On vacation, Going shopping

Dynaudio and Krell are a good match IMO. Bobsticks got to hear my combo when I had them. If buying used the Audience 52se is a great speaker but the Contour 1.3se or Special 25 is even better. When Dynaudio puts "se" on the end, or makes a special model it's definitely special. The "se" versions typically have the next higher series tweeter amongst other tweaks.

Although the original Focus series had a bit unique sound, still Dynaudio but a darker type sound. I really liked the 110's and wish I had a place to stash a set. The new Focus is outstanding. I haven't heard much of the Excite, and none of the brand new Excite but these may be more in JM's price new.

I'm hoping that he likes the Focus 160, as I'm thinking that might be the extent of his budget, but those Contour S1.4's would be a nice grab. I know that you should listen to equipment before buying, but with buying on Audiogon, you don't always have that option.

In addition, it's a buyer's market and deals can be had on Audiogon for less than listed, however, if you do get something you aren't satisfied with it can be a hassle to flip and often times a loss. As much as many of us are Dynaudio fans, it's not a guarantee for JM. As an example, Frenchie isn't a big fan, but after all these years I have yet been able to pinpoint what moves Frenchie, LOL. Neither of us are impressed by Sonus Faber, for me not that I dislike them, just didn't do anything for me either.

It's a shame Nola isn't more widely distributed, they were on my list back when I still had my CJ gear and looking for something different. I'd still like to hear them. Harbeth makes a nice monitor, although IMO think they are over priced which puts them in a league with some tough competition along with not being the best of values.

There is also a nice looking pair of Nola Boxers on Audiogon, but they're located in Canada and I'm not sure what that does to the shipping costs.

Like you, I'm not sure what drives Frenchie either. I've never been to a dealer that carries Canton, but from what I've read, they are excellent speakers. I find SF to be very dependent on upstream electronics. I've heard them sound dull and unengaging and also at other times very dynamic. I'll bet you Pass Labs could shake the cobwebs off a pair.

As far as speakers are concerned the most I have spent for speakers I had not heard before was the OML1's at $650. When I withdraw $2,000 or more from an account I will need to hear the speaker multiple times. Had I ever heard a Dynaudio speaker before I might consider them.

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Originally Posted by Jack in Wilmington

. I'll bet you Pass Labs could shake the cobwebs off a pair.

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I think you might be right. As being the owner of the baby of the same series as Mr. P's amp except the .5 which for the 150 adds a lot but I would think would have the same basic qualities of his 250. I would think if the SF's are any good the Pass amps would bring it out. I have loved mine and even though I have the Dyn audience series the Pass brings out more in them than I have ever heard before and probably more than I have personally ever heard in a speaker in their price class. I have heard these speakers with CJ, and also with my system as it has grown over the last few years and it is better now than I could of imagined it could have ever been without a major speaker upgrade.

Even though I did not like the Paradigm Studio 20's enough to purchase them they did teach me something. I have often found the RS6's thin sounding and I attributed that to metal drivers. The Studio 20's with their aluminum woofers sounded full and warm with good weight to the cello of the string quartet I had played. Once I was home I pulled out the RS6's.

I placed the RS6's in their usual place. At that point all that thin sound was back and I was missing the Studio 20's and some midbass. I was going to return the JBL's back in place so I pulled the RS6's forward while still playing since the piece was almost over. All of a sudden it was like someone turned a contour level. The bottom end filled in nicely. They were out further in the room than I would like visually but the sound speaks for itself.

I keep waiting for something to happen since several times in the past I thought I had achieved good sound. They had never sounded this good. Imaging is better and I think being out in the room more I have much less early reflections. Since the speakers are now closer to my chair the direct sound reaches me quicker than any reflections. If I had good sense I would be embarrassed that it took me so long to have them sounding good. I guess my design interests interfered with good audio experimentation with placement.

Glad to hear that you have them sounding good. I always wondered about the fact that you found the RS6's thin in the midarange. My Monitor Audio S1's have a nice full, slightly warmer midrange. But the S1's are bookshelfs and 1 generation removed from the RS's.

Sometimes it takes little movements to make the difference. I have moved my Dyns several times and have had multiple results. Right now I have them set at I believe to be the best I have found yet and I am happy with the results. It is funny how a perosn gets frustrated with a speaker or component and later find that a simple movement or a cable change can make that same component sound the way you wanted it to in the first place. It is nice to hear that you got them in the right spot in your room and now I am anxious to hear how they compare to the JBL's now that you have them in a position that more benefits their capability.

I've only heard the RS-6 once and a dealer here has the Gold series, IMO Monitor has good bass response and detail but the mids and highs would fatigue me. This may be minimized with careful electronics and cable matching, and it's to the listener's taste but my ears aren't a good match for them. With that being said it's not like they would drive you out of the room, they are very listenable, even with the criticism I would prefer them over some other name brands, and that Gold model at $5k really sounds like a bargain at that price.

Now that they are sounding good in my room I am feeling better about my listening skills. I had auditioned them in the dealers large showroom and liked them. Purchased them and over time became less enchanted. Heard another speaker that made me wonder where the midbass was? I moved the speakers around to mimic the midbass of the recent audition. All of a sudden it all came together.

I was listening again this morning before work. I would have stayed home and listened to music all day. Who knew I had good sounding speakers at home.

Wow! Nice read JM....you been drinking again? I see you are thinking about a purchase...

Well the best way you are going to get the best speaker for yourself is to get that bad boy in your place for a while and take a listen. Everything in the store is going to affect the sound of the speaker. While listening in stores you have to wonder about the character of the speaker and how you think it might sound with your gear.


Peabody and Jack...I dont want boring....I dont want fatigue....I want a sound thats able to deleiver the music as if its in the natural world. A piano had to be tonally correct in my system. Just like everything has to be tonally correct. us audiophiles think about the upper end, mids and bass, yes it has to be right but I want the gear to get out of the way of the music. And the most important thing...while some people want the most transparent sound possible...which is a great thing....it better not be sterile...at least not in my room. Give me a system and speakers that can deliever the emtion and romance. JM make sure the speakers have life man...not boaring. What got me was you said the Paradigm you dont like...... but I think you sorta really do......there is something about them you do like...and I suspect you like the fact they are not boring speakers.....Paradigms signature is a lively sound which I like. And I think you do as well. Now Paradigms do have a more reference speaker the Signature series, and they have that new Anniversary series...the book shelves may be in your budget it you go up to 3k. I suspect you are going for speakers for life here. It would be interesting to see what they sound like in your room.

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Originally Posted by frenchmon

Wow! Nice read JM....you been drinking again? I see you are thinking about a purchase...

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Of course I am drinking again. They found some blood in my alcohol system. I was speaker shopping and I heard a speaker I liked but was not crazy about. It did have some fullness in the mid bass that the MA RS6's was lacking. I arrived home and gave the RS6's a listen with a string quartet I heard through the other speakers. I had the Studio 530's pushed off to the side and decided to give them center stage. I first pulled the RS6's forward to place the stands in the same place as the other holes in the carpet. I noticed a fuller balanced sound with the speakers in front of my equipment rack. Once the RS6's were well in front of the equipment rack the balance and imaging were impressive.

Finally I am enjoying the speakers I have owned for several years. No need for new speakers but I am going to an art show Sunday and I may need a new piece after discovering happiness with speakers I already own.

Refill please!

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Originally Posted by JohnMichael

Of course I am drinking again. They found some blood in my alcohol system. I was speaker shopping and I heard a speaker I liked but was not crazy about. It did have some fullness in the mid bass that the MA RS6's was lacking. I arrived home and gave the RS6's a listen with a string quartet I heard through the other speakers. I had the Studio 530's pushed off to the side and decided to give them center stage. I first pulled the RS6's forward to place the stands in the same place as the other holes in the carpet. I noticed a fuller balanced sound with the speakers in front of my equipment rack. Once the RS6's were well in front of the equipment rack the balance and imaging were impressive.

Finally I am enjoying the speakers I have owned for several years. No need for new speakers but I am going to an art show Sunday and I may need a new piece after discovering happiness with speakers I already own.

Refill please!

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Is that all it took was to listen to some new speakers and do an compare with your old speakers while pulling them forward?

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Originally Posted by frenchmon

Is that all it took was to listen to some new speakers and do an compare with your old speakers while pulling them forward?

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Yes I needed a new reference point. At first I thought the lack of midbass was what I was missing. When I thought the RS6's hopeless I had the JBL's on stands against the side walls and it was then I moved the RS6's out of the way. Out of the way was just right. As a decor oriented person I wanted the speakers in a place that looked good. I thought they should sound good. I had listened to them so long in the wrong that I needed to hear my music on different speakers in a different room.

They are now well in front of the equipment rack. Even though the sound improved greatly I did work with width between speakers. They are not toed-in. Since they are further into the room they are closer to my listening chair. Imaging is very good for a
tower speaker. The sound is cleaner but better detailed. I have been playing a lot of cello music. The low end was good but now that I have alleviated the midbass suckout I wish the young college women were back and I could give them something to complain about.

I need to join an audio society so I could have extra ears to evaluate my system and to hear theirs. My former neighbor with the Linn LP12 and the Snell Type A's was a good reference system

Now that I am happy with my speakers it is time to upgrade my cables.

So the RS6's are going to be the main speakers now?

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Originally Posted by Mr Peabody

So the RS6's are going to be the main speakers now?

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I now consider them the best of the three. Now that they are sounding good it is kind of like having new speakers. It is a difference listening to music without some nagging feeling something is wrong. I am going to enjoy this time of not changing my speakers often or the constant reading of reviews. Of course who knows what the future will bring.

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Originally Posted by JohnMichael

I now consider them the best of the three. Now that they are sounding good it is kind of like having new speakers. It is a difference listening to music without some nagging feeling something is wrong. I am going to enjoy this time of not changing my speakers often or the constant reading of reviews. Of course who knows what the future will bring.

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JM, when speakers are placed in the right spot they seem to have the right stuff. Are you gonna leave em where they are or still try to zero them in another spot?

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Originally Posted by LeRoy

JM, when speakers are placed in the right spot they seem to have the right stuff. Are you gonna leave em where they are or still try to zero them in another spot?

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I am going to leave them where they are. Once I had them out and heard the sound I did tweak a little. I just made sure both speakers were the same distance from the wall behind. For design I did place the speakers the same distance from the equipment stand. I have the distances recorded in case my housekeeper would ever move them. I am finished moving speakers, changing speakers, reading about speakers and just listen to music.

John Michael. It sounds like you now prefer the Monitor Audio R6 speakers over the JBL 530's. Is this correct? I have read the JBL's are a bit bright on the high end though not as much as the Klipsch. In your estimation is the high end on the RS 6 speakers more neutral than the 530 speakers? I read some reviews of the BX 2 bookshelf and some people said the high end was a little bright. But reviews of the BX 1 said the high end was more laid back. I am wondering if there is a difference in the tweeter sound in some of their speakers.

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Originally Posted by Billiam62

John Michael. It sounds like you now prefer the Monitor Audio R6 speakers over the JBL 530's. Is this correct? I have read the JBL's are a bit bright on the high end though not as much as the Klipsch. In your estimation is the high end on the RS 6 speakers more neutral than the 530 speakers? I read some reviews of the BX 2 bookshelf and some people said the high end was a little bright. But reviews of the BX 1 said the high end was more laid back. I am wondering if there is a difference in the tweeter sound in some of their speakers.

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I am glad to have a speaker I paid the most for sounding better. The Monitor Audio RS6 speakers are well engineered. The JBL Studio 530's are genius. I have never listened to a Klipsch speaker that I could enjoy longer than an hour. From the La Scala's on down I did not like their horn drivers. The JBL Studio 530's compression driver which operates from 1,500 Hz up is very smooth.

I have not heard the BX series but I would venture a guess that the smaller speaker with less bass would have the treble rolled off by the cross over. The designer could then balance the speaker.

The RS6's do a better job portraying the size of large orchestras and large choral groups. Two 6 inch woofers working together can do a better job than a single 5.25 woofer. As far as the high end I think the difference between the controlled dispersion of the horn and the wide dispersion of a dome can both sound good. The vertical horn of the JBL's seems to be the best focused.

JM...I thought you had had your speakers in that position before? But I am glad you are having fun with them. IF they are back in your good graces to stay then great. New cables? Lots of choices out there for those. Yeah I know what you me wanting others to hear you system.

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Originally Posted by frenchmon

JM...I thought you had had your speakers in that position before? But I am glad you are having fun with them. IF they are back in your good graces to stay then great. New cables? Lots of choices out there for those. Yeah I know what you me wanting others to hear you system.

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No they have never been out this far in the room. They are 3ft from the back wall and I wished they sounded this good about a foot back. As far as cables I was trying to stir up the cable nonbelievers. The AQ 44's are a detailed but quiet cable. The AQ Slates were far from quiet. The AQ Rocket series is very nice for the money.

Humm, well, at 3 feet from the back wall you might as well audition Magneplanars while you're at it.