Great soundstaging speakers = 2k


Hi all,

I'm in the middle of changing my speakers, and was looking for some recos on a good speaker. The electronics are :
Plinius 8200 MK I
Sony DVPS7700
QED silver speaker cables and interconnects

I'm not the kind of guy who sits down and listens to music. I have a bunch of western and indian classical CDs that I play almost every single minute I'm at home....but simultaneously do other chores within the room. So more than imaging , I want to get some speaker that projects hu-uge soundstage and sweetspot... something that is a little laidback, warm without losing detail. I've been through mostly mid-fi speakers like PSB stratus bronze, silvers, energy veritas, tyler acoustic, paradigm and infinity.

So I would really appreciate if you can offer me some recos about speakers that you think will suit my tastes.

Thanks,
C
cacophonix
There is a pair of Mirage M1s for sale on Agon. These, although huge, will definately meet your requirements. Huge soundstage, laid back and not bright, incredible imaging...They are extremely power hungry thought..
Just a thought at 2k they are a bargain.. Origionally if you could find them they were 7k!
Your Plinius should drive them.
Happy listening,
Joe
Custom Audio LLC
Legacy Classics, psb Goldi. By the way, I wouldn't necessarily consider your previous speakers "mid-fi."
Mirage bi-polars and Ohm Walsh speakers are good recommendations for giving you a wide listening area, though I haven't heard the current generationg Ohm speakers so can't vouch for them. The Mirages tend to be warm and laid-back. A bit harder to find are Shahinian speakers - perhaps a used pair of Obelisks will pop up. That's a lovely little speaker. Or if by chance you find a good deal on a used pair of Gradient Revolutions, they also have correct tonal balance from well outside the sweet spot, and are unusually relaxing for long-term listening. Disclaimer - I'm a Gradient dealer.

Like you, I prefer speakers that sound good anywhere in the room.

Best of luck in your quest!

Duke
Here I go recommending the Carolina Audio speakers again. www.carolinaaudio.com (the pistures on the site don't do them justice they are very sharp!) check out the 6XL's $1800 21day home trial. Incredible bass (transmission loaded) and soundstaging with from a 6 1/2" two way with a very transparent series crossover. These will really fill the room and offer a huge all around upgrade from your previous speakers. They have an incredibly transparent midrange and sound incredible with that much power. A definate must audition.
Drubin,
The previous I owned were good, no doubt, but on extended listening the paradigm, infinity and veritas were too bright. PSB were warm and laidback but lacked detail.

I call these speakers mid fi because i didn't spend more
than 1.5k for any of the speakers.

I would ideally prefer something that doesn't take too much real estate. But the bottom line is - huge soundstage, warm sounding with detail.
Perhaps the best reviewed new speaker this year has been the Alon Lotus Elite series. There are three models. The least expensive is the just-released Esprit. The Lotus is a wonderfully musical speaker, but the forte' is incredibly dense, palpable, free-standing soundstaging. The secret is the dipole mid and tweet, along with impeccable driver integration. The Elite series is derived from the $125,000 Grand Exotica, HP's current reference. I suggest checking the website, alonbyacarian.com. Read the reviews and contact Carl for a dealer and info.
Cacophonix,

I own a Plinius 8150. After auditioning speakers for over 1 year (over 20 different speakers), I've settled on the Revel M20. The result was simply on a different league of everything else (this included Dynaudio 1.3 and 1.8, Red Rose R3, Reference 3A Royal Master, Sonus Faber Signum, Elac 512, Thiel 1.5 and many more to name)

The matching with the Plinius is made in heaven. As for the cables, I use the (no longer available) Yamamura Millenium 6000 (speaker and IC). These are amazing cables and give lots of air and bloom ... I know the QED and they are honest cables, but are not able to deliver the huge soundstage and the effortless, non-mechanical presentation you are looking for.

Regarding the CDP, I can't comment, but I use a Meridian 508.24 with great results.

The M20 are among the most extraordinary audio components I know. They have ultimate accuracy, astonishing tonal balance, huge and precise soundstage, plenty of fine detail but without sounding harsh or cold ... but they are extremely revealing of anything that may be less than ok on your front-end, so audition is a must.

Good luck,

Vermeer
Cacophonix, Give a listen to Martin Logans as these speakers can do all the things you wish!
Happy Listening!
If you listen to classical, low level listening,not
forward,still want huge sounstage,detail, sweet spot,
less than 2k? try the aerius martin logan IMO this
will give your need, plus plinius and ML match very
well.You can buy them here used here at AG.
Happy listening. I use to own the omh 3 they are good
speaker they are omnidirectional, you can walk around
the room the sound, the sweet spot is still the same.
But the quality of sound you will get from aerius and
plinius combination is wayyyyyyy... much better.
GOOD LUCK. BEFORE I FORGOT AERIUS USED THEY SELL BETWEEN
$1300 to $1800 it depends on the model.
Although Martin Logans are pretty good speakers, they have a small sweet spot. They sound terrible while standing up, and walking around the room
Soul if you have the right amp like plinius, you will get
bigger sweet spot, my friend use to own them, I still
own the quest with plinius sa 100, the sweet spot is
huge...., but the quest are more than 2k.
im my experieince I like my quest when Iam standing,
with respect to Soul this is just an experience, I
would like to share.NO OFFENSE.
I did audition the martin logans, but found that while imaging was great, the sweet spot is ridiculously small. At Tweeter, I also auditioned the sonus fabers and found them to be great, but $3k is more than what I'm willing to spend. I'm looking out for a used revel f30 for around 2k...Lets hope i'll find one here at audiogon.

I've heard a lot of good things about vandersteen and meadowlark, but there are no local dealers here...so i'm hesitant buying those unheard. Any audiogoners in Dallas who are gracious enough to let me listen to their vandersteen/meadowlark speakers? :)))
Sounds like u are leaning towards a phase correct speaker...again...check out Green Mountain Audio Europas for $800...contact Roy at GMA on the Manufactuer list on this site...a speaker is highly subjective...but I selected these even after hearing Vandies and Larks..which were also very good...cheers...
Caco,
I guess I'm a little confused by the terminology but I think I know what you mean. More often then not, I've heard "huge soundstage" applied to speakers with a small sweet spot and precise requirements for speaker placement. In the sweet spot, with the speakers aligned, the soundstage is huge.

My experience has been that a big sweet spot goes along with a wide-dispersion speaker. Ohm Walsh, being omni-directional, are a great example but they haven't been made in quite a while.

I asked for a large sweet spot and a dealer demo'd Dynaudio. He was right. The knock on them is that they require a lot of power and they are very revealing.
Do try to Audition Vandersteens. I have a friend who is running 2CE Sigs with an all Rotel system and they sound much, much better than you would think, given their modest price.