New Bookshelf speaker advice

[DJ7675]

In-room measurements aren't going to tell you much about the speakers.

I would find it interersting. And it would seem to be useful information above say 4-500hz. More than even posting the measurements even it would be helpful to him positioning the speakers and listening position as well. For me the purchase of a microphone and learning how to use it has been one of the most important things I have learned how to do in improving performance. Sometimes it is helpful when people post their measurements to get the hang of REW etc. YMMV of course

 

[Hench4Life]

I think the Aria's are the best choice from what's been discussed here, not that I'm biased!

There's some good suggestions here - I'm also a huge Revel fan. When I was bookshelf shopping a few months back, they were a finalist. As far as the Elac Debut Reference - for a product to generate that kind of showroom buzz that they did - out ahead of all the marketing hype - you know there's some there there. ASR seemed pretty smitten as well, but at the end of the day speakers are still a subjective thing.

The LS50's seem to be a love it or hate it kind of speaker, I'm not sure I fall into the latter category, but I was wondering what all the fuss was about when I got a chance to hear some. Then again the amplification I was hearing them through could have been better. No doubt, with the right matching and the right environment, they'll sing. I couldn't believe the R3 was related in any way however.

I'll be really interested to hear what you think of the little Arias, especially in comparison (as far as voicing) to your Cantons. I know the Canton's get a lot of love here, but I'm entirely unfamiliar with them in the 21st century.

Now to go totally off the rails:
The reason Crutchfield is charging almost $2k/pr is because they're only prime walnut or black. Focal calls the dark walnut "Noyer" which translated is a family of walnut. However, for some reason the dark walnut is always much, much less money than the other 2. My guess is it's because the veneer runs horizontally, so it's less expensive, and possibly not as aesthetically pleasing. ‍ I've seen more than one reviewer say it's vinyl though. I do find that a bit hard to believe, but then again at $1k off, it's believable.

Amazoid has the 906 in Noyer for $1k/pr new, No prices/availability on others. In fact, it seems as if the Aria is being phased out from places like Music Direct and others, which makes me wonder if the Kanta is about to become their "low end" model? I've suspected the ElectraBe is too expensive to produce (especially the W driver), and it wouldn't surprise me if the Aria is the same in some regard. There's an awful lot of detail work (leather covered baffle for crying out loud?) that's way beyond what other mfgr's are doing at the same price point. In China.

The Kanta (love it as I do) is nowhere nearly as rich in fit and finish details as the Electra or Aria. The Kanta polymer front baffle (white-paper friendly as it appears) must really be a huge cost-savings. They'd even toyed with the idea of having it be replaceable, so when the missus changes the sofa upholstery you can get a new color...

Anyway, I think you're going to be delighted with the 906, it's a gorgeous little speaker. I'm really impressed with that 6.5" flax driver, IMHO it's going to match up with a sub more seamlessly than the LS50.

 

[Jeff R.]

Thanks all for the input. I’ll keep u updated as I progress.


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[Jeff R.]

I may have them by either wed or Thursday


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[KEW]

Hold on another couple of days and I will have compared the Elac DBR-62's with my Vento's.

I was not impressed by the Andrew Jones Elacs I have heard - the original Debut and the UniFi (although I did feel the AJ pioneers were best for their price-point.
In the below review, Amir got my attention because nearly everyone else hyped the earlier Elacs as "game-changers". But Amir said:

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me for testing. The DBR-62 costs US $600 a pair from multiple sources/dealers. The DBR-62 comes in black and walnut finish or the distressed Oak and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I was "over" AJ, and am getting a little sick of hearing reviewers everything AJ does is amazing - kind of like Stepford wives - when my experience is they are decent speakers, but not going to embarrass other good speakers at the same price!
Hearing that someone who was not impressed with the others, but really liked this one piqued my curiosity so I ordered a pair from Crutchfield (who charges a flat $15 restocking fee and they pay return shipping if i don't like). I have listened to them for a few songs and I think they are, indeed, nice speakers, but I cannot pass judgement on a speaker without another speaker to compare it directly to. The Cantons are an obvious challenger since they are in the same $600 price range and are my current champion at this price!

Here are my comments comparing the Elac DBR-62 with the Canton Vento 820.2:

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62

I received the DBR-62's I ordered from Crutchfield and finally got the chance to do a comparison with the Canton Vento. I was inspired to check these out because Amir's review was very positive and he is generally a picky SOB! :) ;) He also caught my attention with his comment: So far my reviews...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[Jeff R.]

Here are my comments comparing the Elac DBR-62 with the Canton Vento 820.2:

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62

I received the DBR-62's I ordered from Crutchfield and finally got the chance to do a comparison with the Canton Vento. I was inspired to check these out because Amir's review was very positive and he is generally a picky SOB! :) ;) He also caught my attention with his comment: So far my reviews...

forums.audioholics.com

Thanks. That is a nice review. Sounds like the Elac are a really solid value. I am excited to hear the focals.


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[Jeff R.]

Anybody have some recommendations for a nice set of speaker stands that won’t break the bank. I’m thinking that I would like to keep them under $125 if possible. I have been scouring the web and having a hard time determining which ones are well built sturdy options. And what are junk...


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[Hench4Life]

Anybody have some recommendations for a nice set of speaker stands that won’t break the bank. I’m thinking that I would like to keep them under $125 if possible. I have been scouring the web and having a hard time determining which ones are well built sturdy options. And what are junk...


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Right at $125, I know I've seen the Pangea LS300 speaker stand get some recommendations. I think either New Record Day or Z Reviews on YT reviewed a pair or gave a brief overview some time back. For a good looking stand, the Sonus SF28 (28"), price varies with height but go to about $160ish. IMHO though, the plastic feet don't give me the warm and fuzzies. But, of all the 3rd market stands, they probably pass the WAF if that's an issue. I've seen them in use, and they seem to be ok.

I see the Focal Chora speaker stands are $200, not sure if they'd work with the Aria (those stands are pricey).

Out of all of these, one that I can recommend first hand is the Monolith stand. They're built like tanks, not particularly nice looking but definitely rigid and dense. They look very similar to the slightly more expensive Pangea stands, if they're not exactly the same and just an OEM. Again, depending on height they go a bit above $150/pr. They have a nice thick crinkle black finish on them. Not sure if they come with pucks, but I think you can get a bag for $10 if necessary.

 

[Jeff R.]

Right at $125, I know I've seen the Pangea LS300 speaker stand get some recommendations. I think either New Record Day or Z Reviews on YT reviewed a pair or gave a brief overview some time back. For a good looking stand, the Sonus SF28 (28"), price varies with height but go to about $160ish. IMHO though, the plastic feet don't give me the warm and fuzzies. But, of all the 3rd market stands, they probably pass the WAF if that's an issue. I've seen them in use, and they seem to be ok.

I see the Focal Chora speaker stands are $200, not sure if they'd work with the Aria (those stands are pricey).

Out of all of these, one that I can recommend first hand is the Monolith stand. They're built like tanks, not particularly nice looking but definitely rigid and dense. They look very similar to the slightly more expensive Pangea stands, if they're not exactly the same and just an OEM. Again, depending on height they go a bit above $150/pr. They have a nice thick crinkle black finish on them. Not sure if they come with pucks, but I think you can get a bag for $10 if necessary.

I did see the monoprice stands and they seem to have a few good options. Is seems they are identical to a few on amazon under another name.


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[Hench4Life]

I did see the monoprice stands and they seem to have a few good options. Is seems they are identical to a few on amazon under another name.


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I'm guessing they OEM, I'd probably grab whatever is cheapest and has the smallest logo!

Target used to be my go-to. They've not only gotten really pricey, they also seem to have dropped their "frame" style stands. While not as attractive, I think those were by far the most stable and inert.

 

[Jeff R.]

Here are some pics. Got the running last night for an hour or so. These are some very nice looking speakers.

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[Jeff R.]

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[Jeff R.]

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[Jeff R.]

So I got about 1 hour of listening in last night and I am very happy with the results. The speakers are very close to what I have read about with the tweeter performance. It is very clean and crisp, but has a smoothness that I really like, a little more tame than the ceramic in the ventos. I would say what was completely unexpected was the tone and crispness of the woofer. It was amazing on guitar strings, bongo drums and other similar type of sounding instruments. I am not sure I have ever experienced this type of realistic reproduction. It felt like it was capturing the vibration of the string or drum with amazing accuracy. I played some songs on a station on Amazon called La Guitarra that I have been enjoying lately and this Mexican guitars style music and the spring and drum action was awesome.. One song in particular stood out. Mediterranean Sundance by Al Di Meola. It was pretty spectacular on these.
These are also being used on a super budget Denon receiver and they are being crossed at 80hz and coupled with my DIY Eclipse 10" sub (this is a pretty nice little 10" that I really like for music)

More to come...

 

[Pogre]

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Just looking at those beautiful speakers gets my pulse up, lol.

 

[afterlife2]

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Too dark need to see those beauties and hide those wires.

 

[Jeff R.]

Too dark need to see those beauties and hide those wires.
View attachment 36024

Yes, this weekend is wire organization, it is a mess at the moment. I had some Swan Diva 4.2 siting there prior and still have extra long wire sitting around till I made all the final room setup decision.

 

[Hench4Life]

Congrats! Those are some real lookers. That leather baffle...

Now to get a couple hundred hours on them to loosen up!

So I got about 1 hour of listening in last night and I am very happy with the results. The speakers are very close to what I have read about with the tweeter performance. It is very clean and crisp, but has a smoothness that I really like, a little more tame than the ceramic in the ventos. I would say what was completely unexpected was the tone and crispness of the woofer. It was amazing on guitar strings, bongo drums and other similar type of sounding instruments. I am not sure I have ever experienced this type of realistic reproduction. It felt like it was capturing the vibration of the string or drum with amazing accuracy. I played some songs on a station on Amazon called La Guitarra that I have been enjoying lately and this Mexican guitars style music and the spring and drum action was awesome.. One song in particular stood out. Mediterranean Sundance by Al Di Meola. It was pretty spectacular on these.

These are also being used on a super budget Denon receiver and they are being crossed at 80hz and coupled with my DIY Eclipse 10" sub (this is a pretty nice little 10" that I really like for music)

More to come...

Sounds like you're having a similar experience to me on acoustic/percussive sounds, I'm glad they're not showing off any deficiencies of your system.

I have to say, I'm really impressed with the flax drivers. My biggest fear was they wouldn't have the speed of the W driver, and wind up being a little flabby (which I've heard complaints about). Once again, wrong component matching and bad setup IMO.

 

[ryanosaur]

Now to get a couple hundred hours on them to loosen up!

Funny thing... Most speaker designers I've chatted with don't seem to see any difference between an overnight run with 1w of pink noise, or 16 nights... In fact, several tests show that the "warm up" is very short lived, and that the effect on the TS Parameters is so minor as to be not worth the cost of electricity or labor. Rather a few hours of loosening a driver up is all it takes, after that...

It's all in the ears of the beholder.

Speaker break-in is all about LISTENER BREAK IN. It is your ears getting used to the sound.

From a tested technical standpoint, the drivers do not change in any significant manner.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Funny thing... Most speaker designers I've chatted with don't seem to see any difference between an overnight run with 1w of pink noise, or 16 nights... In fact, several tests show that the "warm up" is very short lived, and that the effect on the TS Parameters is so minor as to be not worth the cost of electricity or labor. Rather a few hours of loosening a driver up is all it takes, after that...

It's all in the ears of the beholder.

Speaker break-in is all about LISTENER BREAK IN. It is your ears getting used to the sound.

From a tested technical standpoint, the drivers do not change in any significant manner.

Yep...