Floorstanding speakers around 2000$

[crossedover]

AcuDefTechGuy,



"SD" code is what they use here...



today I had some time and went to the shop: the CM10 and 9 sound fantastic, but again over budget...

I tried also

- Dynaudio DM 3/7 and X38 (special offer at 1700 $): didn't like
- Monitor audio bronze and silver: don't kill me , but I think that the bronze sounds better than the silver... nice speakers
- Klipsch again and still like them but the CM are way better

Focal 826W and JBL 5905C were not available: will try soon

I'm starting to think that maybe I have to wait a little bit more and buy the CM9, or just give up and keep what I have today...

I read that some people recommend to buy drivers (like scan speak) and DYI: what's your opinion? I have some knowledge in wood job (I can build the box) but 0 on how to do the crossover...

thanks

If you're able to build the boxes you can have the crossovers assembled for you for a nominal fee. Check out madisonsound.com and meniscusaudio.com for some diy design ideas.


On your observation about the monitor audio speakers, I've found the upper mid bass in the bronze series to be a little bloated which some find pleasing.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I can find good deals usually, but if you can get $1500.00 off list on speakers from an authorized dealer on $3500 speakers, I need to start using your dealers

Send me a PM next time you want to buy any HT component.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

today I had some time and went to the shop: the CM10 and 9 sound fantastic, but again over budget...

- Dynaudio DM 3/7 and X38 (special offer at 1700 $): didn't like
- Monitor audio bronze and silver: don't kill me , but I think that the bronze sounds better than the silver... nice speakers
- Klipsch again and still like them but the CM are way better

I'm starting to think that maybe I have to wait a little bit more and buy the CM9, or just give up and keep what I have today...

It seems like you love the B&W sound. Try the B&W 683 towers. You might find that they are almost as good as the CM9. You never know.

What we do know is that you love the B&W sound.

So I think the game plan is this.

1) If the 683 sound just as good, then buy those.
2) If the 683 don't sound better than the runner up Klipsch, then save up for the CM9.

 

[agarwalro]

I was impressed by the Klipsch RF-82 II and the central RC-62 II.

the CM10 and 9 sound fantastic

If the 683 don't sound better than the runner up Klipsch, then save up for the CM9.

I think it comes down to the RF82 and CM9 with the 683 being the wildcard. Best bet is to try all three at home.

You mentioned building your own speakers. This option will undoubtedly give you the best bang for money spent. If you decide to not buy one of the three above, start a thread in the DIY section and we can guide you through some options.

 

[TheHills44060]

Read through the thread and of the options available in your area my vote goes for the 683's. I don't care for the CM series at all. Am really interested to see if you end up going down the DIY route since it sounds like you could build the box.

 

[Cos]

Send me a PM next time you want to buy any HT component.

Be careful what you ask for, I am in process of spec'ing out my basement remodel now as my remodelers are starting second week in June.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Be careful what you ask for, I am in process of spec'ing out my basement remodel now as my remodelers are starting second week in June.

If I can help out a fellow member, that's great. Spreading the love.

 

[macddmac]

Why floor stander's if you have 2 subs?
You can get a pair of cm-5 and let the subs do the low end work.
cheers, Mac

 

[ematthews]

Send me a PM next time you want to buy any HT component.

No... Let my build be done first.. I like undivided attention.

 

[stonemarten]

Ok, finally went to a shop that has almost every speaker available here for testing

- JBL 590: out of production. I listened the 580CH. Nice speakers but the tweeter is to metallic, mostly on female high tones
- Focal 826W: out of production. I listened the 726. I like them: need the final test because I'm not convinced about the low frequency. Another concern is that the matching central channel looks like a little simple: need to listen as well
- B&W 683 S2: at 2.6k (!!) are much more expensive than the older model (that I listen and didn't like - too empty). Very, very nice Just looks like they can't support "these AC/DC moments" for everything else I really like them
- Klipsch is not available anymore here...

I will bring a CD with my music for final test between the 683 and the 726

Of course next week I will check the golden ear in Singapore.

Why floor stander's if you have 2 subs?
You can get a pair of cm-5 and let the subs do the low end work.
cheers, Mac

I prefer use the sub only when I watch movies, for audio I would have a "pure" stereo set up

I will not do DIY because I don't have enough time to execute the project, maybe in the future as exercise

Thanks to all the experts that reply and helped me!!! Even if now I have to save 1k more

Cheers

 

[Cos]

I am curious of your take on the GoldenEar when you go to Singapore. at least you will have a good idea of what to chose from when you get back.

 

[Cos]

Still Curious if you have made a decision on what speakers you decided to go with?

 

[stonemarten]

Finally I found the time to go to the shop and listen the golden ear, both the 7 and the 3.

My personal impression

- 7: very good low frequency, perfect and clear for guitars/classic/Norah Jones/etc., but when an electric guitar or some electronic music enter I don't like them at all. I think the highs are a little "muffled"
- 3: better on the noisy music side, but without good bass like the 7. Still, on anything not acoustic the sound become unnatural and confused

In the same shop, the Opera speakers (~10k for 2) were available, and I tried them just for fun: of course very good on all the music, but the low frequencies (computer made) were completely absent.
Same impression with the RF 7 (in the building there is a Klipsch vendor, where I go for a quick benchmark), despite the bigger drivers
The RF 82 II sound similar (lower level) to the goldenear 7 on the acoustic, much more better on the electro side but I don't like the sax and high tone woman voice (Shakira, etc.): very metallic

I just meet a sound engineer by luck, that I kill with all my questions on why I can't find anything that I like. I understand now.

My final conclusion is that, with his support, I will try to project a full-tone-coverage towers. Still don't know if what I want will stay inside my budget, but paper is cheap and make the project first will give me a cost image

I think you will see me soon in the DIY thread

thanks to all for the support!

 

[Cos]

Finally I found the time to go to the shop and listen the golden ear, both the 7 and the 3.

My personal impression

- 7: very good low frequency, perfect and clear for guitars/classic/Norah Jones/etc., but when an electric guitar or some electronic music enter I don't like them at all. I think the highs are a little "muffled"
- 3: better on the noisy music side, but without good bass like the 7. Still, on anything not acoustic the sound become unnatural and confused

In the same shop, the Opera speakers (~10k for 2) were available, and I tried them just for fun: of course very good on all the music, but the low frequencies (computer made) were completely absent.
Same impression with the RF 7 (in the building there is a Klipsch vendor, where I go for a quick benchmark), despite the bigger drivers
The RF 82 II sound similar (lower level) to the goldenear 7 on the acoustic, much more better on the electro side but I don't like the sax and high tone woman voice (Shakira, etc.): very metallic

I just meet a sound engineer by luck, that I kill with all my questions on why I can't find anything that I like. I understand now.

My final conclusion is that, with his support, I will try to project a full-tone-coverage towers. Still don't know if what I want will stay inside my budget, but paper is cheap and make the project first will give me a cost image

I think you will see me soon in the DIY thread

thanks to all for the support!

Interesting feedback because my perceptions on the 7 were that I was very impressed with the highs were extremely detailed and not muffled

When you said you tested the 3s, did you mean the Aon 3 and not the Triton 3s. The only reason I asked is that you commented that the bass was poor, when they actually have built in subwoofers on the Tritons.

Based on your feedback I think you are going to probably want to up the budget a little.

 

[stonemarten]

When you said you tested the 3s, did you mean the Aon 3 and not the Triton 3s. The only reason I asked is that you commented that the bass was poor, when they actually have built in subwoofers on the Tritons.

I don't mean poor as volume or quality, I mean how down in the Hz they can go. If you listen thrift shop you miss the very low "boom boom" in a far background, very present on the 7. I tried the triton 3 and 7

Based on your feedback I think you are going to probably want to up the budget a little.

I'm not sure because I didn't like even the 10k Opera speaker

Based on the sound eng. mate, could be how the factories tune their speakers. On the paper looks great (frequency coverage), but the fine tuning probably is not done for drum&base, but for get the best of every instrument.
Computer made sound don't come from any instrument...

What's your opinion?

 

[crossedover]

The concerns with electronic music should be addressed with a subwoofer not the mains FWIW

 

[TechnoFile]

Ok, finally went to a shop that has almost every speaker available here for testing

- JBL 590: out of production. I listened the 580CH. Nice speakers but the tweeter is to metallic, mostly on female high tones
- Focal 826W: out of production. I listened the 726. I like them: need the final test because I'm not convinced about the low frequency. Another concern is that the matching central channel looks like a little simple: need to listen as well
- B&W 683 S2: at 2.6k (!!) are much more expensive than the older model (that I listen and didn't like - too empty). Very, very nice Just looks like they can't support "these AC/DC moments" for everything else I really like them
- Klipsch is not available anymore here...

I will bring a CD with my music for final test between the 683 and the 726

Of course next week I will check the golden ear in Singapore.



I prefer use the sub only when I watch movies, for audio I would have a "pure" stereo set up

I will not do DIY because I don't have enough time to execute the project, maybe in the future as exercise

Thanks to all the experts that reply and helped me!!! Even if now I have to save 1k more

Cheers

I know you said you've decided to go DIY but I wanted to chime in. I'm not sure exactly where you're shopping, but the B&W 683 S2 is available on Magnolia's website for $1651.96 per pair(not including tax), which is well inside your budget.

Here's the link: Bowers and Wilkins 600 Series 683 S2 Dual 6-1/2" 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker (Each) | Magnolia | 200W maximum power handling; two 6-1/2" aluminum woofer cones; 1" double-dome aluminum tw

And as a former Magnolia product rep (thankfully I've escaped retail sales) the 683's to me sounded very similar to the CM9's minus the clarity and separation in the mids specifically. On my demo's I'd play Joe Satriani's Always With Me, Always With You (in both 320kbps MP3 as well as FLAC) as it's a very good mix of low's, mid's, and high's. I'd suggest it to anyone who listens to more modern uptempo music as a demo song. The song is also a fantastic bass demo as the bass in the song can be very strong and easily filled my demo room.

Anyway best of luck to you, OP!

 

[rojo]

The concerns with electronic music should be addressed with a subwoofer not the mains FWIW

I thoroughly agree with this. Not to sound like a crotchety old miser, but this whole thread sounds like a ludicrous first world problem. If $10k towers were lacking for you, it's probably not the speakers' fault.

Sounds more like you were standing in a room null in the bass range; and most certainly, the best position for the towers for stereo imaging and sound stage is not going to be the best position for bass response. Having a separate sub or two or three + some sort of bass management DSP will increase your placement flexibility greatly and let you even out the bass response in your room. Moreover, don't expect the speakers to sound the same in the store as they will in your house.

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk

 

[herbu]

I'm not sure because I didn't like even the 10k Opera speaker

Based on the sound eng. mate, could be how the factories tune their speakers. On the paper looks great (frequency coverage), but the fine tuning probably is not done for drum&base, but for get the best of every instrument.
Computer made sound don't come from any instrument...

I agree w/ rojo.

1) You want speakers "tuned" for drum & base
2) You want speakers that excel with artificial computer generated sounds
3) You don't like the $10k Operas
4) You want it for $2k

DIY may be your best bet. After investing all that time, effort, research, and money on DIY, these may stand the best chance of "sounding good" to you. Best of Luck!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't mean poor as volume or quality, I mean how down in the Hz they can go. If you listen thrift shop you miss the very low "boom boom" in a far background, very present on the 7. I tried the triton 3 and 7

I'm not sure because I didn't like even the 10k Opera speaker

Based on the sound eng. mate, could be how the factories tune their speakers. On the paper looks great (frequency coverage), but the fine tuning probably is not done for drum&base, but for get the best of every instrument.
Computer made sound don't come from any instrument...

What's your opinion?

I don't think you can take the audition of a few speakers and stereotype it to all speakers.

We all have differences in our perception, interpretation, and preferences.

So you may not fully enjoy those speakers you auditioned, while others may completely enjoy them.

I think you just need to audition many more speakers.

I don't see how DIY speakers made in some garages can actually be better than speakers that have been designed, measured, and tested by many engineers, and assembled by expert cabinet makers and machines.

You may end up preferring the DIY speakers, though. Who knows.