor Gold 300 and the F208...I could live with either.

 

[2channel lover]

XBR-65A1E Is the apple of my eye. I have a 900 series (led) 4K. While it’s great it’s not perfect. Still leaks light in the corners. More cowbell.

Mine does too,could be age, but I don't notice it but in the bottom left corner with a dark screen...but for $1400 in the box it was a better deal than the 850.

I'm not a big enough TV/movie watcher to venture into anything more than what I bought...if anything, when the 60" plasma finally plays out, I'd like to go with a 75" there...sitting 13' away.

 

[Mitchibo]

Yes...it took a while, but I was able to meet the owner and like I was saying they're installers and most of it is inwall work, but they had a pr of F206 and F208 that were going for an install in a large HT job they and I got to spend a good bit of time with the larger speaker in 2.0.

I demoed about 12 or 13 speakers ranging from 3k a pr to the Monitors which were a little over 6k...at the end there were two speakers I felt were clear step up from the B&Ws. The Monitor Gold 300 and the F208...I could live with either.

That is comforting confirmation. Everyone is nervous when we dole out a wad of $$.

 

[killdozzer]

I don't know. I'm gonna Google all of those and see if there's at least one of them in my area. When I Google "hifi" or "speaker store" or any combination I get squat in my area, tho @Bucknekked did tell me about a place out here that has some pretty fancy stuff. They prefer appointments tho and have a half million dollar system I hear... kinda shy about going to that one!

The closest bb with a Magnolia room to me is more entry level mid to hifi. They just added the room to an existing store. Something went wrong with the switching equipment or installation and it doesn't work properly. You can only listen to 1 set of speakers and 1 receiver/amp. That's it. They don't know how to get the other equipment to play so you can hear other stuff. They said the folks who installed the systems went out of business or some poop and it never got finished? I dunno.

I'll stop bringing this up, but just wanted to save you time. You can Google these for curiosity sake, but remember, I'm in Croatia, Europe. Most of these shops don't belong to any chain or distribution network. It's "Mom and Pop's". Here it's like; you like hi-fi, you open a store and try to get some attractive brands to send their products. I think only Planet Audio is a part of a chain, but don't know whether they're in U.S. market.

 

[slipperybidness]

I don't know. I'm gonna Google all of those and see if there's at least one of them in my area. When I Google "hifi" or "speaker store" or any combination I get squat in my area, tho @Bucknekked did tell me about a place out here that has some pretty fancy stuff. They prefer appointments tho and have a half million dollar system I hear... kinda shy about going to that one!

The closest bb with a Magnolia room to me is more entry level mid to hifi. They just added the room to an existing store. Something went wrong with the switching equipment or installation and it doesn't work properly. You can only listen to 1 set of speakers and 1 receiver/amp. That's it. They don't know how to get the other equipment to play so you can hear other stuff. They said the folks who installed the systems went out of business or some poop and it never got finished? I dunno.

Well, that give me a whole lot of confidence when they can't even work their own gear
If I worked there, I would make it work!

The BB near me has a pretty decent Magnolia room, but I haven't been there in quite a while. The last time I really spent time in there, the Kuro Plasmas were still on the market and running about $6k.

I mean, I've browsed a few times, just never anything serious.

I picked up my Pio elite from BB Magnolia ~10 years ago. I got a sweet deal on it, speaking with the sales guy, that unit had sold, then at install the guy realized he needed more HDMI inputs so it got returned but never used.