thinking it's time for an LCR upgrade

[NINaudio]

Might be a brand to look into you heard of chane audio what are there signature our split gap woofers ??

Their center channel doesn't meet my specifications.

 

[NINaudio]

What’s lobing?

Check out this article for information on center channels:

center channel designs

 

[Edwinbugatti]

Hello I am new to Audioholics. Im torn between Focal Aria 936, Monitor Audio Silver 500 and Revelf 206. I can all for about the same price. I plan on using them stricktly for music in a 2 channel setup.
Thank you

 

[zieglj01]

Hello I am new to Audioholics. Im torn between Focal Aria 936, Monitor Audio Silver 500 and Revelf 206. I can all for about the same price. I plan on using them stricktly for music in a 2 channel setup.
Thank you

Find a way to listen to them or at least a couple of them -- no one can really speak for your ears

 

[Edwinbugatti]

Find a way to listen to them or at least a couple of them -- no one can really speak for your ears

Thank you. Its gonna be hard for me to audition any of these. I did listen to the Revel Concerta f36 towers and sounded good to me . Way better than Martin Logan 60xt. I will be using an Arcam SA20 and want to make sure I pair it with speakers that sound good even at high volumes. The Revel Performa3 f206 are 88db and the Tannoys Revolutions are 90db. Based on numbers and reputation which one do you think is best for my application? Thanks you very much

 

[zieglj01]

Thank you. Its gonna be hard for me to audition any of these. I did listen to the Revel Concerta f36 towers and sounded good to me . Way better than Martin Logan 60xt. I will be using an Arcam SA20 and want to make sure I pair it with speakers that sound good even at high volumes. The Revel Performa3 f206 are 88db and the Tannoys Revolutions are 90db. Based on numbers and reputation which one do you think is best for my application? Thanks you very much

I am a fan of the Revel Performa series, and they are not a wimp -- can not say for sure that the Tannoy would really be 90 db sensitive based on their marketing specs -- I would take a more neutral response along with good mid and treble refinement over a speaker that may be 1 or 2 db more sensitive -- your call

 

[NINaudio]

OK, just an update to this thread. I went to another shop near me yesterday to listen to some Monitor speakers. Listened to the silver 300 series and Triton Goldenear 5's there. I liked the Monitors better, but I felt like the Paradigm Premiers had a wider soundstage as far as I could remember. Sadly, that shop used to carry Paradigm but no longer does, so I couldn't directly compare them, which would have been ideal. I also liked the Paradigm center better than the Monitor center.

At this point I'd still like to get out to ABT and check out the Prime pinnacles, but the Paradigms are still my front-runners.

 

[snakeeyes]

OK, just an update to this thread. I went to another shop near me yesterday to listen to some Monitor speakers. Listened to the silver 300 series and Triton Goldenear 5's there. I liked the Monitors better, but I felt like the Paradigm Premiers had a wider soundstage as far as I could remember. Sadly, that shop used to carry Paradigm but no longer does, so I couldn't directly compare them, which would have been ideal. I also liked the Paradigm center better than the Monitor center.

At this point I'd still like to get out to ABT and check out the Prime pinnacles, but the Paradigms are still my front-runners.

That doesn’t surprise me. In several posts, James mentioned he really liked the Paradigm Premier center when he reviewed them.

 

[NINaudio]

Listened to a Salk Song3 based system last night and was blown away. They sound even better than they look.

 

[everettT]

Listened to a Salk Song3 based system last night and was blown away. They sound even better than they look.

The looks keep the ladies shopping for accessories to match the finish

 

[snakeeyes]

So those are way over the $2000 budget you set for LCR. LOL

 

[NINaudio]

So those are way over the $2000 budget you set for LCR. LOL

Yeah, my tax return is going to be larger than I expected and I've had Salk on my radar for years.

 

[Swerd]

Yeah, my tax return is going to be larger than I expected and I've had Salk on my radar for years.

So, when will you place that order ? With Jim's usual build time, you should have that tax return before they're ready to ship.

 

[NINaudio]

So, when will you place that order ? With Jim's usual build time, you should have that tax return before they're ready to ship.

Part of me wants to wait til after I go to Axpona, but I'm not sure if I can wait that long. LOL

I've been breaking down the wife's resistance over time too. She asked me a few weeks back if I had ordered the speakers yet. I sensed an opening and said no, but what color should we get?

I'm going to probably pick up a new credit card to game that system and place the order with. Just got to figure out which one will get me the most rewards, whether cash back, bonus miles, etc.

 

[Swerd]

Part of me wants to wait til after I go to Axpona, but I'm not sure if I can wait that long. LOL

If you've now heard them in a home, you've learned more about how they sound than you can in a small hotel room. Even if you place an order, it will be nice to go to Axpona and meet Jim Salk.

I've been breaking down the wife's resistance over time too. She asked me a few weeks back if I had ordered the speakers yet. I sensed an opening and said no, but what color should we get?

Veneer and color are important. When you heard the Song3s the other day, what veneer were they? Get your wife involved in that decision. That tends to remove any doubts she may have. Jim Salk is really excellent at matching the finishes of existing furniture, and at speaking to customers & their possibly reluctant wives.

I'm going to probably pick up a new credit card to game that system and place the order with. Just got to figure out which one will get me the most rewards, whether cash back, bonus miles, etc.

I always go with cash back. Bonus miles with airlines usually comes with too many conditions.

 

[NINaudio]

If you've now heard them in a home, you've learned more about how they sound than you can in a small hotel room. Even if you place an order, it will be nice to go to Axpona and meet Jim Salk.
Veneer and color are important. When you heard the Song3s the other day, what veneer were they? Get your wife involved in that decision. That tends to remove any doubts she may have. Jim Salk is really excellent at matching the finishes of existing furniture, and at speaking to customers & their possibly reluctant wives.
I always go with cash back. Bonus miles with airlines usually comes with too many conditions.

The ones I listened to were in waterfall bubinga, with a natural looking dye. The wife has really liked the blackish, grayish, and silverish ones that she's seen and those dyes seem to work well with the maple veneers. I really like a black-dyed zebrawood finish that I've seen in Salk's gallery. All our furniture is black and/or gray.

Fortunately, when it comes to choosing colors and what not for interior decorating she tends to let me run with it as she likes the same/similar colors as I do.

 

[ryanosaur]

Those Gray/Silver dyes with Black Burst edges are seriously some of the most elegant looking finishes I've seen. On your comment, I went and looked at his gallery for the Black dyed Zebrawood. Those are pretty nice, too! That's probably going to be your hardest decision right there!!!

 

[NINaudio]

Those Gray/Silver dyes with Black Burst edges are seriously some of the most elegant looking finishes I've seen. On your comment, I went and looked at his gallery for the Black dyed Zebrawood. Those are pretty nice, too! That's probably going to be your hardest decision right there!!!

Yeah, they are super elegant in gray with burst edges.

My hardest question right now is what to do for my center channel! Jim said he would have no problem building a single monitor or bookshelf for me if I wanted to go that route instead of the Song3 center. He had mentioned the Supercharged song surround as an option. I just asked him if the Veracity ST monitor would be a viable option as well. What do you all think? I was a little worried about the cats rubbing on them and moving them, but @baronvonellis wow surrounds seemed hefty enough that it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[ryanosaur]

Are you not wanting a horizontal center? Just curious about your thought process there.

The difference between the SuperSong Surround and the ST Monitor is pretty minimal, and with the ribbon up top, I think you'd be fine. My main thought is in Mid-range performance. Admittedly, I've always said I'd take a Dennis Murphy 2-way over many other 3-way designs. But I also consider that might be the kicker in a good voice matched center, too.... Hard choice. Is a third Song 3 Tower not in the cards?

I think you would be solid with with either of those 2-ways as a center channel... The guy who invited me in to audition his Phils had an early Song3 Center, and he loved it, fwiw.

(BTW, unless you've got a Savannah, or a large Maine Coon, chances are they aren't moving that 26-28# speaker. With a non slip pad of some sort, I don't think it would go anywhere. )

 

[Swerd]

My hardest question right now is what to do for my center channel! Jim said he would have no problem building a single monitor or bookshelf for me if I wanted to go that route instead of the Song3 center. He had mentioned the Supercharged song surround as an option. I just asked him if the Veracity ST monitor would be a viable option as well. What do you all think? I was a little worried about the cats rubbing on them and moving them, but @baronvonellis wow surrounds seemed hefty enough that it wouldn't be an issue.

Supercharged SongSurround, weighs 26 lbs each, $1000-1100 (?) for one.

Veracity ST Monitor, weighs 28 lbs each, $1750 (?) for one.

The Song3 Center is definitely large 12½" H x 24½" W x 12¾" D , weighs 55 lbs, $1900-2000.

Of those three, I'd pick the Supercharged SongSurround. At 26 lbs., it seems heavy enough to stay put. The Song3 Center is very large and about double the cost. The Veracity ST Monitor, about the same size & weight as the SCSS is also very expensive. For a center speaker you don't need the deeper bass of the Song3C or the VST Monitor, or their extra cost.

All of those speakers, including the Song3, are designed by Dennis Murphy. As a result, they will sound very similar to each other despite the somewhat different drivers. I haven't heard those 3 particular models, but I've heard enough other speakers designed by Dennis to feel confident about this.