The first speakers that come to mind would be Thiel CS.5's. Granted, you may want to add a nice subwoofer later on, but I love the accuracy and imaging of these little Thiels. With a good sub, they can compete with setups costing much more. If you bought new, I would think that NHT would be strong in that price range. Some other used contenders might include Meadowlark Swifts, the smaller Totem floorstanders, or maybe even ProAc (which would pair up well with your Arcam).
Tom. |
Paradigm makes some great speakers in its price range. So does PSB. But I was trying to throw out some suggestions in a slightly different direction. I happen to be putting together an Arcam/ProAc setup, myself. After falling in love with the ProAc Tablette Reference 8's, I ordered a pair of the Signature series. Shortly thereafter, that same dealer had someone trade in an Arcam FMJ A22, so I snagged it, although I have yet to pick up either unit. So, while I, too, have read that they match up well, I have not heard them togehter yet. I am currently trolling for a CD player to match.
Tom. |
Mark:
The Thiel CS.5's are floor standers, and you don't absolutely need a subwoofer with them. My father-in-law has a pair with no sub, and he loves them. But for many of the speakers in your price range, if you want detail, tonal balance, good imaging and soundstage, you probably won't get that AND great low end output without a sub. You can get good low end, but usually at the expense of something else (in that price range, that is). Plus, most of the speakers that are going to fit your room well are going to be on the smaller side.
I'm not sure if the ProAc/Arcam match-up is due to them both being British, but I would think that this is part of why they work so well togehter. For kicks, if not for sonic reasons, I am setting up my office system to be all British, while my home system is all American.
Tom. |
Mark:
For Thiels, the CS.5's are pretty easy to drive. Personally, I would think that the Arcam would be able to handle a 4 ohm load just fine, but as of yet, I do not have firsthand experience trying this. If you used a subwoofer with a crossover that you could plug into the "preamp out/power amp in" loop, then, yes, this would make your main speakers easier to drive, though I think that there would be some sonic sacrifice in this approach. I really wouldn't think that the small Thiels would be hard to drive. A pair of SCS3's (bookshelf size, but can be arranged horizontally or vertically) could sound nice, also, and I know that they are not hard to drive.
I am really stoked about getting my system up and running. Those little ProAc's are phenomenal for their size. ProAc makes a couple of nice little subs, but I do not think that I will need them. The regular Tablette Reference 8's that I heard had plenty of bass, and the Signature models that I ordered (the dealer just told me that he has them in his hands) go even lower (38 Hz for the Sig's, versus 40 Hz for the standard Ref 8's). Your shopping list of five brands, ProAc, Thiel, Meadowlark, Totem and Dali is a fine list, and all are top performers in their price range and size, IMHO.
Good luck!
Tom. |
Thiels are indeed revealing, but when you pair them with good gear, I consider that to be a very good thing. It means that they aren't covering anything up. Not having the new ProAcs in my home yet, from my in store auditioning, I'd say that as a brand, they are warmer than the Thiels, though perhaps not as spot on accurate. With regard to reliability of Thiels, I happen to think that they have some of the best customer support out there. I picked up my 3.6's second hand, and before I did, I contacted Thiel to ask about the warranty. They said that technically, it is non-transferable, and lasts 10 years. However, they said that no matter if you are the original owner or not, and no matter how old they are, if they fail on the account of a manufacturing defect, they will generally repair/replace it for free. On the flip side, even if they are brand new, if they fail due to your own abuse, they don't cover anything. I recently had a chance to put that policy to the test when both of my woofers developed damage from aparently excessive excursion. This, despite the fact that I had never pushed them very loud. We could not find the source of the problem (and my amps were fully checked out, and came back fine), but Thiel fixed them for free, even though it is quite possible that it was something other than speaker failure that caused the problem (my amps were Adcom GFA-555II's run in bridged mono, one for each speaker, and this would have presented a 2 ohm nominal, 1 ohm occassional, load, which may have been the culprit). Thiel was great. The also had my other drivers and crossovers checked out, too.
That said, any of those speakers on your short list are capable of providing very good, very enjoyable music. It is unfortunate that you cannot hear them all, but such is often the case. What sonic traits do you prefer?
Tom. |
Mark:
You hit the nail on the head with Paradigm's, especially the Monitor series. A bit muddy in the bass to mid-bass, a bit indistinct in the upper mids, but pretty fair for the money, otherwise. In truth, I much prefer the smaller Paradigm's to the larger. I have not heard Dynaudios in a long time, so they are not too fresh in my mind, but I recall them as being very pleasant speakers.
From what you are describing, with Arcam electronics, I am guessing that ProAc is going to be the way to go. This, of course, is the route that I am taking. I found the ProAc's to be both warm and very detailed, which are usually two characteristics that are somewhat at odds. If you went Thiel, the SCS3's I recall as being a bit more full sounding, and might be your best bet.
I also think that monitors are really going to do a better job for you. In general, monitors will give you a better soundstage and image (not much box vibration to muck things up). I may be able to pick up my ProAc's and Arcam FMJ A22 this weekend. Once I get them set up, I will let you know how they sound.
Tom. |
I got to hear my ProAc's with the FMJ A22 over the weekend, and let me say, it was big smiles all around! Those ProAcs really image like crazy, and while not in the league of my Thiel CS3.6's, the bass out of those mini's was just unbelievable! I am very, very happy with this combination, but I am not looking for different speaker cables. I was going to use a pair of MIT AVt3's (spade to spade), but after hearing bi-wired MIT AVt1's, the difference was very noticeable. However, seeing as how this system is for my office, I don't want the big MIT boxes hanging off the back of the speaker, so I'm on a bit of a quest for a visually unobtrusive, fairly flexible, bi-wireable speaker cable that performs in the league of the MIT AVt1.
But back to the question at hand, I can confirm that Arcam and ProAc is a very nice combination.
Tom. |
