For experienced audiophiles only please

[olddog]

As I have come to find out that I have never owned a set of good speakers, please I beg your indifference to your personal preferences and just try to put yourself into my head for a moment, as I have put in over 2 months time and effort into this. That I ask this of you should go a long ways toward showing you good folks how much I respect your abilities and opinions.
I am shopping for a set of front mains and center that will be married to my Denon 2808. I have 2-matched Mirage subs outboard of each floor stander at the moment for extended bass.
Music and movies 50/50 classic rock, blues C&W. I really like everything except opera, rap, and Techno.
I have auditioned a number of speakers:
Polk LSI9+very good
New Mirage OS3 FS towers=to tinny-is that a word?
Dana 680=to laid back
Paragram Studio 10= just sounded too small
Revel M12= bass covered detail/too colored would be the right word?
Vienna Hayden=Sweet like your mothers kiss on the check/no excitement?
B&W 685= I loved it? Just right.

Speakers that I have been reading glowing reports on for the last 4 weeks but have been unable to audition.
These are the ones I would like your opinion on mentally comparing them to the B&W685 please.

Swan Diva 6.1
Totem Hawk
Salk Sound Tower
Vandersteen 2CE Sig II
Usher Be-718
RHB TK-5CT
Or any others you may have a suggestion about. But remember please this is my head and my money so please leave your ears at the door.
I sincerely thank you all for your time, comments and mental effort.
Mike

 

[klix58]

Olddog, I feel your frustration. I have been through a dozen different brands for the purpose of getting an "audiophile" speaker. Klipsch, Paradigm, Boston, Mission, Athena Axiom and so on. I finally listened in my room to Monitor Audio RS8 and have been with them for a while and am planning to stay with them. You will fing the name and or cost is less relevant than what they do for you. Based on what you mentioned for listening preferences try them, but in the end it always comes down to "you". Many etailers let you buy and try for free and some small brick and mortar stores the same, experiment/audition and most of all have fun.

 

[klix58]

I did forget to mention, Dali and then RBH as well.

 

[rnatalli]

If you liked B&W, you should add Monitor Audio to your list.

 

[john72953]

As a Totem Sttaf owner, I can tell you some of the advantages/disadvantages of the Totem Hawk as well (have auditioned them extensively).

Advantages:
Excellent (wide) off-axis dispersion
Terrific soundstage and imaging.
Solid bottom end (which can be adjusted by adding ballust)
Small footprint
Second-to-none build quality
If you listen to a lot of female soloists, jazz, blues and/or classical, these speakers will amaze you with their clarity and warmth.

Disadvantages:
They are NOT a rock speaker!
They are not the most efficient...will require some power to drive.
They are a 6-ohm speaker (which may not be a problem at all, but check your receiver)
They are better suited to 2-Channel opposed to a HT set-up.

I decided on the Totems because I listen to music (primarily vinyl) 80%-90% of the time.

Just my opinion and I hope it helped shed some light on the choice of speaker you are considering.

John

 

[rnatalli]

I would consider RBH a rock speaker especially the TK's. They can be pushed hard, but I feel they give up a little soundstage and detail other speakers offer. I think the MC's may be more up the OP's alley.

As for Swans, I would say if you didn't like the Dana's, you probably won't like Swans. But you never know.

 

[Rickster71]

Hi Mike,
You didn't mention a budget, so I'll just throw a few out there and see what sticks.
If your thinking of Vandersteen, move up a model to the 3A Signature, though it does dip into 4 ohm territory a bit.

Paradigm and PSB make some nice stuff, so keep auditioning there.

Auditioning is half the fun.

 

[john72953]

Hi Mike,
You didn't mention a budget, so I'll just throw a few out there and see what sticks.
If your thinking of Vandersteen, move up a model to the 3A Signature, though it does dip into 4 ohm territory a bit.

Paradigm and PSB make some nice stuff, so keep auditioning there.

Auditioning is half the fun.

I'll second that suggestion on the Vandersteen's and auditioning!

John

 

[R-Carpenter]

Salk is definitely great speakers. Vanderstine and Usher deserve a chance.
Then you talking about audiophile speaker, what exactly do you mean? No pan intended but every speaker will reproduce certain things differently and have a different sonic signature. I think you need to decide as to whats more important in terms of the music reproduction and what kind of music you like the most. I mean, Rock music is a very wide term. If you want to hear every bit of background information on “Amused to death” or have your windows rattle on “Purple haze” you probably need 2 different speakers. Take your favorite recordings with you. Try to arrange a loaner with the dealer. Your room will play a big difference and no speaker will sound the same in it as it did in the store.
Good luck.

 

[cfrizz]

You might also want to listen to the Dynaudio Focus series.

BTW if they didn't have the LSI 9's hooked up to an amp you were only hearing a portion of what they are capable of.

 

[rded]

Add Focal and Dynaudio to that list. They have excellent speakers and both have very good entry level performers that will surprise you. Dyns are typically 4 ohm speakers and can be a little difficult to drive but their excite series is rated 4 ohms but has nominal impedance of 6ohms so your Denon will have no problems driving them. The Focals are a frech maunufactued speaker and have great quality. Along with Dynaudio and B$W and a few other brands, they are the only ones that build their speakers from the ground up. Meaning, zero outsourcing.

 

[3db]

PSB Synchrony series are garnering rave reviews from all the audio magazines and audio web sites. They look way better in the flesh then they do in photographs. They are definately worth an audition.

 

[jostenmeat]

Ascend Acoustics.

Subjectively, in different rooms, I find even the entry level Ascend to be much more transparent than the older 68 series of BW. I haven't heard the newest rendition of the 68 series, however.

The Ascends also seem to have very excellent off-axis response. They will also be easier to drive than Lsi, Dynaudio, or Totem.

 

[lsiberian]

You ears are the best judge of what sounds good to you.

Just remember that. Also remember that speakers are as good as the room they are in. So I suggest room treatments if you are allowed(i can understand not being).

But generally speaking the best speaker would in theory be determined by a response graph measured by a reliable 3rd party.

Of course in practice we all have preferences for sound. So go with what you like the best. And good can be a relative term. I think my speakers are excellent others would probably disagree. Auditions will tell you most what you like. Though I will suggest you do bring friends along and get there opinion too. Sometimes we have been conditioned to like bad frequency response.

 

[rnatalli]

Ascend Acoustics.

Subjectively, in different rooms, I find even the entry level Ascend to be much more transparent than the older 68 series of BW. I haven't heard the newest rendition of the 68 series, however.

The Ascends also seem to have very excellent off-axis response. They will also be easier to drive than Lsi, Dynaudio, or Totem.

Although Ascends are wonderful speakers, their sound is very different than B&W which the OP said he liked. Doesn't hurt to give them an audition though.

 

[Shock]

Everyone's going to have their own oppinion on what speakers they would classify as "audiophile". What it comes down to is what you like and not what other people say. I personally would love to enjoy a set of swan 6.2's. Oout of any speaker I have personally heard, they were my hands down favourite. Not just in acoustic properties but esthetics as well.

Someone else might hate the sound and look. We can only tell you what we think are great speakers, and to you they might sound harsh or dull.

I can recommend you some quality stuff but you definitely need to listen to them before you sink large amounts of money into something you bought because someone on here said they were good. We can't leave our "ears at the door" because they are the only thing we can use to help you.

Unless I said they were good.....then they are good....

 

[browninggold]

I currently have Aperion speakers. I listen to a lot of stereo music with my Denon 3808ci streaming internet radio. I have the 6T Towers and 6C Center. Also 4 other Aperion surround speakers. Listen 70% movies, 30% music. The Towers are clear sounding and can drive them loud. Aperion also has 30 day in home trial and free shipping "both" ways.

 

[olddog]

Thanks all for the good input. I went out yesterday and auditioned a lot of B&W at a store that had them all lined up so we could switch from one to the other. As far as they went I found a hard choice. The 685 with a center, or the 684 with center and last but not least the 683 with no center (1500.00 budget) the 85 and 84'2 sounded pretty much the same just a fuller on the 648. The 683 was a different dog altogether as it had a much flatter precise response and sound. A little like a CameroZ28 and a Corvette Both very good and fast but different. Then I went to audition a Vandersteen 2Ce SigII. Now that’s a horse of a different color for sure. Very open with a very large pleasing sound field (good for HT) the absolute sweet spot was rather small though. The clarity was good enough that (as a guitar player for 40+ years) I could tell you what guitar the artist was using. They are kinda ugly compared to some (Handsome my mother would say) and they are bulky with large footprint, and look rather dated, terminal post and all, along with being fussy with the equipment married to them. Jeeze I think I just described my-self. I wonder if I could give them a good home? I could only give them 14" out from wall and one side of each would be against a new slim line DLP, so not covered but there non the less. Other sides good breathing room as each has a hallway. Get the pic?

 

[Swerd]

Mike

You mentioned Salk SongTowers in your original post as a possible contender. They are of course sold internet direct only, but there is a growing list of owners who will readily demonstrate them to possible new buyers like yourself. Contact Jim Salk directly to find out where you could go. If you are anywhere near the Washington, DC area, you are welcome to come listen to mine. Feel free to contact me by PM if you are interested.

I think SongTowers compare favorably to the Vandersteens you describe. I am most familiar with the Vandersteen 3As, and compared to them, its a tossup on sound quality, but the SongTowers easily win by price. They have a smaller footprint, some stunningly beautiful wood finishes are available, and are much less finicky about room placement.

I posted my listening impressions here a little over a year ago, and I haven't changed my mind since then . Of course, I mustn't forget to mention Tom Andry's excellent review published here.

 

[olddog]

Mike

You mentioned Salk SongTowers in your original post as a possible contender. They are of course sold internet direct only, but there is a growing list of owners who will readily demonstrate them to possible new buyers like yourself. Contact Jim Salk directly to find out where you could go. If you are anywhere near the Washington, DC area, you are welcome to come listen to mine. Feel free to contact me by PM if you are interested.

I think SongTowers compare favorably to the Vandersteens you describe. I am most familiar with the Vandersteen 3As, and compared to them, its a tossup on sound quality, but the SongTowers easily win by price. They have a smaller footprint, some stunningly beautiful wood finishes are available, and are much less finicky about room placement.

I posted my listening impressions here a little over a year ago, and I haven't changed my mind since then . Of course, I mustn't forget to mention Tom Andry's excellent review published here.

Thanks I just found someone in my area that will let me audition his ST's next week. I also had someone call and offer me a set of Vandersteen Ce CIG II with the wall rear surrounds for 1400.00 they are 7 years old but in good shape with the upgraded crossovers and mid from the 3A.
But as I said I don't know if I can give them a good home?