Blade vs S5 vs Avior vs Hansen's Prince E's


Was supposed to be S5 not M5 as in previous post.

So yes, how is anyone supposed to make a decision when a proper evaluation is next to impossible???

Maybe choosing the dealer rather than the brand???
royaloak
Team 212 Sceanas are not bright at all, the 3.2 with the original ribbon tweeters are actually a tad recessed in the extreme treble, I own a pair!

The blades stuggle? In a realistically sized room they will play louder then you can stand without compression,

In my 26 by 20 by 10 room they can play louder then I can tolerate! In last years NY audio show we were in actually too large a room for even the Blades to work well in, this room was about 40 feet long, but the real problem was that it was two rooms connected and there was a huge suckout where the two rooms became one, we had great sound at the previous show in a large but much better sounding room.

Aviors based on what? Smaller soundstage then the Blades, not a Coherent, and not a point source, other then some really heroic cabinet construction in what ways would you thin the Aviors would be better?
I heard them in Bel Air, CA in the same room as the Magico Q7. I was with a group from the L.A. Audio Society. Both the Model T's and Magico Q7 were hooked up to the Bryston 28B-SST2 (what I went to hear). The Model T sounded really good and the price was very well received by the audio dudes that were there. The striking thing for me was how pissed of a lot of the people were on the Q7's price. They said that the Q7 was not worth approx. 30x the price of the Model T. I would take the Q7 in a second if it were free over the Model T. Some said they liked the Model T more but I think the high price just bugged them too much and they made a protest statement.
Yyzsantabarbara,

What did you think of the model T's

I think they sound damn good for the money, just wish they were better looking.

Off to the Montreal show, its in 10 days or so.
I auditioned the following in the past year and I decided to buy the Blades + Bryston amps. I could live with most of these speakers but the Blades were my favourite

Thiel CS 3.7 + Classe amps

Vienna Accoutics Kiss with Audio Research digital amps

Vienna Accoutics The Music with 6 subs (forgot the amps)

TAD Evolution One with Audio Research digital amps

KEF Blade with Chord SPM 14000MkII Reference mono power amplifier

Wilson Alexia with D’Agostino Momemtum monoblocks

Wilson Alexandira XLF with D’Agostino Momemtum monoblocks

Magico Q7 with Bryston 28B-SST2

Bryston Model T with Bryston 28B-SST2
You have many speakers that all sound very different to my ears, you need to go listen to them, take up the previous posters offer. Fly to NYC and spend a day or two listening to all of them and decide for yourself!
Avior was my choice and would unhesitatingly recommend the same one year down the road
Aviors would be my choice

Hansens--Ok not much else

Blades-- bass tends to get over wrought on tracks and the Speaker struggles

Magicos--No comment

Scaneas--bit bright for me

D
I've listened to the S5s and Aviors. My preference between the two is the S5s. I find the S5s more neutral and dynamic. They were in a different system, so it could have been the context of the system. I would look into Revel Studio 2s and/or Revel Salon 2s...both below 20K. There are no perfect speakers and there is always something better.
Fly into NY and you can hear my Blades and Scaenas at my shop, Audio Doctir, in Jersey City NJ

You can hear the Avior and Magicos at Ears Nova in NYC and there is a Hansen dealer in Brooklyn.

Personally I have heard all the Magicos and I was never impressed, I havne't hear the new Aviors, they do look like they would be pretty darn good, the Hansens I havnen't heard in years, but the last time I heard a pair I wasn't amazed by them.

I would say that the Blades if you get them right sound more like a $70k plus speaker, then anything I have heard, they throw a huge soundstage, have superb dynamics and can produce very deep bass, the problem is two fold many dealers don't have the rooms which the speakers will work in or they don't have the right equipment, considering that the speakers use dual side firing woofers they affect room acoustics more than conventional designs with front facing woofers.
Fly into NY and you can hear my Blades and Scaenas at my shop, Audio Doctir, in Jersey City NJ

You can hear the Avior and Magicos at Ears Nova in NYC and there is a Hansen dealer in Brooklyn.

Personally I have heard all the Magicos and I was never impressed, I havne't hear the new Aviors, they do look like they would be pretty darn good, the Hansens I havnen't heard in years, but the last time I heard a pair I wasn't amazed by them.

I would say that the Blades if you get them right sound more like a $70k plus speaker, then anything I have heard, they throw a huge soundstage, have superb dynamics and can produce very deep bass, the problem is two fold many dealers don't have the rooms which the speakers will work in or they don't have the right equipment, considering that the speakers use dual side firing woofers they affect room acoustics more than conventional designs with front facing woofers.
Fly into NY and you can hear my Blades and Scaenas at my shop, Audio Doctor in Jersey City NJ

You can hear the Avior and Magicos at Ears Nova in NYC and there is a Hansen dealer in Brooklyn.

Personally I have heard all the Magicos and I was never impressed, I havne't hear the new Aviors, they do look like they would be pretty darn good, the Hansens I havnen't heard in years, but the last time I heard a pair I wasn't amazed by them.

I would say that the Blades if you get them right sound more like a $70k plus speaker, then anything I have heard, they throw a huge soundstage, have superb dynamics and can produce very deep bass, the problem is two fold many dealers don't have the rooms which the speakers will work in or they don't have the right equipment, considering that the speakers use dual side firing woofers they affect room acoustics more than conventional designs with front facing woofers.
Btw, I've read some great reviews on the Magico S5s. Problem is that they list for $29K.
Welcome to our world and our quandry. And no ... I do not think choosing a dealer is the answer either. For one, many great speakers are only sold manufacturer direct, such as Daedalus, Totem, Joseph Audio, etc.

In addition, even a "great" dealer will only sell, or perhaps better, "push" the gear for which he has a dealer franchise. At least in my area, I am not aware of any dealer who sells all three brands that you listed.

So where does that leave you??? ... With the rest of us nim-nuts.