On vacation, Going shopping

[JohnMichael]

Yes I am finally getting a break. I decided to hit one audio store. Well I may also go to Magnolia Home Theater to hear the B&W CM150's. Of course after reading the info about the speakers I do not expect a good demo. This is why they are vented speakers.

Vented box system

Ensures adequate ventilation to keep the speaker cool

Then I wanted to drive and hear the Nola Boxer. I went to the site to find a local dealer. I entered my information to learn about my closest dealer. I do not know why but I would love to hear this speaker. I think part of it is the success they have had in the past with small speakers. I received a nice email from Marilyn Marchisotto and she told me the nearest dealer is in Fairfield, NJ. Who the hell wants to go to NJ? Really is there anything to do there of interest? Am I annoying Mark yet?

So I am going to Dayton, OH to Hanson Audio. I am amazed by the brands they carry. They have Magico speakers and Boulder electronics and they will continue to have them after I leave but there are many brands I do want to consider. They even stock Monitor Audio so maybe they can be a trade in. Oh I just thought they might have trade ins. Anyway here is a link and I look forward to hearing some different equipment. I might even be able to hear the new Thiel 1.7 speakers.

Speakers - Hi-Fi Audiophile, Home Theater Surround

[JohnMichael]

I traveled to Genesis Audio to hear the Studio 20's and to Magnolia's to hear the B&W CM150. I have to say neither one is for me.

Genesis Audio was only interested in showing me the Studio 20's. When asked my budget I mentioned $2,000. I had never met a salesman who did not try to bump up my budget. I even asked about the Paradigms with Beryllium tweeters. He said they were nice but never offered to demo them. The budget can always be stretched but he must have made a judgement and did not want to spend time on me. No I did not take a stack of show tunes.

Then I went to Magnolia/Best Buy to hear the B&W CM150. The salesman was nice and tried to be helpful. He told me if they did not work in my system I could return them without a restocking fee. He tried to sound like an audiophile.

The sound of the Studio 20's was interesting. The lower frequencies were warm and detailed. Then when the higher notes were being handled by the tweeter they lightened and brightened. I had not heard a speaker that changed character to my ears as much as the Paradigm Studio 20's did. That is not a problem with my other three pairs of speakers. I am not saying they are better they just do not change character like the Studio 20's.

The B&W CM150's were a little thin and bright. Judging by how they were hooked up I doubt if I heard them at their best. I was surprised how small they were but I thought they looked bigger in pictures. The 150's build quality did not seem in the same league as the Paradigm's. I doubt if I return to hear any of them again.

[LeRoy]

Well, at least you're getting the curiosity satisfied while out touring the countryside. I have yet to hear a CM series speaker from B&W that has impressed. So, what else do you have on your must listen to list?

[Jack in Wilmington]

What happened to Hanson Audio, that seemed like a very promising shop. They didn't have any Revel's or PMC's to listen to at Genesis Audio?

[JohnMichael]

What happened to Hanson Audio, that seemed like a very promising shop. They didn't have any Revel's or PMC's to listen to at Genesis Audio?

I did not see any Revel or PMC speakers. They had Paradigm and Martin Logan but he kept on the Paradigm and never showed me even the Motion speakers. We had some hard rains today and it was tough going 40 minutes to Columbus so I have not made the trip to Dayton over 2 hours away. Two more days to make the trip. Of course what I heard today is making my speakers sound better.

[Jack in Wilmington]

That's funny cause Genesis's website says they sell Revel and PMC. I know how Mr. P feels about his Revel's. Looks like they need to work on a new web page. Well hopefully Hanson will have something to get your toes tapping. The weather has been terrible, it rained buckets this afternoon. I was out in it shopping for a new cell phone.

[JohnMichael]

Well, at least you're getting the curiosity satisfied while out touring the countryside. I have yet to hear a CM series speaker from B&W that has impressed. So, what else do you have on your must listen to list?

I really want to hear the Nola Boxer but no dealers in Ohio. Hanson has many interesting speaker brands like Dynaudio that I have always wanted to hear.

When I arrived home I had to relisten to my speakers. I brought out the RS6's which have sounded thin in the past. Tonight I am listening to them single wired with Ultralink stranded cables. They have regained some warmth and oddly deeper bass. Whenever I single wire the RS6's I use the upper speaker binding posts. The upper binding posts takes care of the upper driver and tweeter and the links only transmit signal to the lower bass driver.

I want something better than different so as I shop I am checking what my speakers are capable of doing.

[JohnMichael]

That's funny cause Genesis's website says they sell Revel and PMC. I know how Mr. P feels about his Revel's. Looks like they need to work on a new web page. Well hopefully Hanson will have something to get your toes tapping. The weather has been terrible, it rained buckets this afternoon. I was out in it shopping for a new cell phone.

Genesis was the kind of shop where they were not interested in selling a measly pair of speakers and they have no stock. If I wanted them they would have had to order them. This is part of the reason people order on-line with a return policy.

[JohnMichael]

Oh and I have read about the new Magneplanar MMG Super. Maybe I need screens.

[JohnMichael]

As much as I complain about none of my speakers being good at holding my interest long term there are traits about all of them I like. I have reached the realization that if I truly want something better I need to set my budget higher. I do not think a speaker in the $2,000 range will truly surpass what I already own. Of course only hearing two speakers yesterday at the $1,500 price range I knew they would be different but my fear is to buy another pair of speakers that will just be rotated in the mix.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Don't get discouraged JM, lets wait till you hear some $2000 speakers and then see what your opinion is. Dynaudio and some of the other at Hanson make very nice speakers. I've been listening to my Usher setup a lot lately because I've been spinning SACD's but I still go back to my Dynaudios when I fire up the 2 channel rig.

[JohnMichael]

Don't get discouraged JM, lets wait till you hear some $2000 speakers and then see what your opinion is. Dynaudio and some of the other at Hanson make very nice speakers. I've been listening to my Usher setup a lot lately because I've been spinning SACD's but I still go back to my Dynaudios when I fire up the 2 channel rig.

I am only discouraged by the difficulty of finding good places to listen to audio equipment. I remember when we had a decent audio shop here in town and four or five in Columbus along with some chain electronic stores. So far I have found one plus a gentleman who sells audio out of his home. There may be more but I have not found them yet. I have been trying to find someone to make the 4+ hour round trip to watch me obsess over this hobby.

I was listening to the RS6's and made the mistake of playing a recording of a string quartet I listened to on the Studio 20's. There was no body to the cello thru the RS6's. The MoFi OML1's are much fuller in the midbass. They know what a cello sounds like. I may pop out the bass driver in both speakers to see if they are wired correctly.

In some ways I am missing the sound of the Paradigm Studio 20's. The string tones were excellent. I am thinking now the Studio 20's may deserve a second listen.

[harley .guy07]

Yeah I looked at Usher speakers before getting my Dynaudio and they were one of my choices before I got the "Dynaudio sickness". But I am glad I did because I love the sound of Dynaudios. I used to sell Paradigm and B&W in the 90's and i worked with the first couple of generations of Paradigm Monitor and Studio and B&W's 600 and c series and some 800. I have heard most of these models extensively and they all are good at some things and bad at others but these two companies have a brightness issue that seems to follow the fact that they both use metal dome tweeters with the exception of the newer 800 series B&W which I believe use diamond which I have not heard yet.

[LeRoy]

I have been trying to find someone to make the 4+ hour round trip to watch me obsess over this hobby.

JM, is there an audio society in your area that you can hook up with? I am about to join the local audio society as there are about 200+ members and have a growing membership in the area. These loco guys meet regularly and sell and swap gear within the group like there is no tomorrow. I think this is the way to review so many types of gear and make new buds in the process.

[JohnMichael]

Yes I think I am a silk and paper guy. The MoFi OML1's are silk and paper and the MA RS 6's are all metal drivers. Dynaudio and Sonus Faber Venere are speakers I will need to hear. The Studio 20's did a great job with cellos but the RS 6's left them thin and lightweight. The OML1's do a better job with cellos both in weight and texture. In my price range I will avoid metal drivers. Of course this means I also need to hear the Nola Boxer and avoid the KEF LS50's.

[harley .guy07]

Yes I think I am a silk and paper guy. The MoFi OML1's are silk and paper and the MA RS 6's are all metal drivers. Dynaudio and Sonus Faber Venere are speakers I will need to hear. The Studio 20's did a great job with cellos but the RS 6's left them thin and lightweight. The OML1's do a better job with cellos both in weight and texture. In my price range I will avoid metal drivers. Of course this means I also need to hear the Nola Boxer and avoid the KEF LS50's.

Yeah for years I played with speakers that used metal drivers for all or at least the tweeter and while they were good at some things I learned that the soft dome tweeters just give me better overall highs that do not get fatiguing to me over listening for a long time. I have tried to listen to Paradigms and B&W's for long periods and they just tire me out. My ears are way to sensitive to high frequencies to mess with metal domes in the price class that I am currently in due to budget. If I ever strike it rich some day and my price class changes then that might change but otherwise I don't see me going up much over the 5 to 7 k mark for speakers in my lifetime.

[blackraven]

Its too bad that you can't hear the Salk Song Towers. They have a sweet midrange, good bass and a non fatiguing tweeter.

[Mr Peabody]

Shopping can be fun but shops have definitely dropped in number. Anxious to hear what you think of the Dynaudio, I'm still a fan. It would also be interesting to see what you thought of Maggies. I still prefer the bass response of a good box, and I'm sure some might disagree but I've yet to hear a sub blend to where the presentation was natural sounding to me.

Worth noting I have performa 2 series, now there are Performa 3 which are quite different sounding IMO

[JohnMichael]

Shopping can be fun but shops have definitely dropped in number. Anxious to hear what you think of the Dynaudio, I'm still a fan. It would also be interesting to see what you thought of Maggies. I still prefer the bass response of a good box, and I'm sure some might disagree but I've yet to hear a sub blend to where the presentation was natural sounding to me.

Worth noting I have performa 2 series, now there are Performa 3 which are quite different sounding IMO

Shopping can be fun if your salesman is enthusiastic. The guy at Genesis was not. We had a shop called Progressive Audio that before it went Home Theater was a great place to shop. One of the things they enjoyed doing was have you listen to their cost no object system. They wanted you to hear the best to calibrate your ears and then listen to speakers and find the ones that to your ears gave you as much of what is important to you. It seems like only wanting a pair of speakers is a waste of their time.

Oh well the Studio 530's are a very enjoyable listen. They bridge the gap between the lean RS6's and the warm OML 1's.

[harley .guy07]

The more you talk about the sound you like to here in your system the more I think you might really like the Dynaudio sound. they are not fatiguing in any way but they are detailed as well, much more than you would think possible for a speaker as non fatiguing as they are especially in the treble which is where most speakers in our price range seem to find most of their harshness. My Dynaudio's aren't the higher end models and still they do not seem to be outclassed by the fact that I have a $5,000 retail amp on them. Which to me says a lot. Yes I could do better by moving up the Dynaudio line and I do plan to in the future but after buying My Pass amp and finishing my new music server and new DAC I have promised my wife I will hold off on any more big audio purchases until after I finish my degree and start working full time. I think that is fair and really after setting up the music server and after the fact that the NuWave DAC totally brought out the low end of my speakers I can say that I am really happy with it right now. If you get the chance I would try to hear some Dynaudio. I know with a 2k budget you are most likely going to have to stay in the excite series new but if you shopped used you might be able to pull off the focus series or one of the larger audience series that are now discontinued. There are a lot of people that have kind of forgot the audience series because they are not part of their new lineup but I can say that they are very accomplished speakers for their price range and especially if they can be found used in good condition you can really pick something up good for a good price seeing that even the audience series floorstanders started at over 1k when they were new and that was around 1999 year 2000.

[JohnMichael]

The budget I mentioned to the salesman was on the low side but probably not over $3,000. I am so used to being upsold that I did not expect him to show me one speaker and stop at that point. When I go to Hanson's in Dayton I will listen to Dynaudio. Of course I will listen to as many speakers as they will demonstrate. I may even ask to hear Magico speakers since their entry level is only $12,000.

[dean_martin]

JM, I took the family to Denver one time. After doing everything for the kids and wife, I slipped off on the last day to audition some gear. I almost caused us to miss our return flight. But, I heard Quick Silver, Rega, ARC, Maggies, PSB and others for the first time.

I know what you mean about wanting to hear the Boxers. The most impressive thing I've heard was a Jolida amp driving a pair of standmount Nolas. I think they were Napoleons at that time. I have the amp, but I thought I could substitute for the Nolas for less money. I wound up with a very nice pair of Soliloquy 5.0i anniversary edition at a nice price. But I'm still not over the Nolas.

[Jack in Wilmington]

There is a beautiful pair of Contour S1.4's on Audiogon now going for $1995. They retail for $3900. There's a pair of speakers you can live with and sell the other three pairs and be happy.

[JohnMichael]

JM, I took the family to Denver one time. After doing everything for the kids and wife, I slipped off on the last day to audition some gear. I almost caused us to miss our return flight. But, I heard Quick Silver, Rega, ARC, Maggies, PSB and others for the first time.

I know what you mean about wanting to hear the Boxers. The most impressive thing I've heard was a Jolida amp driving a pair of standmount Nolas. I think they were Napoleons at that time. I have the amp, but I thought I could substitute for the Nolas for less money. I wound up with a very nice pair of Soliloquy 5.0i anniversary edition at a nice price. But I'm still not over the Nolas.

The Nola Boxer's I am drawn to since all the positive reviews I have read about the speakers. From the Alon time to Nola I have read about the musicality and not the high fidelity. Marilyn told me a pair had never been returned.

[JohnMichael]

There is a beautiful pair of Contour S1.4's on Audiogon now going for $1995. They retail for $3900. There's a pair of speakers you can live with and sell the other three pairs and be happy.

I would need to see them, hear them and touch them before my wallet would open. Sadly for various reasons I have trust issues. Buying used, not in person, would be painfully difficult for me.