Talking Speakers

[Armando]

Audioguru Dudes,
So far I've Been hooked on headphone sound. Never owned a really good set of speakers.Ive been limeted to cheaper Axiom and Infinity that come with amps in ready packages. Recently I listened to a friends awesome rig and was bowled over by the imaging, though the res. was not as good as with my cans. I just enjoyed the music so much more, and while I still havent lost my passion for headphones, I enjoyed the feeling of the sound not being cooped up inside my head and for once it really didn't matter weather I was hearing every detail or not. So now I've realised that speakers are amazing fun. As luck would have it, in the wake of this decadent realisation, I managed to book some huge profits from some shares I invested in four years ago, So im a rich man for a while, till next years deficit financing takes place, (that is)!
In short, I want the best of the best; Advice on a complete list of components, including cables, that will be best suited to Classic rock, bluegrass, celtic folk, Jazz, and Indian classical.I want awesome mids and I'm also a bit of a bass head, so.......
Money is not a problem. I just want a complete best of the best rig; so id be damn greatfull if you guys could come up with what you think is the ultimate system for my cluttered, mid sized hall.
Thanx guys.....
ROCK ON.....:5: :16: :16: :16: :17: :6: :ihih: :cornut:

[teledynepost]

B&W Nautilus?

What kind of headphones do you use? I've never had speakers with enough presence to enjoy them as much as my Sennheisers (HD-600) until I got some fair sized floorstanders. Entry level but the imaging is great.

[Resident Loser]

...listen to and decide on your loudspeakers...they are what you hear...they will also dictate the power requirements of the amplifier that will be used to drive them...everything else is pretty much determined by the bells-and-whistles factor...looks, features and, if you are that shallow, price...

"Best" is highly subjective...does a high price price guarantee the best? No...pure and simple...

jimHJJ(...keep in mind the factor of diminishing returns...)

[teledynepost]

There are lots of speakers I'm sure you would be satisfied with, but room acoustics and setup is equally if not MORE important than shelling out a ton of money for good speakers. If I ever have the chance when I'm older, I would love to build a listening room.

[JoeE SP9]

If you have a room that can accomodate them any type of planar speaker should be on your must listen to list. Magneplaner, Martin Logan, Eminent Technology and Quad are the names that come to mind first. If you are like many audiophile's the clear open non-resonant box free sound will be exactly what you are looking for.:cool:

[Armando]

But hows the Bass on the mag planar thingy's? I dont like my sound too airy

[Armando]

tely-
whats B&W Nautilus?
Go to my thread that says too much audio bliss to handle.....

[teledynepost]

tely-
whats B&W Nautilus?

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.models/label/Model%20Nautilus

[westcott]

I wonder what these sound like?

http://www.highendaudio.com/duevel.htm

[accastil]

with your type of music as mentioned, go for a planar speaker and a really nice sub. just a caution: you will be needing a powerful amp to drive them. they are not like box speakers in terms of current requirement.

[JoeE SP9]

But hows the Bass on the mag planar thingy's? I dont like my sound too airy

The bass response will depend on room size and decor, speaker size and positioning and associated electronics. The same applies to any box speaker. Magneplaners sometimes seem to have less bass than boxes because of the non-boomy response. As with any speaker you can add a subwoofer if the bass is not enough. Most reasonably priced speakers can use the added bass from a subwoofer. As a matter of fact a lot of those who have large "expensive" speakers like Magneplaner 3.6R's (6Ft tall 2Ft wide and $4K pair) have subwoofers. Read the posts in this forum and you will find that most contributers have subwoofers.
I have full range electrostatics and use subwoofers. However, when I grow up I want to be like Florian and not use subwoofers. This is actually true as I'm looking for some Acoustat 2+2's so I can get rid of my subs.
I don't "get" headphones. I've always thought the impression of sound coming from inside my head to be creepy. For several years I owned a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones. I gave them to a buddy. He lives in an environment that requires them for late night listening. With the right recordings (binaural) they were spookily realistic. Binaural recordings do not have the inside your head sound. Once while listening to a binaural recording of a concert I was disturbed by a concertgoer sitting behind my right shoulder who had a runny nose. I kept wanting to turn around and hand her, yes her, a box of tissues. My current ESL's are tonally very close to those ES headphones. If I was forced to use headphones I would get another pair of Stax's.:cool:

[Armando]

Kay,
whats the diff, in terms of listening not technicalities, between planar and box ?

[westcott]

Kay,
whats the diff, in terms of listening not technicalities, between planar and box ?

Since no one else commented, I will take a stab at answering your question.

IMO, planar speakers have a very clean, coherant, sound that are less affected by room interaction\reflections. They can sound very accurate but can be extremely directional. I find this a good trait for two channel music but less desirable for home theater applications. Planars have a very dynamic sound over their capable frequency range and can make music sound very natural and original to the aritists intentions. They can require more power than other speaker designs for the same dB output and for some people, this can detract from the clarity at higher volume levels. Most planars do not handle the lower frequencies as well as some box designs and are usually augmented with a subwoofer.

Box speakers come in a lot of flavors so making generalizations here can be dangerous but I will take a stab at it. Good speaker mfgs use the box design to reinforce the lower frequency ranges, as well as reduce or virtually eliminate resonances that can be created at certain frequencies or by poorer quality box designs. Box designs usually provide better bass response but at the risk of coloring the sound with ambient reflections due to a wider dispersion pattern than planars. Boxes also suffer from point source issues. Most affordable box designs use several drivers to cover the entire frequency range. Some find this more distracting than others. Some would also argue that box speakers can sound less accurate because of the resonances within the box and the ambient sound waves inteacting with the point source. But, the sound of a box speaker can be very pleasing to many and the larger the box, usually the better the bass response. This is why box speakers can come closer to being full range speakers than planars. Their are exceptions to box speakers like horn loaded designs or those with ribbon tweeters but most still are affected in some way by the interaction between the driver and the enclosure\box.

Over the years, I find that people tend to lean toward designs they have grown up listening to or are familiar with. I have also found that mfgs have built better and better products for less and less money so that the playing field is much more level than it was just 10 years ago.

I suggest you go to a showroom and listen for yourself. You never know what you will find appealing and even people like me who have always had a design preference, can appreciate the quality of sound provided by all of these designs and appreciate each of their strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly. Room interaction is the other half of the equation and is just as important as the design itself so bear this in mind when making a selection.

Good Luck and I hope this helped!

[Florian]

Try Apogees, you dont need a sub for those and wont need a powerfull amp either and they are they are the end of Planars like Soundlab or Perigees or Acoustats but have real bass, so no point in using a sub. You just need a stable amp and your set. Also Apogees in nearfield are like Giant Headphones and the only speakers that have a higher resolution then Stax Electrostatic Headphones.

Let me know if i can help, but of course the Magnepans and the others ones are wonderfu, they are less picky, easier to drive (impedance wise), not as fragile and easier to findll!

[PeeBee]

You just need a stable amp and your set.

master of the understatement, the old scintillas were well known for their amp bustin' abilities
:cornut:

[Florian]

master of the understatement, the old scintillas were well known for their amp bustin' abilities
:cornut:

I dont know what you mean :confused5::cornut:

I had a pair of 1ohm Scinitllas, ranged from 0.6 to 1.2 ohm....LOL I killed a Krell KSA150 with it! Muhaha.....awsome sound tough. My new DIVA Reference is much easier!

[drseid]

I don't know about "best" as that is highly subjective, but the "best" *I* have heard that matched with my preferences were the VonSchweikert VR-11s at 120K/pr. powered by Dartzeel amplification and maybe an Oracle CD. These guys are *big,* and would require a very large room to sound their best.

What room size are you going to be placing the speakers in?

---Dave

[JoeE SP9]

What's up Armando? Have we we scared you off, discouraged you, Maybe even confused you? Inquiring minds want to know what you are spending your money on.:cool:

[E-Stat]

I have full range electrostatics and use subwoofers. However, when I grow up I want to be like Florian and not use subwoofers. This is actually true as I'm looking for some Acoustat 2+2's so I can get rid of my subs.
You might want to consider some used SLs like on Agon right now (no affiliation). I lived with 2+2s for twenty years before replacing them with SLs. Bass response is lower still and less resonant. Beaming is all but gone and they are a good bit more neutral top to bottom.

rw

[JoeE SP9]

I believe that more radiating area is what I need. Unfortunately the width of my current Acoustats is the most I can use in my current room. I do have 9ft ceilings. This means my only recourse is up instead of wider. If my room was wider some SL's would be right at the top of my list. :cool:

[Florian]

I believe that more radiating area is what I need. Unfortunately the width of my current Acoustats is the most I can use in my current room. I do have 9ft ceilings. This means my only recourse is up instead of wider. If my room was wider some SL's would be right at the top of my list. :cool:

A logical step. I will let you know if one pops up in my area!