Interesting Day at Best Buy

William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
You near the Twin Cities, up north or south?
Brd!!! So “up north” for anyone near the metro area lol. I always laugh at that since we’re basically dead center of the state.
 
S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
I'm not that far north but I am north of the cities. I'm up by Princeton. Just far enough where it's about an equal drive to either Maple Grove or Saint Cloud and both are at least 45 minutes away.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Yah sure, I been over der ya know!
Sorry, can’t help that sometimes lol.
 
S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
Lol, At least if you don't like the weather all you have to do is wait 15 minutes. Oh and for any of those outta staters visiting just make sure to keep an eye out for our state bird the Mosquito.
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
I'm not that far north but I am north of the cities. I'm up by Princeton. Just far enough where it's about an equal drive to either Maple Grove or Saint Cloud and both are at least 45 minutes away.
I’m down in Eagan. So, very close to BB HQ over in Bloomington.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Lol, At least if you don't like the weather all you have to do is wait 15 minutes. Oh and for any of those outta staters visiting just make sure to keep an eye out for our state bird the Mosquito.
Haha that’s true. I’ve been waiting for the weather to change since late September!!!!!
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Brd!!! So “up north” for anyone near the metro area lol. I always laugh at that since we’re basically dead center of the state.
LOL, sounds like New York, anything north of NYC is considered upstate by the NYC dwellers. So you could still be in the bottom 10% of the state geographically and considered "upstate."
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
LOL, sounds like New York, anything north of NYC is considered upstate by the NYC dwellers. So you could still be in the bottom 10% of the state geographically and considered "upstate."
Lol. I guess it’s all relative. I usually say I’m going “down to the cities” or “up to Duluth”, or “over to Princeton “ but never say I’m going down south lol. Some people say they’re going “out west” even if they’re just going over to Fargo.
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Lol. I guess it’s all relative. I usually say I’m going “down to the cities” or “up to Duluth”, or “over to Princeton “ but never say I’m going down south lol. Some people say they’re going “out west” even if they’re just going over to Fargo.
I think part of it with NYC is that NYC dwellers tend not to leave NYC much, so anything outside of it might as well be another world!
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
I think part of it with NYC is that NYC dwellers tend not to leave NYC much, so anything outside of it might as well be another world!
I believe the same of the twin cites.
 
S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
So very true. I grew up in the twin cities. Extremely glad I left. Just can't live being packed in like sardines with my neighbors. Conveniences are nice but like my space more. If I piss off my neighbors because my music is too loud I would need a concert setup lol.
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
So very true. I grew up in the twin cities. Extremely glad I left. Just can't live being packed in like sardines with my neighbors. Conveniences are nice but like my space more. If I piss off my neighbors because my music is too loud I would need a concert setup lol.
I like being on the southern side of the cities. I don't get downtown that much anymore. Have no need. Plus, both Minneapolis and St. Paul are turning into major dumps. I would love to live further out and get some land, but our jobs keep us close to the cities.

I actually prefer living in a community with less than 20k for a population. I know I don't have that right now, but hopefully in the near future I'll be able to be somewhere like that.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I think part of it with NYC is that NYC dwellers tend not to leave NYC much, so anything outside of it might as well be another world!
Yeah, I always pretty much consider anywhere that is "upstate" New York means anywhere in the state of New York that is not New York City!
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Living in NJ and working in NY, I always thought it funny when NYC people considered the place I worked to be upstate. It was literally the first town over the border from NJ!
 
Hench4Life

Hench4Life

Junior Audioholic
I have my "new" Kefs hooked up right now just for fun, listening to music. They were an entry level model for the time but they do have the Uni Q drivers in them and I've never listened to them before. Thanks to CL it only cost me 30 bucks to get a chance!

They're not horrible, but compared to some of the others I have the bass is kinda flabby. Mids and highs get kinda scratchy at higher volumes and do start to become fatiguing, but that imaging is freaking pinpoint. Everything is really snapped into place in the sweet spot and it's definitely different from what I'm used to. Most of my speakers have fairly wide dispersion and spray the sound through the room. These are kinda like flashlight beams. When you're where the beams intersect it's pretty awesome but step out of it just a little bit and the illusion falls apart.

This was a great way for me to experience both types in my room, on my system. I don't regret this CL purchase at all.

I can see a sensitivity to the mids tho, for sure.
That (as I mentioned) is exactly as I remember them, fat, flabby, especially the low mids, then aggressive upper mids and a sharp rolloff that they seem to address with the crossover (camel's back), but freaking awesome imaging and a wide soundstage. I remember the vice-like positioning with my friend's 105.4's. He had a chair in the middle of the room, and that's where you sat. You didn't "get it" until you sat there.

I think the new R series is fantastic, but really temperamental on positioning and amplification. The weird thing about KEF is once you hear them sound bad, you can't unhear it even once they're dialed in. The things that make them work are also the things that work against them. Bottom line, the concentric drivers have more problems than solutions. I'm hoping Andrew Jones is moving away from that; hopefully he finally worked it out of his system with the Adante. It's funny, but B+W is kind of in the same boat with a different solution.

Hello all just wanted to share my listening session I had to day at Best Buy...
Don't forget, there's some pretty generous demo periods and return policies online - I know it's a pain but in some cases the only way you can get a decent listen. Crutchfield I believe still has something like a $50 flat rate return shipping policy on floor standers (free for bookshelves). While that might not be something you'd want to do a lot, it might be worth it if you narrow your choice down to 1-2 speakers.

Tekton, Zu, Ascend, Salk and others all have great return policies as well. I've never heard Tekton or Zu, but they have a near cult-like following.

I thought that BB had KEF, I'd certainly recommend an audition but wouldn't have high hopes they could pull it off in that environment. I really think you owe it to yourself to try to listen to Revel, which remains one of my favorite speakers to this day. Downside, the floor standers borderline ugly (they used to be gorgeous). I think Kevin Voeks is a genius. I believe you'll find some sonic similarities between something like the Concerta 2 and the ML Motion, except the Revel is designed for maximum dispersion and ease of placement. The sweetspot is anyplace in front of the speakers. The last generation Motion has some deep discounts right now.

Another one worth checking out (I sure want to) is the Wharfdale Evo. Wharfdale has always been close but no cigar for me since forever, but the combination of the AMT tweeter and kevlar cones might solve that. Best Buy used to carry Wharfdale, I'd think Revel would be another if they have ML.

If you like the Klipsch RP-8000F, it's 25% off right now at Klipsch for their →Appreciation sale←. That kind of coin can make the bass shortcomings a lot less of an issue. Or, go in the piggy bank for a subwoofer down the road. I'm surprised those 8" drivers didn't offer up much bass TBH. The Marantz has enough juice on demand. Again - just not the best environment for demonstrating. If it's like the BB's I remember, there's no consistency to setups.

Doesn't BB have Elacs? I'd highly recommend trying out the UniFi's or Debut Reference if they have them. I was really impressed with the UniFi (I almost bought a pair when they were giving them away last November) and from what I gather, the Debut Reference eats their lunch. It's too bad the "slim" version of the UniFi is so expensive, as soon as you narrow the baffle and throw a coat of paint on them they're in some pretty seriously competitive waters.
 
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S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
I have been very curious about the Warfedales. I will definitely have to look at the Revel's. I do plan on checking out more speakers and will try to do some in house demos once I am done with the construction in my living room. I would have had it completed this weekend but my flooring is not in stock and they had to order it so I am out about a week and a half with the upcoming holiday. I have about a 16 square foot section where one of the speakers would sit that is down to the subflooring and the fireplace is unfinished since I have to wait for the flooring before I can set the stone :-S. Just a domino effect. It will be so much better once it is done. Also allows me to add sound treatment in the front 2 corners now that the room will be squared off. House projects never seem to end lol.
 
S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
I do find it interesting the the Revel site does not list the recommended amplifier power rating or speaker RMS rating.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I do find it interesting the the Revel site does not list the recommended amplifier power rating or speaker RMS rating.
Just looked at the F-35 on their site, it indicates a 30-180 watt amp recommendation....but do wonder the basis. A speakers' max continuous rating isn't all that useful in any case...
 
S

SimplyEpic

Audioholic
Lol, I was looking at the Salon2 and Studio2. I even downloaded the Owner's manual. Still can't wait to do some more auditions. Hopefully next time I don't blow any more subs or speakers. Sooner or later they will start telling e you broke it you bought it.
 

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