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Vienna Beethoven, Spendor 8SE, Adagio or VS VR4jr

Hello Audiophile friends,

I am looking for advice on how the following speakers
compare for when playing only Classic Rock at medium
sound levels. I don't play loud but do enjoy a medium
volume level. I am looking for refined sound, that is
not "cold" but maybe warmer and a little rounded. (but
still very refined in the bass and mids) The music I
listen to is the likes of The Doors, Eagles, Journey,
Tom Petty, Rolling Stones, you get the idea.

I am looking to buy used and would like to hear opinions
of how the following differ in sound or whether they match
the characteristics I described above:

Vienna Beethoven Baby Grand
Spendor 8SE
Acoustic Zen Adagios
Von Schweikert VR-4jr

From what I have read these are all refined sounding
speakers that go for about $2000 used on Audiogon.

My room is 12.5' x 25' with 10 foot ceilings. Hardwood
floors. The Speakers are on the 12.5' wall and I sit
9 feet back from the speakers. My Equipment includes
Krell DVD Standard, Krell 400xi Int amp, and a Unico Int
amp. I haven't made up my mind which Int amp I like
better so I use them both depending on my mood.

Who has heard all these and can compare them for me?
Thanks so much in advance my audio friends..
tom92602
tom92602 OP
65 posts
 

good plan... Everyone hears different and speakers
will sound different with different gear.

I did PM Ndfan after re-reading his note and seeing
he was open to being PM'd. I would never PM someone
without the invitation first..

I see several Adagios forsale so I wonder if this is
a bad sign.. Conversely there is only 1 pair of Baby
Grand and 1 pair of Spendor 8SE and they are both
pending sold so this makes me think they may be in
more demand...?
issabre
120 posts
 
Hi there,

I own the Adagios and I agree that if you want an open, airy top end then they are great for that. The ribbon tweeter really opens up air. I use mine with a Sophia tube amp and I've heard that the ribbon tweeter can get harsh using solid state, but that's only what I've heard. Bass is certainly not a problem. Make sure that you have them shipped on a pallet as the tweeters are somewhat fragile and they need to have minimum vibration. Pick up would be better. Other than that, I think that probably the number on Audiogon only reflects that there were 1200 pairs sold...so there is bound to be a couple up for grabs at any one point in time.
tom92602 OP
65 posts
 
Well I pulled the trigger today and bought a NEW pair of
Adagios. I wanted "Matt Walnut" so they were a special
order. I should have them in 2 weeks.

Now I just need to wait for a set of used Spendor S8E or
Baby Grands to come up on Audiogon for the bedroom system.

Adagios Owners: What speaker cables are you using??
tom92602 OP
65 posts
 

Issabre:

These are being drop shipper directly from Acoustic Zen
so I have to think they will ship them adequately. How
will I know if the Ribbon Tweeter is damaged from shipping?
Will it sound harsh, buzz, hiss, or crackle???

Thanks...
issabre
120 posts
 
No you should be just fine if Rober Lee is shipping them. He will ship them on a pallet to you.

My tweeters were clicking on and off...I bought mine second hand and they were not shipped on a pallet. It is very noticalbe....all the air collapses and you can hear that the upper registers are not there. But robert fixed my problem even without me being the original owner...so AZ's customer service is unparalleled goes well beyond the call of duty.

I'm using Alphacore goertz cables....MI2...takes a little while to burn in though. I use them because they are not so expensive, sound good and they are flat, which I need for my application. Other than that, I would suggest some of Robert's own cables which get pretty good reviews.
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