Reference 3A or Mark & Daniel or...


Well it looks like the wife and I are finally gonna pull the trigger on downsizing, the kids are gone and a five bedroom colonial no longer fits the bill.  As a result it's not looking good for my Ohm Walsh 3's as they're just to big and bulky for our new condo.

I've been investigating smallish monitors and have narrowed (but not settled on) two brands, Mark & Daniel and Reference 3A.  What intrigues me most about these two is that they are considered to be dynamic and fairly full-range.  How they get there couldn't be more different, the 3A's running wide open with a "helper" tweeter with I believe just a single cap,  higher efficiency as a benefit.  The M & D's  on the other hand use their "Dreams" tweeter which is a descendant of the ESS unit to cross over at a very low 800 to 900 cycles depending on the model. with the M & D's being lower in efficiency in the 83-85db range. This shouldn't be an issue for me as I have a fairly powerful Onix MKII integrated amp that will pump about 160 watts out at 4ohms.  As far as models go it would either be the 3A DeCapo or Dulcet and with M&D the Ruby or Diamond.  Anyone with experience with either of these brands or models please feel free to chime in with your thoughts and experiences, thanks!


polarin

Showing 1 response by char2

Hi,

I have loved the De Capos (BE's) for the last two years  and I can say that they are wonderful. They work great with tubes (300'bs) and excellent solid state amps. Off the cuff the best amp I have used with the De Capos is the Pass 30.8. A relatively inexpensive tube amp that was phenomenal with the speakers was the Audio Space 300 B's. I will say one thing (it's a Duh ) the room makes more difference with these speakers or any speakers for that matter than the electronics. 
Best
Charlie