Looking for my Final Pair!!


Been through the high end maelstrom for over 30 years and although I have enjoyed the ride, I desperately want to find speakers that exude dynamics, tone and presence.  I want to be transported to the Village Vanguard where The John Coltrane Quartet are performing any night I desire.  I want to feel the timbre of his sax 🎷. When I close my eyes I want to be enveloped by the atmosphere of the space and awash with the impact and emotion being expressed by the musicians.  I don’t want to hear what the engineers hear after they mix a recording...I want to be in the studio when the tracks are being laid down!  So far, Tannoy Heritage Arden have come to my attention, Klipsch Cornwall IV’s, JBL S4700’s or perhaps Spatial Audio X3’s?  Help
128x128dave_b

@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook

"Amazes me that at least 3 people are screaming "Tannoy" in this thread and your playing Classic Rock.  Tannoy has to be one of the WORST brands I have heard playing Rock.  Wonderful with lightweight fluff, Female vocals etc but will make you sleep thru "Dark Side of the Moon". Dont waste your time."

 

You do realise Dark Side of the Moon was mixed and mastered on Tannoys?

That album, along with most other UK rock classics, hendrix etc, all mastered specifically to sound great on Tannoys... But yeah, sure, you'll sleep right through when you listen back on them. Just like I'm sure all the members of pink floyd and the mixing anf mastering engineers did when they sat in the studio and played back the finished product.

Lolll, you really couldn't have picked a worse example to make your point mate. By the way, rock sounds incredible on big 50s/60s/70s Tannoy Dual Concentrics- try a pair of Monitor Silvers and come back and talk. In the meanwhile, shtop talking shite, good lad. 

Dear @mozartfan :  ""  ONly a FR can voice orchestra/complex jazz with success in the mids/highs.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not only Full Orchestra/complex jazz,
But also no other speaker in the universe can voice female jazz vocals like a New High Tech Full Range, whether it be magnet or field coil..."""

"""  The above speaker sounds superior than the actual recording in the studio itself.
Better than live, Hows that for full range magic...."""

Suddenly your statements that you spreaded shouting at just change in a few days ! !

No more FR ? crossover again?

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
It is raining outside, have time on my hands, followed this thread, bypassing one poster.

Dave, Glad to hear you are happy with your speakers and the improvements you have made (tweeters).  Enjoy!
roxy544,085 posts05-15-2021 8:45amAnd what are they mozartfan?

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voxativ AC1A. 
However, 
Things have happened today,
Richard Gray lent me his Magnovox 1963 tweeter horn. and man, what a  revelation. 
I mean to some of you ~~horn fans~~, this Magnovox might not be anything special. 
but its my 1st encounter with a  horn. I LOVE the sound.
Completely blows away the seas Millennium dome tweet, which is the finest dome tweet ever made.
I love this horn so much, I've been digging arfound fora  used midrange horn. 
a  Ebay seller accepted my offer and now i'll have a  2 horn  with W18E001's acting fo bass. 
This might become a real winner  and could very well possibly compete with the Vox AC1A.
I have  a davidLouis 4 inch FR arriving this week, And will put that between the dual W19's, see how it competes with the horns.
We have a  real gun fight going down at the OK Corral.
I have no idea which has the quickest gun in the west.
4 Inch FR with Neo magnet or these dual Horns from early 1960's. 
Will  post how the shootout went down. 
The Vox AC1A's are slated for purchase late September. 
I know for a fact the AC1A has bass, mids and highs. 
Yet the horns , each is dedicated fora  specific hz range with dual W18E001's booming out rock solid bass , since we added a  2.2 uf Mundorf SESGO cap along with the Supreme SGO 10uf. 
Adding the 2.2 really   padded nicely the bass fq's. Witha  10uf crossed at 1900hz, now with a  addition of a  2.2 crosses at 1600hz. 
These W18's /magnesium cones. with a  10 and 2 Mundorf Supreme caps, delivers a  bass whicha  sub just can;'t do musically. 



.I want to be in the studio


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found my ~~THe Final speaker~~~~
just need the $1800 to make this happen
oldhvymec2: Everests! From a friend in the business who has real good ears and has listened to many extraordinary speakers, loves the Everests.

Oakland Hills! Montclair per chance? Just phenomenally gorgeous. Nice that you live by that area.
Post removed 
medialies
Please do not get any coloser to the rabbit hole or should it spelled whole, your lose would be as devastating as my no longer blogging on agon....
What I love about a forum like this is how it demonstrates that everyone hears differently, everybody expects something special from their speakers and how this process shows us that nobody is correct on which is the best speaker . As it is with all equipment.

I love it. Really opens us all up to what is out there. Many products I have never hear of and it sends me off researching, only making the rabbit hole deeper and deeper.
arcticdeth,
I heard the Sanders system at the Scottsdale Speakerfest 2 years ago. It was the worst of show several of us there agreed. One thing that it didn't have for certain was the ability to play loudly or with convincing dynamics. I have heard that the amplifier itself is excellent.
Beyond that though, why are you suggesting it when he has already bought the Cornwalls and is satisfied with them? 
Sanders sound system. 
  Speakers and amps, crossover. 
  Heaven. Concert level volumes. Crystal clear.  Best warranty in audio, 
    30 day in home trial.  You will KEEP the system. 
  
Upgrade my POV?  Sweet Jesus....what in dear God’s name are you selling, I mean talking about?
Dave 
I think you need to upgrade..........not so much your speakers as your point of view. 
Phew what a read.  My lord does this Raul guy even listen to music?Maybe while he types these novels.  LOL what a waste of time.  I have been on a journey with many amps and the Forte III over the last year and I think you are in for a real treat with the Decware amp you ordered.  Of the many amps I've used, First Watt J2 and F6, Pass 30.8, Theta Prometheus, Naim Atom and Nova the little Zen triode is my fav by far.  To the point I don't think I could have a speaker that an amp like this can't drive.  I've ordered the Cornwall IV myself and hoping they give me that little bit more bass and slam the Forte III lack in my large room. BTW I dumped my Kef Blades after hearing the Forte IIIs for some time in my main system compared to the Blades.  
The Naim was the only SS amp that I used with the CW IV and it was a very nice match. While I personally preferred tubes, most people could enjoy the Naim and call it a day.

In addition to sounding good, the Naim was also super convenient. It's an integrated amp with built-in DAC and streaming capabilities. 


jarossi13,

I probably need to go listen to the Cornwall IV's again but with tubes. The first time I heard them it was with McIntosh solid state and was not impressed.

I am coming from Thiel CS5i's, which have a certain solidness to the sound that the Cornwalls did not. On the other hand, the Corwalls had a kind of energy that would make them great when you want to rock.

Dsper
@dsper 

I've run my CW IV with a Naim Uniti Nova, which is a really nice match for the CW IV. SS & Tubes each have their own unique strengths, which is better would be a matter of personal taste.

For me, bass performance was better with the Naim but not by enough of a margin to keep me away from tubes. My preferred amp with the CW IVs is an Audio Note Cobra. It's a Class A PP EL34 design that puts out 28 watts, mid-range is fantastic (superior to the Naim) and it's dead quiet--even at idle. 

The Aperion planar magnetic super tweeters sound nice...breaking in nicely!  They have adjustable level and crossover controls and WBT connections.  Got matching cables for $70 really nice quality.
It's easy. If the speakers are biwire, hook them up to the tweeter terminals on top of the regular speaker wire. The planar magnetics didn't come with any wire, and I had to do it myself, but the Townshends came with all of the wire and hookups. It took about 60 seconds to connect them.  
@roxy54  I actually tried a bought an inexpensive set of planar magnetic supertweeters to augment my speakers last year, and found them to be disappointing. The ones that I bought sounded sort of "dry". However, 3 weeks ago, I finally bought a set of the Townshend ribbon supertweeters, and I have to say that they are as good as I had heard that they are.
So how do you hook up these supertweeters, say, to Cornwall IV's for example??
I have only used tube amps with the cornwalls, so I can’t comment on that.

@ozzy62 
I, for one, love my Cornwall IVs....
ozzy62, can you comment on how the Corwalls sound different with tube amplification versus solid state?

I've only heard then once with McIntosh solid state...

I have a Don Sachs preamp on order by the way.

Thanks, Dsper


Highly recommended but not see in North America much. they make speakers priced from about $6k to a million bucks.
Fun fact...dug out some old cables I have on hand just to check my ears.  They all sound different...sorry Audioholics 😔  Reminded me why I love MIT products...just so much more realistic sounding on every level!
See above Steve59...a little too clinical and precise for me!  The Cornwall’s knock it back a hair and flesh things out a bit more with better presence.
ATC SCM50ASLT. Mine arrived 12 hours ago. I can only recommend to save up or depending on your amp budget, they are active. If only I would have known earlier. The endless upgrading and tweaking cost a lot of money. Hassle
Look them up on their website. 
@rauliruegas Unlike you, I answered a question the was posed in this thread.
@gordon  : Fantastic contribution to all the subjects developed in the thread that enhance and helps all Agoners and especially the OP.

Thank's for that and keep walking.

R.
My suggestion for newbie audiophiles is to buy what fits in your budget once and enjoy the heck out of it...do not overthink everything!

Good advice. But did we ever follow it? 

Enjoying the music without being hyper neurotic about ones sound system is difficult for any veteran audiophile.  The Cornwall’s help distract me from being overtly  critical of my sound and more involved with the heart of the music.  My suggestion for newbie audiophiles is to buy what fits in your budget once and enjoy the heck out of it...do not overthink everything!  The pathway to Dante’s Inferno is paved with tweaking and upgrading 😳
ghdprentice,
What were you thinking? He's made it clear before that he's already gone that route.
@ozzy62 I think I made it about 1/2 way through the first post of his I ever read years ago.  Since then, I just scroll past them.
Well speaker choice is a very personal thing. Given what you were looking for I think there are some obvious places to look. I have been an audio file for 50 years. I have enjoyed plateaus and which iced stuck with the same equipment for 5 to 10 years and really really enjoyed it. I normally try to make all positive comments on posts. But looking at your list of speakers, I can’t help but think your hook might be in the wrong pond. I recommend you take a look at Wilson, Sonus Fabre, and B&W. There are also a number of brands a little bit peripheral to this group. But these companies pride themselves on bringing concert Accurate sound. They’re highly reviewed and highly regarded With high resale value. Given the price you’re looking at I highly recommend researching these companies. If I remember correctly you were looking at 10 or 12,000 that is an excellent high end range to be in. It is highly competitive.