“House” Character of Popular $20-$30k Speakers


I’ll be upgrading my speakers in a bit (after I add a turntable to my system). I’ve always thought that people two often end up attempting to correct or compensate for a quality they don’t like in one of their system components. My thought is that speakers and amps shouldn’t try to “correct” each other, but rather, they should complement each other, while sharing many similar qualities in their sonic signatures.

With that in mind, I’d describe my Gryphon Diablo 300 with the internal DAC (fed by an InnuOS Zenith MK3 streamer) as being rich, lively, engaging, slightly warm but moderately detailed, with dramatic dynamic swings that can often simulate a live sound. Smooth but energetic and engaging at the same time. My speakers I’ll be upgrading from are B&W 803 D2’s. Big full and bold sound but with finesse and moderate quickness too.

What brand of speakers would be along the lines of the sound I describe above? I’d be hoping to follow this sonic signature in my next speaker purchase, but adding some small capabilities with transparency and detail, imaging, and low end presence.

The speaker brands I have in mind to look into are:

-Magico (would check out the A5’s. I hear the A5’s could be too analytical for some, but have an excellent and clean bass presence.  Bust most rave about the A5)

-Sonus Faber (heard these are too relaxed for some?)

-Wilson Audio (if I can get over how they look)

-Monitor Audio

-Dynaudio: Maybe this brand could be a sweet spot?

-B&W: I’ve tested many and find them lacking in bass presence resulting in a mid forward style. That said the 802 D3’s I auditioned matched the sonic character of their upper ranges very well.

Would be interested in how others describe the house sounds if the brands above…

 

 

 

nyev

Showing 5 responses by ghdprentice

I have heard Magico… incredible speakers…. But you better have first class electronics behind them. Or you are going to hear any shortcomings. 
 

I was seduced by Sonus Faber for their natural sound… as in perfectly reproducing acoustic sounds which translates into all music genre sounding great. I have now had three sets of Sonus… Amati Traditional now.

@mournbladeiv 

 

I have all Audio Research gear, see my ID to see it. My ARC Reference 160s is running in triode mode so it is at half power… about 70 watts per channel. The triod mode has a very small edge in being a touch warmer… other than that hard to tell between 140 wpc and 70wpc.

OP,

 

After decades of making audio choices I found that the best thing to do after a few minutes of critical listening. Just listen to the music… let it soak into your subconscious. Does it move you? Drop the jumping from one sound to another trying to memorize all the notable attributes. There is likely going to be a pull to certain components.

Took me years to figure this out for myself. Would not be surprised if it could help you.

Actually most of our intelligence comes from our subconscious… let it decide. Ultimately this is what is listening to music once you have your system at home… it is what connects with the music.

@mournbladeiv

 

I own a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Traditional and have auditioned Magico many times. To me, it is a question of do you want to reproduce music or a science experiment. If I was listening to details of crickets mating for my masters degree… I would pick Magico. If I had $400K of electronics and wanted to hear every last detail off of albums, I would pick Magico. If I wanted to listen to music and have an emotional connection… I want my Amati. I love my Amati… and they are beautiful as well.

 

 

@mournbladeiv

 

Thank you.
 

Btw, my audio guy brought over one of his employees to listen to my system. He turned it up louder that I ever would even consider or thought it could go… no clipping, just perfect musical reproduction at really high volume… with 70wpc.