Speaker Help -- Not finding what I want, need suggestions

[AMG_Roadster]

Not yet. I am going to try and go listen to speakers this weekend.

At this point I have three speakers that are on my list for re-auditioning prior to making a purchase.

1) Gallo Reference 3's -- Fantastic looking speakers. The speakers while having some issues overall sounded very good. They did need some more break in time (if it truly matters) for the best quality sound.

2) Focal 918's -- Best sounding speaker I have heard up to this point. Great sound stage, great presence, sounds the most natural.

3) B&W 803S's -- They have a fantastic reputation and all the reviews are outstanding. While I was blown away the first time I think they should be given another listen.

 

[mdrew]

Whatchaget? Whatchaget? Whatchaget? Whatchaget? ........hu-hu!!!

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Well, I went out listening to speakers last weekend and it was kind of a bust.

Heard the Focal 1027be's. The sounded great but did not have the wow I was expecting. Not sure if that was due to them not being broken in (ok, lets not start the debate about breaking in speakers), the room they were in, their placement, my expectations or what. The look fantastic and I would like to hear them again. I also listened to the focal 918's again. Different room, different setup, still sound great but not as impressive as the first time I heard them.

Next I went to hear a number of other speakers. Have a little trouble finding the store. Once I do locate it I find out they are closed on the weekend.

The JM Labs Focal speakers are still the front runners. In fact I came very close to purchasing a pair of 927be's recently. Down side, they were not local and could not listen to them. Upside nice price, look great, full warranty. In the end I did not pull the trigger. First there are a couple of other speakers I would like to hear before I make a decision. Next I did some more research and felt that the 927be's were going to be a bit weak in the low end and would have to have a sub to complement them. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I need to get a sub and not sure that I want to spend the money I am looking at for speakers + sub all at one time.

I am hoping on Monday I will have time to go listen to a pair of Vienna Acoustics I want to hear.

Now initially I had stated I could not have a sub arrive at the house without replacing the speakers the wife hates (due to the look of the speakers). But I believe I have that problem solved. I have been offered a pair of Mirage floor standing speakers for free. Now I have not listened to the Mirage and heard very mixed things but you can't go wrong for that price. The plan is to pick them up. The look of the mirage should satisfy the wife. I believe she will like the look better than the current Phase Tech speakers. I will most likely order the earthquake mkv-15 sub in the next 1.5 weeks. That will push my speaker shopping back probably a month or two. On the positive note I am now ending up with enough pairs of decent (good(?) but not great) speakers. I will now have enough speakers to populate a dedicated HT in the basement and a theater (based around a flat panel TV) in the living room.

Still on my list to hear:
Vienna Acoustics
KEF
Tannoy's
PSB's
Revel
and several others.

So I am still shopping for speakers. As I audition more I will populate this thread with my opinions.

Expect to see a thread shortly on sub ex options. Everyone talks about the BFD, SMS-1, and Rane. Is there anything in between these products both performance & price wise? You can get the BFD for $100 and the SMS for $599. Is there something better than the bfd in the $250-$399 range?

 

[pearsall001]

AMG Roadster

I went through the same dilemna as you are in now. The only difference was the WAF. She pretty much goes along w/ whatever I like, lucky for me. I did listen to most of the speakers on your list. I really liked the B&W's & Gallo's but they just didn't grab me by the balls so to speak. One local dealer carries the Gallo's along w/ Von Schweikert, Consonance, Zu, Spendor, Polk, & a host of many others to long to mention. I spent 3 back to back weekends w/ my trusted music in hand & really listened to all of them. Then he showed me a pair of AAD 2001 Monitors from AAD Audio,(designed by the legendary Phil Jones) I never heard of them either. Well let me tell you I was floored & they literally grabed me by the ball & wouldn't let go. The owner Steve just smiled, laughed & said my reaction was typical when listening to the AAD's. Needless to say I didn't believe my ears so I had to go back again to confirm what I heard. Yup, same reaction again - I told him to write up the sale. Check out their full line at AADAUDIO.COM. The only drawback is that they don't have a lot of USA dealers. They are well known in other countries. They just came out w/ a new line the PMM I believe. Only available ib stunning piano black.

 

[mdrew]

AMG,
I think you need to hear the Opus line before you give up. Where are you located? The dealer I bought mine from is in NC (sound advice stereo) and carries numerous speaker lines and also has great prices. I use a sub with my two channel system, but don’t really need it with the Opus 2’s. I have it set to 45, down from 60 where I had it set with my last set of towers. They just have a lot of presence and a huge sound stage. I had some concerns with the dome tweeter and dome mid range driver thinking the tweeter would lack in detail and that the mids would be loss, but was pleasantly surprised. Plus, with the curvature of the front of the cabinet and all drivers, the need to toe the speakers to the listening position is gone. The highs are very detailed, but yet don’t feel like an ice pick getting rammed into my ear at high DB’s like some detailed speakers do. Then there’s the bass. Lot’s of it and it’s not boomy or sloppy. Heck, they even build them as matched sets with matched drivers and send you a frequency graph of each speaker and also keep one on file in case you ever have to replace a driver.

I normally don't try to push what I like on to someboby else as we all have unique tasts, but the more I read what I "think" you prefer, I have a feeling the Opus just might be for you. There's a few of us Opus owners around and keep in contact. I might be able to find one close to your location.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

I have heard of the Opus but have never heard them. I am located in Atlanta. mdrew if you know someone with a pair in the area let me know. I would like to go check the speakers out.

I am open to all suggestions on speakers and will certainly check out you guys have posted.

I have never heard of AAD. Just looked at their offerings on their site. Very nice looking speakers. They do not have a bad looking product. The Paino Gloss would work well for the wife. Now I need to see if I can find a dealer.

Went to try and find an AAD dealer in the Atlanta Area. Their website is of no help, there is no listing of dealers. Tried to use the 'contact' us option and they do not appear to have their flash setup correctly.

 

[Tomorrow]

Hey, AMG....

I think after all your auditioning and WAF waffling (WAFfling?!) and Libra "this but that" pro/con deliberations, you ought to write a book....sort of a Richard Brautigan update. Speaker Shopping In America! (Trout Fishing worked pretty well for Richard.)

I ordered my ACI's this week. A review will follow. (I'll sell you the secret for making a decision on speakers for a small fee. LOL! Or you could by my old speaks for cheap. )

Hope you find something.

 

[ricocetj]

The Real AAD

Edit: I re-read the post which I alluded to and realized pearsall001 cleared things up. Apparently, www.aadaudio.com is the real company, though aadsound.com still uses Phil Jones' name and likeness.
Jeremy

 

[cornelius]

AMG, I feel your pain - I listened to EVERYTHING, before I settled on my current rig. I would suggest Focus Audio FS78se or DeVore Fidelity Gibbon 8 (or even the 3). Sounds like we have somewhat the same tastes, so give them a try if you can. I heard the Focus Audios with some really nice Blue Circle gear at the HT Show in NY last year, and heard the Gibbon 3s a few days ago - and was really impressed!

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Those Focus Audio Master's are impressive looking speakers. I can get by with ~46" speakers but much taller than that and it is an issue. They of course have other speakers that size wise would work better. Too bad there is no dealer in town.

Devore fidelity on the other had has a dealer in the area. I will have to go check them out.

At this point I do not think I am in a huge hurry. Although the problem I am starting to run into is keeping all the speakers clear in my mind. I need to start taking notes at the store.

 

[TjMV3]

AMG,

I own the Wharfedale Opus 2.

I live roughly 20 minutes outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

If you're ever in this area or plan on coming to this area, and you're interested in dropping by to listen to my Opus 2 speakers-feel free to contact me with a PM, and set a date and time.


It would be my pleasure to introduce you to the Wharfedale Opus 2


Hi Mike

 

[TjMV3]

Bump up for AMG

 

[timechaser]

AMG - I know the road you are on (WAF), been there, done that, and B&W solved my problem too (although in my case it is the M-1 bookshelfs). I heard the XT-4 speakers in my search, and they sound really really nice. Had I had the budget, the wife wouldnt have objected.

Good luck - and do let us know when/which speakers you get.

 

[AMG_Roadster]

I realized in a pervious post I said I was blown away by the 803S's. That was a mis-statement. I was not blown away by the 803's. In general I was rather disappointed with the B&W's. I just did not feel like they lived up to their reputation/price tag.

TjMV3 thanks for the invite. If I am in the area or can get away for enough time to give them a good listen I will let you know.

I did end up with a pair of speakers yesterday. I got a pair of Mirage 7MSi's. Bit anticlimatic for you? Don't worry these are not the speakers I am shopping for. I was offered the speakers at too good of a price to pass up. This weekend I am going to try and do some back to back listening and compare them to my current Phase Techs. The real plan for these speakers is that they will go in the basement in a dedicated HT.

Now away from the side show and back to the main ring.

This weekend I am off to audition some more speakers. Based on a recommendation here I am going to go give the DeVore's a listen. I will give the Gobbon Super 8's a listen and probably the Silverback References.

The shop also carries Avalon Acoustics and Von Schweikert. I am going to try and check out these speakers also. The place I am going to actually demo's the speakers out of the owners house so I am not sure homw many speakers I am going to be able to work through. I will let you guys know what I think.

If anyone has any comments on the Von Schweikert's or Avalons please let me know. Also if you have any suggestions on other speakers to listen to I am open.

 

[Diapason]

Phew!

I'm new to the forum so have just got through reading this topic. I was going to suggest listening to some PMCs (http://www.pmcloudspeaker.com) cos I think they sound great (especially if you have an amp with any kind of grunt). Unfortunately, they're probably not going to meet the WAF criteria since they're all pretty much ugly square wooden boxes. The exception is the Active AML1 which I've heard great things about...

Si

 

[AMG_Roadster]

Heard two new speakers tonight.

First up were the DeVore Silverbacks. I decided to pass on listening to these speakers. These speakers retail for $15k which is a bit out of my speaker price range (could have gotten them for a better price but not sure if it would have been enough to matter). Not to mention they were probably on the large size for the wife. If I had had more time probably would have listened to them.

The first speakers I listened to were DeVore Gibbon 8's. They were smaller than I expected. They just continue in the line of speakers that are highly regarded but just do not meet what I am looking for. They just did not have the presence I like in a speaker. They also seemed to shift from the midrange to the tweeters too soon. They were fairly laid back speakers.

Next up were the Von Schweikert Vr4jr's. Fantastic looking speaker. Loved the shape, size, and apparent build quality. They had great presence and put out a surprising amount of bass for 2 6" drivers. If I did not know better I would have sworn a sub woofer was running. They had strong, tight bass. I am not sure if it was the way they were hooked up or the speaker themselves but they had some odd transitions. They would go at times seem to get too bright. Like the electronics in the cross overs got confused on what to send where.

So it is two more speakers lines that are down and only a couple hundred more to go through.

On another note I did get a pair of Mirage MSi-7's hooked up this weekend. Have not given them much of a listen but my initial impression is that they have a surprising amount of bass but seem to be lacking a bit in the mids. I was offered these speakers at a price I could not refuse. They are not too take the place of the main speakers I have been shopping for.

 

[HK_M3]

I enjoyed reading your posts! I myself am currently on the same journey....I am not impressed with B&W having listened all the way up and down their speaker line.......I had a chance to do some direct comparisons to some Revel speakers...

I will say now that The Revel F12's (Only $1300 for the floorstanding pair) are some -incredible- sounding speakers. They aren't really robust on the lower bass extension but they do everything else.

They do an incredible job of dissapearing....very natural...-especially- in comparison to the B&W's...makes them sound -way- to bright...

Let me know how the search goes...

-Nate

 

[Fastnbulbous]

I feel like I read a book and was robbed of the ending! So did you find what you want? Or did your wife kick you out of the house?

There were some nice recommendations and descriptions here. I added a few to my poll that covers pretty much a similar range, but had trouble finding any pricing for the AAD and Devore. Also, it seems the previously mentioned models of AAD and Focals were discontinued in the past eight months, as I couldn't find them on the manufacturers' sites.

AAD Silver-7, $?
Devore Fidelity Gibbon 8, $?
Salk Veracity QW, $2,999
Focal-JM Labs Electra 926, $2,700
Boston Acoustics VR-M90, $2,700
KEF Reference 203, $2,600
Gallo Nucleus Reference 3.1, $2,600