The short: Vantage versus Vista? Can my Onkyo receiver (with bi-amping) handle the Vista?
Yes. Doubt it.
The long:
I went to my local ML dealer and auditioned a few of their lower-end models (what's barely in my price range). I've been thinking about replacing my aging Infinity Delta towers for some time now, and ESLs are definitely my favorite I've auditioned so far (although the Monitor Audio RS6's are quite nice, smaller, and cheaper).
I agree, they're all nice. I've a pair of ESL's, and
for me, the biggest compromise in their
present setting is that the sweetspot fits one person. Before, in a larger room, combined with the HT, I could fit about 3 pretty happily. Not anymore. That said, whoever is sitting there is always blown away.
Anyway, I compared the Source, Purity, and Vantage. I went in thinking the Purity was going to be the clear winner price/performance wise, especially since I won't be using dedicated amps (just my Onkyo 705).
Hm. All I know is that self-powered speakers are cool, IMO. Of course, you don't even need a receiver, just preouts for these babies, I mean, the Puritys. (or is Purities? I never know what is correct with proper nouns, hah, never bothered yet to find out).
However, I found the bass response of the Purity the least satisfying of all 3 - it felt tuned to be punchy in the mid-bass region, which came across as more mid-bass muddiness than anything.
Hm. It's possible. Don't forget the enormous importance of where you sit in the room, though. These models most likely have bass trims on the back, so you ought to see if they are level as well. Or play with them too!
The Vantage was light years beyond both of them, however. Better bass, electrifying presence, and an amazingly wide sound stage. I tested them on a variety of receivers (no dedicated amp) in the store, and the speakers sounded fantastic even on the lower-end Pioneer Elite. It also played more easily (less volume needed) than the Source, probably because of the on-board amp.
Yeah. 200w ice amp.
Unfortunately, these are $expensive$ speakers. And they did not have the cheaper Vistas in the store to audition.
Has anyone compared the two? With a good power source, is there any difference? They are essentially the same, the Vantage just has a powered woofer.
IMO, definitely Vantage over Vista, easy.
I purchased my Onkyo receiver fairly recently, and would rather not have to replace it nor do i want to spend lots of money on external amp (at least, not yet). This receiver does have the built-in ability to bi-amp the front speakers by re-routing the rear-surround channels (channels 6 & 7) to the front. I can also set the receiver to "4 ohm" mode in the setup menu. This sends around 220 watts per channel (more at 4 ohms). i do this now with my infinity towers (which are 6 ohm).
I'm wondering if:
A) If I bi-amp the Vistas, they'll have enough power to run
B) If I get the Vantage, is there any benefit to bi-amping them (even though the woofer is self-powered)? Can I effectively feed all the available power into the electrostat panel?
A) Only one way to find out, but I doubt it, unless you enjoy modest volumes only.
B) Nope. Yep, that's what happens anyways.
Finally, I was unable to convince the store rep to reposition the Source speakers so that they were in the same position as the Vantages (they always put the most expensive speaker on the outer edge) to see if the perceived expanded soundstage was due to the speaker or positioning. Is such an artifact possible?
Yep. With electrostat dipoles, you want to be sitting in the null. If you are crazy enough to go with ESL's, like I was, best is if you can treat the entire front wall, and have several feet between panel and front wall.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks!
Cheers.
EDIT: almost forgot, check used prices. If lucky, someone close by. My target pricing for a pair of used Summits would be maybe $5.25k, for example. Vantages... hm... maybe $2.75? Ok, just looked at audiogon, 2 pairs at 3k. I bet you can talk em down. They're tough to implement, more so with HT, and the economy means some folks need cash now.
