Opinions on the following bookshelf speakers

[fuzz092888]

I'll throw this out there to give a different perspective. I've heard several pairs of Totems and I liked them. They sounded clean, had a nice soundstage, imaged well and had half decent bass response (the monitors anyways). The towers I heard were the same, albeit with much more bass.

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Heh Heh. There are just no simple answers are there? Anyway, where are you able to find pricing for Revel speakers? I hate that you can't just go and look up some price list and figure out what speakers to consider, with so many of these brands.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Heh Heh. There are just no simple answers are there? Anyway, where are you able to find pricing for Revel speakers? I hate that you can't just go and look up some price list and figure out what speakers to consider, with so many of these brands.

Nice to personally know a dealer who is authorized for Revel, KEF, and plenty of other brands.

That way you could get higher-end products for the same price as lower-end.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Here is a pair of Revel M20 on AudiogoN listed for $949. Make an offer for $750. You never know.

Revel Performa M20 Bookshelf Speakers | Full range | Chicago, Illinois 60657 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

I also have a pair of ATC SCM7 (made in England, MSRP $1000) I can sell for $550 shipped.

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Holy s**t, those M20 speakers are 45lb each. These are the exactly the sort of thing I'd never have the will to deal with especially when it comes to returning them if unsatisfactory. Shipping alone should cost a fortune on those. Maybe I should find a nearby Revel dealer and try to listen to some speakers. The M20 appears to be a discontinued model though.

 

[ImcLoud]

Here is a pair of Revel M20 on AudiogoN listed for $949. Make an offer for $750. You never know.

Revel Performa M20 Bookshelf Speakers | Full range | Chicago, Illinois 60657 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

I also have a pair of ATC SCM7 (made in England, MSRP $1000) I can sell for $550 shipped.

I would take the scm7's over the revels , I heard a pair of them being driven by a pair of 305 watt mono blocks and HOLY OUTPUT batman.... I would offer acudef $500 I think he needs the money , lol...

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Imcloud: I'm calling you on this. My guess is that you have a thing for British speakers. Can't be a coincidence. Although you did find favorably for PSB. But I'm on to something... I can sense it. Nothing wrong if you have a preference.

 

[fuzz092888]

Imcloud: I'm calling you on this. My guess is that you have a thing for British speakers. Can't be a coincidence. Although you did find favorably for PSB. But I'm on to something... I can sense it. Nothing wrong if you have a preference.

There's nothing to call him on. He's opinionated and extremely brand loyal (NTTAWWT).

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Not the best choice of words on my part, perhaps. What I meant is "I think I'm spotting a trend here". As I already said, it doesn't really matter. Just banter. Appreciate the inputs anyway.

Which brings me to the next question:
Where can I go to listen to speakers from some of these brands in southern California? There ought to be a bunch of places in the LA region.

 

[fuzz092888]

It's too bad monkish isn't around. He's around that area I think and knows a ton of places. You can look him up and PM him.

 

[ImcLoud]

Imcloud: I'm calling you on this. My guess is that you have a thing for British speakers. Can't be a coincidence. Although you did find favorably for PSB. But I'm on to something... I can sense it. Nothing wrong if you have a preference.

I prefer warm sound, and I am very sensitive to bright speakers, listener fatigue sets in very fast with me and I like to listen for hours at a time. The wharfedale and other "British" speakers tend to use soft tweeters and be geared towards warm accurate sound, which in an earlier post is what you wanted....

If you are looking for someone to say "this is the best speaker for that amount of money" you are out of luck, because what sounds good to me may be horrid to you, I own a lot of speakers, and prefer bookshelfs crossed to subs, since I also prefer a strong low end...

Obviously the best thing for you to do is go listen locally, the best way to find a place to listen is to go to the speaker companies websites you are interested in and there will be a link that says "where to buy" or "find a distributer" {for example PSB Find a Dealer / Distributor - PSB Speakers } and put in your zip, them shoppes will most likely sell an array of high end equipment..... As far as me liking the PSB's they have a ti tweeter but they sound so smooth you will never doubt that company again, them t2's can stand with almost every tower I have heard under $10K, your budget would put you in the Imagine mini territory so you wouldnt get much for your money, but even them are amazing little speakers...

Did you check out the csb1's, they have a very nice high end and a HUGE sound stage.... heres a pic of mine all set up {almost all set up} for $900 you get a pair of them and a sb1000 and I don't care what bookshelfs you compare that setup to, nothing for $900 is touching it.... Bang for buck, and they aren't bristish, they are AMERICAN.... No shame in a 2.1 system, I like 2.2 because the subs smooth in a little better and dont work as hard, but most people cant even tell the difference...

If you like the style of the dentons, I still think they are the way to go, the sound can NOT disappoint you...

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Yes, what you said about listening type and sound preference fits me quite accurately, except I don't listen hours on end anymore .

I know nobody can tell me this is the best speaker; go get it. I was just looking for an easy way to pare down my list to something manageable. 4 or 5 choices that I can pick from. If somebody told me forget about choice A - terrible bass extension, or choice B has a harsh high end, or that C was muddy sounding in the lower midrange, I would think maybe I can skip those. Anyway, I know how this works. I know about finding dealers on their website. Many of these don't list any dealers. Maybe I'll just have to ignore them. Example: Quad.

If somebody has specific knowledge of dealers in this area (such as A has good folks, B has a good selection, C is snobby, etc) do let me know.

 

[ImcLoud]

I think you are missing out on a lot of options by not looking into ID companies, especially in your price range. Specifically the sierras they are a really nice bookshelf, although I personally think the dentons are better for 2.0 music, I own 2 pairs of sierras one with the tweeter upgrade and one without, its a tough speaker to beat in a BM store for the price, for example, the only speakers my local-ish shoppe sells in your price range would be the wharfedale diamond 10.1, 10.2, the psb mini's {and a the lesser psb series}, some kefs and some b&w's, nothing I would really compare to the sierras, philharmonics, mmg's, ect...

for 2.0 music I would be VERY picky, mostly about the low end, and I would most likely want a preamp with some type of "bass boost" like my parasound 2100, 2 way {probably want at least a 6.5" driver and soft tweet}... And I would make sure to have enough power to keep them "full", not sure about your listening habits, but I want the room full, the bass strong, mids as close to perfect as possible with no' brightness in the high end... I have noticed for some reason, bookshelfs with impressive bass response are not efficient at all, so a couple hundred watts is nice, my 2.2 that I put above has a pair of 200w monos and a pair of 400w subs, in a 300 sq ft room, its just rite at 1/2 volume, and them are crossed at 80hz..

 

[cpp]

Yes, what you said about listening type and sound preference fits me quite accurately, except I don't listen hours on end anymore .

I know nobody can tell me this is the best speaker; go get it. I was just looking for an easy way to pare down my list to something manageable. 4 or 5 choices that I can pick from. If somebody told me forget about choice A - terrible bass extension, or choice B has a harsh high end, or that C was muddy sounding in the lower midrange, I would think maybe I can skip those. Anyway, I know how this works. I know about finding dealers on their website. Many of these don't list any dealers. Maybe I'll just have to ignore them. Example: Quad.

If somebody has specific knowledge of dealers in this area (such as A has good folks, B has a good selection, C is snobby, etc) do let me know.

Here's the deal, people all have opinions, they have different music taste, different rooms, different components. So, I would recommend you do this. You talk about Southern Ca. Is it possible for you to actually go listen to any of these speakers or any speakers for that matter with your personal taste of music ?

I say take a day off and go see a few stores, don't rush do your homework ... GNP Audio I think the last one on the list is out of business.

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Slow down there... take a day off... . I didn't even do that when I was buying my last car! Everything fit into Saturdays, and so it shall be with this .

I always intended to go and listen to a few: but that's the key word - few. Not doing a dozen and not taking 2-3 months to do it. Which is what will happen with ID speakers. There's no looking into ID speakers - only buying, trying, and possibly returning. I am not new to ID. I have bought them before. Not doing so this time. If I'm losing out on something, so be it. It's just not worth the hassle to me. Right now there are a gazillion calls on my time (except during the daytime M-F, as work is slow these days and that's why I'm here ), and buying a pair of speakers doesn't justify endless allocation of time and effort. Had I been a bachelor with different priorities, it might have been different.

I might after all consider those PSBs. In the meanwhile, cpp has started me off with a few stores. I am definitely going to pop in at some of them. This is an example of something very useful that I obtained from this thread. I had searched too, but came up with different names - and their web storefronts conveyed very little. I like cpp's list better.

 

[tmurnin]

I own a set of Totem Rainmakers and love the sound, not as big of a fan of the Dreamcatcher or Mite series. I also own a set of Aperion Verus bookshelves, which for $699 are fantastic. Aperion also has a 30 day return policy with free shipping both ways if you don't like them - that may be the ultimate time-saver for you.

 

[pg_rider]

I bought a pair of LSA Monitor One's this January after having Paradigm Studio 10 bookshelf speakers. I love the LSAs for their price (paid $650 used, but you can get them new for $600 now). The imaging and soundstaging is great. Not the most revealing tweeter, but after having my ears fried by the Paradigms I actually enjoy the "darker" sound. Bass is very good, but I run dual subs so I'm not too concerned either way. Finally, they're a gorgeous speaker to look at!

Here's a demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QweUweQ1i-Q

And a picture:

 

[AbyssalLoris]

So I thought I'd report back after hearing a few speakers. Some from my list and some outside of the list. At this point, I'm just listening to whatever I can get my hands on. Here are my impressions. I use the acoustic jargon loosely, my interpretation might be way off what the convention is. Please feel free to discount. Time spent listening was pretty short.

1. Totem Rainmaker: Overall, they seemed clear enough. Low-end unimpressive. Didn't stand out in any way, although I didn't feel that they were too far from neutral. Finish was pretty nice.

2. Dynaudio DM2/7: Liked very much. I thought they were clear and tending towards warm. Low end was quite punchy and had enough extension for my needs. Liked the midrange and highs (easy on the ears but didn't feel inaccurate), lows were good but not without some muddiness. Finish is vinyl and ho-hum.

3. Dynaudio Excite (X16 I think): Very similar to the DM2/7 in my opinion. I want to say they were a little more refined, but I'm not even sure what I mean by that myself. No complaints. Finish is nicer than the DM2/7.

4. Goldenear Aon 3: Very different than all the others I have heard. I will say straightaway that I did not like it. Supposedly great low-freq extension though I couldn't tell. Maybe I didn't have the right track for it. Sound had a warm quality to it. Some may have found it refined, but I found it inaccurate. Very. Perhaps because I was directly comparing to the Paradigm Studio 20 that I was also listening to (described next). These are very contrasting speakers. Sounded oddly colored at all ranges. I don't have the proper words for it. It's almost as though the sound was "rolling" from one note to the next. But it was easy on the ears. A possible contributing factor could have been closeness to the rear wall, but I don't believe this is rear ported, is it?

5. Paradigm Studio 20: Quite excellent. I found these to be neutral, accurate and very detailed. Again, perhaps simply by comparison to the Goldenears above. Punchy low-end. Distortion free everywhere. Clear highs, but I'm not sure if they were a little bright. Again, I suspect I might find them bright playing certain rock tracks. The difference between these and #4 above was startling on an acoustic guitar track where you could hear the twanging of the string articulately on the Paradigms but simply not so on the Goldenears. Some people may prefer this, but I can't get over the speakers not putting out something that is present on the recording.

So far, that's all. Of these I would pick either the Paradigm or Dynaudio DM2/7 (simply because the Excite doesn't seem to justify the cost differential). I am totally unable to compare between the Paradigm and the Dynaudio as I heard them at different locations and different days. The comparison is very unclear in my mind. Any inputs from people who have heard both is appreciated. Note that the Studio 20 is outside my budget, but there is reason to believe that the Studio 10 is similar except for bass extension. A used pair might also pop-up somewhere.

I am hoping to hear a few more speakers over the next few days.