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  1. #1
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    Quad 22L, Monitor Audio Silver RS8, Thiel Cs1.6 ??

    Hello everyone, been listening to lots of great speakers and have come up with a few favorites in my price range ($2000US): the 22L, RS8, and CS1.6. These have been the best to my ear for soundstage and clarity. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to handle rock/metal recordings - especially at louder volumes. I realize this music is probably not the best recording-wise but I definitely want speakers that will handle it. I'm trying to narrow the field a bit before doing some home demos (I'm not sure why because I am having a great time searching) so I'm looking for some comments on these and others which might be better suited for heavier music. My listening is 50% rock, 20% metal, 20% jazz, 10% other stuff. Has anybody had similar experience with the above mentioned speakers? From what I have heard and read PSB, Paradigm, B&W, Klipsch might rock out a little more - in general.
    I am using an Adcom GFA-555II and GTP 500II for power although haven't been able to audition anything with these yet. It seems Adcom dealers are few and far between these days. Closest was probably a Rotel (forgot the model) amp with similar power.
    Would appreciate any and all comments, love the learning process!

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Consider a subwoofer

    Quote Originally Posted by pkats
    Hello everyone, been listening to lots of great speakers and have come up with a few favorites in my price range ($2000US): the 22L, RS8, and CS1.6. These have been the best to my ear for soundstage and clarity. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to handle rock/metal recordings - especially at louder volumes. I realize this music is probably not the best recording-wise but I definitely want speakers that will handle it. I'm trying to narrow the field a bit before doing some home demos (I'm not sure why because I am having a great time searching) so I'm looking for some comments on these and others which might be better suited for heavier music. My listening is 50% rock, 20% metal, 20% jazz, 10% other stuff. ...

    Thanks
    A good 12" sub in combination of with your favorite will make a big difference. I'd strongly suggest using the high-pass 80 Hz filter that most subs have to pass only the higher frequencies to you main speakers.

  3. #3
    cvc
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    I have some Monitor Audio 9i's which I bought a few years ago. I think they sound great with rock. (U2, Led Zepp, Police, Black Crowes, Van Halen etc.) Don't listen to much Metal. The loudest stuff I'll listen to these days is Queensryche and Garbage. Not exactly Metal but loud nonetheless.

    I can tell you that my experience after purchasing great speakers was the fact that everything sounded so much better. My Monitor Audio speakers allowed me to hear how jazz and classical music really sounded. Listening to the clarity and separation of instruments in the soundstage opened up my ears and appreciation for other types of music. I'm sure this will happen to you. It's time for you to spin some Brian Setzer Orchestra and some Sade. Sell the Metal on ebay..lol

  4. #4
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    Thanks Feanor, I will try to listen to them again with subs but I don't want a sub if I can avoid it. But I thought these 3 sounded best to me so far, I will have to get them in my room for a test drive.
    And cvc, sounds like we listen to alot of the same music and Sade is on occasionally already. Along with Norah, Sarah, and alot of other stuff. Never any death metal or stuff like that. The metal does get less use every year and I definitely don't have the hair for it anymore. I guess there is no way to make Iron Maiden sound like Beethoven anyway! I thought the Thiel's had the most punch while retaining the best clarity but they were probably powered with the best equipment also. For the money the MA SR8's sounded like heaven with Coldplay, Chris Cornell, Sarah McLachlan, and Duke Ellington.
    Thanks for the thoughts - anybody else with opinions?

  5. #5
    RGA
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    It amuses me that the answer is always add a subwoofer when the problem is not bass - and certainly not with pop and rock music which often contains very little deep bass. And a Sub does not make the front speakers louder or more dynamic. And if it is about relieving the speaker's load then that is a problem called badly designed speakers that need the load relieved in the first place.

    Standmounts, for the most part, SUCK ass for this kind of music. Thiel IME have put out some of the most pitifully inept speakers when it comes to dynamics and integration that I have ever heard. Some of the bogger Monitor Audio's sounded powerful enough.

    It's a series of trade-offs and you choose the trade-offs you can most live with long term. Interestingly there are some very problematic speakers like My Wharfedale Vanguards that have very liveable problems when you consider just how well they will belt out the rock pop and dance stuff. Forget classical music on them but they were not designed for that.

    Basically my advice is this -- if you have to come to a forum about three loudspeakers then none of them really does it for -- not really. Sure there may be one you like more than the other two -- but if it REALLY impressed you then you would not need advice...so the advice is chuck the three in the bin and keep listening until you find something that does.

  6. #6
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Categorical statements

    Quote Originally Posted by RGA
    It amuses me that the answer is always add a subwoofer when the problem is not bass - and certainly not with pop and rock music which often contains very little deep bass. And a Sub does not make the front speakers louder or more dynamic. ...

    Basically my advice is this -- if you have to come to a forum about three loudspeakers then none of them really does it for -- not really. Sure there may be one you like more than the other two -- but if it REALLY impressed you then you would not need advice...so the advice is chuck the three in the bin and keep listening until you find something that does.
    Who's talking deep base? Subwoofers can reasonably take the load from 100 Hz downward, (or 80 Hz preferably). Unloading the fronts of these high energy frequencies can make for a huge improvement to any type of music.

    That said I agree with RGA, the a sub isn't the answer to everything; for rock music in particular, a good pair of floorstanders is likely the optimal solution. (Or maybe you could get Audio Notes that are the answer to everything.)

  7. #7
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    Thanks RGA, the search goes on. Listened to KEF iQ7(nothing special), Klipsch RF62&83(interesting enough), Paradigm Studio 100(nice, but...), Dynaudio Audience 82( real nice, demo pair for $2000US), Anthony Gallo Nucleus Ref 3.1(WOW! and possibly doable), Sonus faber concerto( again WOW! but a little pricey) & grand piano domus(the best of the bunch but out of my league). The Sonus rep - lay off the coffee, man - was actually in the store demonstrating the grand pianos and their home theater setup. The Gallo's had huge range and filled the room amazingly. If I keep the grill cage on my wife might not even mind them. Anybody have any comments on the Gallo's? And is $2000 a good price for the Audience 82's? That's about my price limit.

    So, good advice RGA, and yea, it was a good day!
    Last edited by pkats; 11-02-2006 at 02:01 PM.

  8. #8
    Crackhead Extraordinaire Dusty Chalk's Avatar
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    I have a friend who owns the Gallo Reference 3's, and I get to listen to them every Saturday or so. Good stuff, I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. Might even get a pair myself some day (as I move around a lot when I'm listening to speakers, the wide dispersion is appealing).
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  9. #9
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    Yes, the dispersion was amazing as well as overall sound - like Stevie Ray Vaughn was in the room with me, his guitar was singing. Bass response was very tight and low enough to feel as well. I guess I was pretty impressed, might have to save up a little more cash and go for it. In the meantime the search goes on.
    Thanks for the replies, any other comments appreciated.

  10. #10
    RGA
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    No speaker is the answer to everything. I found Audio Note to be the best answer for my long term musical satisfaction but they are not geared for the typical upgraditus audiophile. And there are plenty of reasons not to go with them -- looks, positioning in corners, shape, looks (it had to be said again), and sound that is not the same as most of the homogeneous stuff on the market. And for people who listen for "aspects" of the audiophile verbiage then AN will never ever be for those listeners because they simply are not going to place imaging or soundstaging "above" al other considerations because it sounds better on the showroom floor - nor will they bowl you over with ringy dingy trebles and artificial slam in the bass to draw the five minute shopper.

    I agree with this high end dealer's assessment for the most part - they are very much into audio usually presenting the best show reports out there. They carry soundlabs - the world's best panel maker past or presnt, along with a very interesting Marten Line. http://audiofederation.com/blog/cate...io/audio-note/

    pkats

    The Dane seems high at $2k US especially for a Demo -- a Demo after all is a USED speaker. They should come down at LEAST 20%. Go in and say I'll give you $1500.00 take it or leave it. And that is assuming you LOVE them. I think they;re one of the better floorstanders around and certainly better than some highly touted floorstanders going for MORE money out of Canada.

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