A dilemma: Modern sound, Musical Bliss or both?


Hi,

I'm in a crossroad between different audiophile paths.
I have heard many speakers in the $10-$20K range.
So far, I was most impressed by the following:
- Brodmann/Bosendorfer VC7
- Devore Orangutan O/96
- Avalon Indra

They can be divided into 2 sound categories:
1) The Brodmann VC7 & the Devore O/96 are not "accurate" speakers - they both sound extremely musical and "lack" the properties of modern sounding speakers (transparency, quietness and extreme dynamic abilities).
2) The Avalon Indra is a modern sounding speaker but I enjoyed listening to it very much - but it can sometimes be non-forgiving to recordings, although not as much as other high-end modern sounding speakers I've auditioned.

My dilemma is - will I be able to enjoy both worlds with the Indra and the right setup?
When I listen to the VC7 or the O/96 - I enjoy them very much - but after auditioning the Indra I found out that I am missing many recording/musical insights that I have not experienced with the VC7 or the O/96.

What would you do?
iaxelrod

Showing 3 responses by mapman

Try to get in as much audition time with the Avalon as you can before buying then decide. Try to audition with the rest of the gear you will be starting with in the same system. Do not discount value of minor tweaks like ICs, clean power, etc. as needed to fine tune the sound.
"the surest sign that a loudspeaker will provide long term satisfaction is if during audition you find yourself enjoying the music so much that you are not thinking about loudspeakers at all"

Amen brother.
I'm not so sure its a true dilemma. Modern sound does not necessarily forgo musical bliss.

There is good modern sound and bad modern sound just like there is good and bad vintage sound.

So you can have your cake and eat it too but you gotta do the homework first.