daigoro
11-24-2003, 08:04 PM
First, thanks a lot to you guys for helping me narrow the field a bit.
To begin with, I auditioned a pair of Spendors (a medium sized bookshelf speaker--forget which model) and a pair of Ref3A DeCappo MMi.
The imaging on the Spendors was truly amazing, but the mids and lows seemed very boxy to me. Maybe the highs were a bit too laid back for me as well. I guess this is the European sound everyone talks about. I'm not going to knock it, but it is just not for me.
Next I tried the Ref3a. I had very high expectations for this speaker and the price justified me having high expectations. But I simply was not that impressed. It has very good detail, but the music just was not engaging. The bass, while tight, was not as good as I had read about in the reviews. Maybe I was just being unrealistic about how much bass a small speakers could put out (even with an 8" driver) after being used to my STudio 100's. It was, after all, a large listening room with high ceilings. I suspect, since this was a Ref3A dealer, that this speaker was not broken in enough. If this was the case, then the 1895 price the demo model might have been worth it. The 2795 for new seems overpriced.
I almost passed on audtioning the Swans since the dealer seemed to be steering me away from them, and since my monster (200x4, or 400x2) amp is such overkill for such efficient speakers.
The Swans are amazing. They sound very similar to my Studio 100's, but they don't have the hard edge on the highs that Studio line can have with certain recordings. I was sure to bring my Rush Moving Pictures CD along to test this, since it one of the discs that does not sound that great on my speakers. Yet it still has that sparkle that I like in metal dome tweeters. The cymbals in the beginning of YYZ just seemed to fill the room, yet were quite easy on the ears. The mids I would say are about on par with the 100's, which is to stay neutral and honest. The bass was staggering for such a small speaker. No distortion whatsoever even playing tracks like Massive Attack's Angel. Easily handled Porcupine Tree's "Ambulance Chasing". The little Swan decal on the screen in front of the bass driver jumped visibly, yet no chuffing, no popping, no warbling. Rock solid bass. It didn't go as deep as my 100's, but the quality of bass for as far down as it would go was better than the 100's. And for the bass it can't reproduce, it simply tapers off nicely which is better than the Ref3A which tries feebly to reproduce the deep bass of the 'Angel' track and just sounds thin and makes you want to add a sub.
When I heard they were selling for $599 (demo model) I knew I was done shopping. I was planning on shopping around a bit more, but I know I will not find a better speaker for that price, and in the unlikely even that I do find one that could justify the increased expense, I am sure to get most of my money back on it since it lists for around $1600+.
So now I have a Citation 7.0 preamp, Citation 7.1 amp, and Swan D3.1. All I need is a decent CD player. Any suggestions?
To begin with, I auditioned a pair of Spendors (a medium sized bookshelf speaker--forget which model) and a pair of Ref3A DeCappo MMi.
The imaging on the Spendors was truly amazing, but the mids and lows seemed very boxy to me. Maybe the highs were a bit too laid back for me as well. I guess this is the European sound everyone talks about. I'm not going to knock it, but it is just not for me.
Next I tried the Ref3a. I had very high expectations for this speaker and the price justified me having high expectations. But I simply was not that impressed. It has very good detail, but the music just was not engaging. The bass, while tight, was not as good as I had read about in the reviews. Maybe I was just being unrealistic about how much bass a small speakers could put out (even with an 8" driver) after being used to my STudio 100's. It was, after all, a large listening room with high ceilings. I suspect, since this was a Ref3A dealer, that this speaker was not broken in enough. If this was the case, then the 1895 price the demo model might have been worth it. The 2795 for new seems overpriced.
I almost passed on audtioning the Swans since the dealer seemed to be steering me away from them, and since my monster (200x4, or 400x2) amp is such overkill for such efficient speakers.
The Swans are amazing. They sound very similar to my Studio 100's, but they don't have the hard edge on the highs that Studio line can have with certain recordings. I was sure to bring my Rush Moving Pictures CD along to test this, since it one of the discs that does not sound that great on my speakers. Yet it still has that sparkle that I like in metal dome tweeters. The cymbals in the beginning of YYZ just seemed to fill the room, yet were quite easy on the ears. The mids I would say are about on par with the 100's, which is to stay neutral and honest. The bass was staggering for such a small speaker. No distortion whatsoever even playing tracks like Massive Attack's Angel. Easily handled Porcupine Tree's "Ambulance Chasing". The little Swan decal on the screen in front of the bass driver jumped visibly, yet no chuffing, no popping, no warbling. Rock solid bass. It didn't go as deep as my 100's, but the quality of bass for as far down as it would go was better than the 100's. And for the bass it can't reproduce, it simply tapers off nicely which is better than the Ref3A which tries feebly to reproduce the deep bass of the 'Angel' track and just sounds thin and makes you want to add a sub.
When I heard they were selling for $599 (demo model) I knew I was done shopping. I was planning on shopping around a bit more, but I know I will not find a better speaker for that price, and in the unlikely even that I do find one that could justify the increased expense, I am sure to get most of my money back on it since it lists for around $1600+.
So now I have a Citation 7.0 preamp, Citation 7.1 amp, and Swan D3.1. All I need is a decent CD player. Any suggestions?