A speaker well worth consideration is the Thor. This was designed by Joe D'Appolito and is available as a kit from Madisound. The performance is truly amazing. The tall thin cabinet makes imaging superb, particularly compared to the very large speakers under consideration. Mine are paired with a set of custom subwoofers (Adure Shiva Mk.II in 5 cu. foot EBS vented boxes with an Outlaw ICBM electronic crossover and Bryston amplifier) operated below 40Hz and the dynamics and resolution of the system are astounding. The subwoofer/satellite nature of my system allows much more placement flexibility and gives the ability to tune the bass response for the particular situaion with better accuracy. The Thor is only about $1500 per pair and has crushed many a larger and more expensive speaker against which I have compared it (JM Labs, Klipsch, Dynaudio, Dunlavy, among others). Unless a physically imposing speaker is mandatory, a simple design with a superb drivers and a well designed crossover network will usually outperform a complicated multidriver monster. The Thor is a much better choice in most instances - maybe yours as well. Don't be afraid to spend less than planned. Good luck!
Tough Speaker choice, Please look and comment
Dear fellow Audiophiles,
I am going to be taking a plunge into the next level of high fidelity music soon and I know I won't be able to keep my tweakers (hands) out of the insides (again...) of whatever I decide to choose next as my main speakers for my audio lab.
I typically listen to regualr everyday rock, rap, dance, some jazz, some classical, (Mapleshade and Chesky recordings) but really like pop and dance over most music, so please keep that in mind. The "Slam" factor as some would say is rather important to me do to the nature of my musical likings, and I fully admit that to the fullest extent. I am more of a dynamics person, but do enjoy the soft but subtle passages of the finest music orchestrated.
Here is my potential choices and the pricing typical for each:
1. VMPS RM40 $4600 (add more $$$ for caps upgrade, so figure closer to $5500-6000)
2. Genesis Technologies V $5000 used on Audiogon
3. Legacy Focus 20/20 around $4000-4500 used on Audiogon
Please comment on the selection and add any other ideas or options. Amplification will be a highly modified McCormack DNA-225 (225w @8ohms, 400+w @4ohms... realistically more due to impedance curves in the lower bass regions of most speakers) to power the speakers.
also keep in mind that whatever I do get will probably get modified as far as crossover parts upgrades, internal wiring, bybee purifiers, and whatever else I decide to improve (if any)of the speakers... (all possibilities)
The decided speaker will be replacing a highly modified set of Paradigm Studio 100's Ver.2 speakers possibly.....
Thanks for your input, your time and your support.
I am going to be taking a plunge into the next level of high fidelity music soon and I know I won't be able to keep my tweakers (hands) out of the insides (again...) of whatever I decide to choose next as my main speakers for my audio lab.
I typically listen to regualr everyday rock, rap, dance, some jazz, some classical, (Mapleshade and Chesky recordings) but really like pop and dance over most music, so please keep that in mind. The "Slam" factor as some would say is rather important to me do to the nature of my musical likings, and I fully admit that to the fullest extent. I am more of a dynamics person, but do enjoy the soft but subtle passages of the finest music orchestrated.
Here is my potential choices and the pricing typical for each:
1. VMPS RM40 $4600 (add more $$$ for caps upgrade, so figure closer to $5500-6000)
2. Genesis Technologies V $5000 used on Audiogon
3. Legacy Focus 20/20 around $4000-4500 used on Audiogon
Please comment on the selection and add any other ideas or options. Amplification will be a highly modified McCormack DNA-225 (225w @8ohms, 400+w @4ohms... realistically more due to impedance curves in the lower bass regions of most speakers) to power the speakers.
also keep in mind that whatever I do get will probably get modified as far as crossover parts upgrades, internal wiring, bybee purifiers, and whatever else I decide to improve (if any)of the speakers... (all possibilities)
The decided speaker will be replacing a highly modified set of Paradigm Studio 100's Ver.2 speakers possibly.....
Thanks for your input, your time and your support.