Great info again guys... so a little background and my findings so far. First off I am in a condo and will probably be here another 3-5 years. I have a great room layout with the dining, kitchen, and living room all open to eachother. As such I have about 800 sqft and 10 ft ceilings to fill. I have been playing with the positioning of furniture and the layout of the room and I think ultimately I will end up putting the tv and speakers on the far wall, facing the rest of the condo, its about 11ft wide with windows behind and to the right. My seating will be about 6ft away. I am not only looking for a dynamic soundstage at my couch but I also want to be able to enjoy music while doing chores and what not around the rest of the house. Given the space limitations the larger towers such as the Sopras and B&W 803's seem a bit overwhelming, that being said I dont want to short change myself given that I will be in a bigger space at some point in the "nearish" future.
As far as what I have heard so far here are my impressions...
Klipsch RP280F:
I currently have some old best buy special Klipsch Icons and I have enjoyed them but want more. I had always liked the idea of the RF7's but couldnt find any to demo so I figured I could at least get a sense for them by listening to the RP line since the new RF7 iii's share similar components. After listening to them I was quite let down, they were bass heavy and seemed to muddy the sound stage, it was like the bass washed away any detail in the mids, even the highs seemed to take a back seat, something I didnt think was possible with Klipsch. Needless to say I quickly moved on.
Martin Logan 60XT:
I had heard some of the ML electrostats many years ago and remember them as being very warm and laid back. Unfortunately the 60xt just seemed flat in every sense, I was beyond underwhelmed and their performance got worse even being slight off axis from the sweet spot. I quickly eliminated them as even a remote option.
Golden Ear Reference:
Everything about these speakers is big... they are huge!!!! The sound was accurate, clean, and presented a really large soundstage with excellent off axis listening. I really cant complain about them but they just didnt wow me... I felt like they did alot of things well but nothing really great, if I was looking for a dedicated home theater speaker I think these would be fantastic. For music they just lacked that dynamic experience that I am looking for.
B&W 702s:
I listened to both the 702 and 703's, while they were similar the 702 definitely sounded better, by isolating the tweeter outside of the main enclosure the soundstage was greatly increased and I felt the treble was able to achieve a greater level of seperation from the mids and lows. The 702's also did a great job of projecting, when seated in the sweet spot the soundstage presented itself directly in front of me, the left and right channels blended perfectly and they just disappeared into music. Closing my eyes while listening to Aaron Copland it sounded like I was seated center stage at the symphony. They were clear, accurate, detailed and overall quite pleasant, I did find myself wanting a little bit more out of the bass and more presence in the lower mids but that was quickly resolved by incorporating a SVS SB2000. At 4k a pair these definitely are the value play, but just after listening to these I heard the Kanta 2's and my world changed... but more on that later.
B&W 804 d3:
These picked up where the 702s left off and brought the extension I felt was missing, I am not sure if this is courtesy of the kevlar cones but the difference was palpable. The diamond tweeter also separates itself from the 702 adding even more clarity, precision, and airiness... almost to the point of feeling delicate, but not fragile if that makes sense. It was incredibly detailed to the point that I started to pick up some artifacting and pixelation but I was quickly able to attribute that to the various switches and connections in the demo room. These speakers are very articulate, while listening to Queen's Fat Bottom Girls I was able to isolate their voices during their harmonizing of the chorus, something that was missing in the other speakers. These speakers also benefited from the addition of the PB2000, I think my personal preference is to run a sub outside of the speaker, I feel like it gives better separation, not to mention the added benefits during home theater listening. Needless to say these currently sit as my second favorite so far but at their 9k price tag its hard to justify spending an extra 5k over the 702's when they are also priced so closely to the Kanta's.
B&W 803 d3:
These speakers really are fantastic, if I had to nit pick them (beyond their price tag) they seemed a little laid back in their presentation. Beyond that they were simply clinical.
Focal Kanta 2:
These were the speakers that shattered my ideas of what I wanted and made me completely change my thought process (and budget). They came across very forward, not in a bright or harsh sense, but in an enveloping, surrounding, and inescapable way. They pulled me in with intoxicating clarity, depth, and presence. They were punchy but in a very tight and precise sense. The lows, mids, and highs energetically intertwined together in a expertly choreographed dance and regardless of the content and volume they never stepped on each others toes. Despite their bullishness I never wanted to back down, I only found myself wanting to push them farther, harder. Listening to Aaron Copland's Doppio Movimento they were sublime, as the crescendos built the instruments separated and I found myself enjoying the layering of sound like a warm croissant. Probably the most memorable moment was listening to Yo-Yo Ma and feeling his cello reverberate in my chest. I also listened to Built To Spill cover Neil Young's Cortez the Killer as well as Gary Clark Jr Bright Lights and Anders Osborne Mind of a Junkie.. all I can say is damn. I closed my eyes and their guitars were like sirens calling, I quickly found myself lost in bliss. I know I am gushing a bit but this is the sense of feeling and experience I was referring to in my initial post, I cant really explain it but they moved me.
I know it sounds like I am sold on the Focals, and if I had to buy them tomorrow I would be, but given the investment I want to make sure I get it right.
