speaker selection help

[JOHN FICKEL]

LOL my thoughts are more along the lines that in such a "high end" shop I'd embarass them for their lack of actual knowledge should I go in and start asking questions of my own design....

Yea lol

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

I've seen a few places but they appear to be ultra high end. I'd probably just embarrass myself if I walked into a place like that

No you would not embarrass yourself. I've been in this business for so long and I'm still learning

 

[KenM10759]

I'm also in sales, not audio but industrial business to business. I have to deal with customers who own million dollar machines yet argue about the price of a $5 drill. I also have customers who use reliable machines still sporting a "war stamp" tag from 1944 and was paid for the day it was placed, but recognize that with the higher quality tools it can compete.

Amazing the range of who values what. To some, their employees are the gold and treat them as such by getting them both the most productive machinery and the latest high performance tools to maximize their investment in people and technology. To others, they'll hire the cheapest, least experienced people they can get and spend their day wondering why the million dollar machine isn't making $100 today with the $2 drill. And I treat them all with the same degree of respect...until they prove to me they're not worthy of it by disrespecting me. I never get confrontational, I just stop visiting to waste my time and get abused.

 

[KenM10759]

Unfortunately I don't have somewhere that can put them next to the polks and Kef's I mentioned earlier. Have you listened to all three?

Yeah, I wish I had that luxury of getting to listen to it all. You guys are familiar with places near Kansas City that do that are you?

I checked the dealer locator on KEF's website and found Sun AV at 9210 S. Howard Rd., Lee's Summit MO 64040. How far is that from you? They may have the Q series in stock according to KEF, but you could call ahead to learn what they do have.

816-654-4479

 

[everettT]

I personally love huge tower speaker.. I wish the RF-7 was bigger lol. Looks way nicer.. I even have a pair of Cerwin-VEGA XLS-215. They kick ass !

You just lost your man card There are two places CVs belong , at a frat party or a trash can . Back to the philharmonic audio BMR, the speakers are so neutral that you can apply eq if you want colored sound. Just think in the middle of MO, people will ask who makes those, they sound incredible. Now if you listen to crap they will make crap sound really bad

 

[RBGOBLUE]

Golden ear

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

You just lost your man card There are two places CVs belong , at a frat party or a trash can . Back to the philharmonic audio BMR, the speakers are so neutral that you can apply eq if you want colored sound. Just think in the middle of MO, people will ask who makes those, they sound incredible. Now if you listen to crap they will make crap sound really bad

I don't think they sound like crap. Those are a lot of speaker for the money

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

Back to everything is personal preference

 

[everettT]

I don't think they sound like crap. There are a lot of speaker for the money

Ok, but you don't find many that have that opinion. I was just stating my experience around them. since everyones ears are different, my recommendation of the BMR is one that is so neutral that applying eq to tailor the sound is easy and non problematic. Most that have head speakers designed by Dennis have a very high opinion of them

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

Hey it's ok. We're all friends..

 

[lovinthehd]

Ok, but you don't find many that have that opinion. I was just stating my experience around them. since everyones ears are different, my recommendation of the BMR is one that is so neutral that applying eq to tailor the sound is easy and non problematic. Most that have head speakers designed by Dennis have a very high opinion of them

Not that I consider the contents of this blog to be worth much due the many silly cable reco's parrticularly....but they did like the XLS215 here

....even with eq.

I had CV speakers a long time ago, they were competent. Dennis' stuff is too. Not a huge difference in the larger scheme of things....really boils down to your own preferences.

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

Yes you're right it boils down to personal preference. People not only have different opinions on how they sound, but if they are going to look good in their room. Aesthetics are a big thing too. I've had people say, even if they sound phenomenal, if they don't look the way they want them to look, they don't care. And will not buy.

 

[shadyJ]

Not that I consider the contents of this blog to be worth much due the many silly cable reco's parrticularly....but they did like the XLS215 here

....even with eq.

I had CV speakers a long time ago, they were competent. Dennis' stuff is too. Not a huge difference in the larger scheme of things....really boils down to your own preferences.

Here is some measurements for the CLS215. The bass is quite elevated compared to the rest of the frequencies. I have always thought of CW as the poor man's Klipsch.

 

[lovinthehd]

Here is some measurements for the CLS215. The bass is quite elevated compared to the rest of the frequencies. I have always thought of CW as the poor man's Klipsch.

Different model (how different I don't know). Perhaps better to have more bass capability than less....you can always eq less response easily enough....

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

I have the new and improved XLS-215. They have gotten awesome reviews. There in a second system . I have two pair of RF-7iis in my main system. The XLS-215 is great for the price. The Cerwin-Vegas are more of a concert PA speaker. They are not for a audiophile speaker. But with a great amp. I ran a MX-1 Yamaha and it sounded AWESOME. Most people put low priced cheap receivers on them. (You can't ).

 

[KenM10759]

Cerwin Vega speakers were popular in movie theaters for a brief time in the 1970's. Years later I heard some model of them in a large cabinet that sat just off the floor, too big to be considered a "bookshelf" or even a stand mount speaker.

Those were among the most grating speakers I've ever heard. Right up there with the cheapest of the Klispch. There was bass, lots of it. There was sharp highs. There was mud in the middle. It was painful to think I'd heard better out of some Bose speakers.

Perhaps I'm compensating a little now with the even-keeled nature of the very neutral KEF that are actually a little soft at the highest frequencies, but I am VERY happy with them. My 25 year old son is equally pleased with his Q series setup.

 

[Don G.]

Couple of comments to the OP. There are lots of good suggestions in this thread. But if you can't demo them in your home, you will never know how they will sound to you running in your room with your equipment.

The KEF's mentioned are good speakers. You have up to 30 days to try them out, if you don't like them, return them and pay a 15% restocking fee. There are also several Internet Direct companies out there making very good speakers. Someone already mentioned Dennis Murphy's Philharmonic's. Dennis is wizard with cross overs.

The other obvious option is looking on Audiogon or EBay and going used. You can get some really nice used speakers locally I am sure for that kind on money and you can go demo them before you buy.

Just a few suggestions. I have bought many sets of speakers used and have yet to get a lemon.

Good luck!

 

[KenM10759]

KEF "Certified Factory Refurbished" speakers bought from Accessories4Less.com are subject to only a 5% restocking fee, new speakers at 10%, none at 15%. The certified factory refurbished I and my son have bought from them (Q300 pair, Q200c center, Q800ds surrounds, and iQ10 bookshelf pair) have all come out of the sealed KEF box being undetectable from NEW. Not one mark.

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

You're absolutely right. Demoing them in your home is crucial. Speakers definitely sound different in you're home, then they do on the showroom floor. I was just fortunate to bring stuff home from the store, if I didn't like them, return them. The one big problem with that is there's not a whole lot of stores that allow you to do that.

 

[Don G.]

You're absolutely right. Demoing them in your home is crucial. Speakers definitely sound different in you're home, then they do on the showroom floor. I was just fortunate to bring stuff home from the store, if I didn't like them, return them. The one big problem with that is there's not a whole lot of stores that allow you to do that.

Yeah, I had to drive 2 hours each way and load 500 lbs of speakers in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. If they would not have sounded good when I got home, I would have had to sell them. But if you buy used and you get a decent deal, the risk is small. And these speakers are almost universally liked. Nevertheless, I was lucky.