Buy used. I was a Spendor dealer and have 6 pairs , three I bought new and 3 used and they all perform the same. Any speaker that has not been abused has a very long life and you will pay a fraction of it's new cost. Buy from someone with an Audiogon track record. I was just listening to Dave Brubeck on Spendor SP1/2E , bought used on Audiogon, supported by two REL Stadium subs, also bought used on Audiogon, driven by a Musical Fidelity M3, ditto, The power being transferred by Cardas Gold Reference, also bought used on Audiogon .In every case I paid less than half the new cost and in one case 25%. Look at British monitor speakers , among others. I recently saw a pair of Spendor SP-1s selling for $825. This is one of the best speakers ever made and will work well in your room. Check reviews on line to see what others think also. B&W 805s are good as are several speakers made here.
musical speakers for a Quad system
Hi all. I need some speaker advice from people with experience.
I have recently acquired a nice complete Quad electronics stack - 99 CD player, 99 stereo pre-amp and 909 amp (thanks Lanemart!) - it's on its way, and mine to enjoy in a couple of days, provided UPS delivers it in one piece (or three - get it?)
I am currently in possession of an awesome pair of Soliloquy 5.3 speakers, on loan from a friend (thanks Terry, if you read this!), but I need to plan for my future system.
I am looking for something musical, with good synergy with the Quads. I did not go with the Quad speakers, as I heard they are quite room-sensitive, and I have some limitations there (room about 14/8, with a cut corner in the back, speakers aimed at long axis, hard floors and walls, space has some limitations, an opening to one side of a speaker, I could go on and on). I want something that gives me more range than my previous Kef monitors, and less of their "bite" in high frequencies. Budget, you ask? Well, I got spoiled with great deals, so ideally less than 1500. I prefer new, but I will take used in very good condition with few hours if it's a really good deal. I listen to ~50% classical, all sub-genres, and the rest is an eclectic mix of everything (really, everything!) as long as it is good quality and sounds good. Think Deep Purple live to Diana Krall unplugged, Miles Davis to Nils Peter Molvaer.
There is such an abundance of stuff out there, it's really hard to start anywhere. I prefer non-electrostatic, I have a cat, fairly well behaved, but come on, if I was a cat I would definitely give them a claw-check, they are naught if not gigantic scratchpads! The WAF is an important consideration (no Gini systems or the like) - she loves the Soliloquys, loves Sonus Faber even more (she should have married a lot richer than she did for that!). One brand I liked in the past was Totem, partly because I had a chance to listen to them. Other suggestions?
Much appreciated. Back to Mr Saint-Saens' organ symphony, while I wait for some feed-back from the knowledgeable Gon' community.
Thank you
I have recently acquired a nice complete Quad electronics stack - 99 CD player, 99 stereo pre-amp and 909 amp (thanks Lanemart!) - it's on its way, and mine to enjoy in a couple of days, provided UPS delivers it in one piece (or three - get it?)
I am currently in possession of an awesome pair of Soliloquy 5.3 speakers, on loan from a friend (thanks Terry, if you read this!), but I need to plan for my future system.
I am looking for something musical, with good synergy with the Quads. I did not go with the Quad speakers, as I heard they are quite room-sensitive, and I have some limitations there (room about 14/8, with a cut corner in the back, speakers aimed at long axis, hard floors and walls, space has some limitations, an opening to one side of a speaker, I could go on and on). I want something that gives me more range than my previous Kef monitors, and less of their "bite" in high frequencies. Budget, you ask? Well, I got spoiled with great deals, so ideally less than 1500. I prefer new, but I will take used in very good condition with few hours if it's a really good deal. I listen to ~50% classical, all sub-genres, and the rest is an eclectic mix of everything (really, everything!) as long as it is good quality and sounds good. Think Deep Purple live to Diana Krall unplugged, Miles Davis to Nils Peter Molvaer.
There is such an abundance of stuff out there, it's really hard to start anywhere. I prefer non-electrostatic, I have a cat, fairly well behaved, but come on, if I was a cat I would definitely give them a claw-check, they are naught if not gigantic scratchpads! The WAF is an important consideration (no Gini systems or the like) - she loves the Soliloquys, loves Sonus Faber even more (she should have married a lot richer than she did for that!). One brand I liked in the past was Totem, partly because I had a chance to listen to them. Other suggestions?
Much appreciated. Back to Mr Saint-Saens' organ symphony, while I wait for some feed-back from the knowledgeable Gon' community.
Thank you
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