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Looking for a Speaker in the $15,000 Range

Category: Speakers

MY SYSTEM CURRENTLY CONSISTS OF QUAD 988'S, THOR AUDIO
TP-60'S, THOR AUDIO TA-2000 PREAMPLIFIER WITH PHONE STAGE
AND A CARY 306/200 CD TRANSPORT/PLAYER. I AM VERY HAPPY WITH
THE SYSTEM BUT MY QAUDS LACK BASS AND DO NOT CREATE ANY SENSE THAT 80-100 PEOPLE MAY BE ON STATE AT ONCE, AS IN A LARGE ORCHESTRA. DOESN'T CREATE A LARGE SOUNDSTAGE. PERHAPS,
ANOTHER SPEAKER WOULD HELP? MY POTENTIALS ARE:

1. VANDERSTEEN 5A
2. WILSON WATT PUPPY 7
3. AVALON EIDELON
4. VERITY PARSIFAL ENCORE

HAS ANYBODY HEARD ANY OF THE ABOVE 4?. MY THOR POWER AMP
PUT OUT 60 WATTS OF ULTRLINEAR POWER PER MONBLOCK AND
REALLY CAN DRIVE MOST SPEAKERS WITH GREAT EASE. I AM WONDERING IF THERE IS A SPEAKER SYSTEM THAT WOULD HAVE THE
MAGNIFICENT CLARITY OF THE QAUD 988 MIDRANGE, WITH A
LARGER SOUNDSTAGE AND THE ABILITY TO A MORE REALISTIC AURAL
PICTURE. I HAVE LEFT OUT THE KHARMA 3.2 BECAUSE AT $19,000
FOR THE PAIR IT IS MISSING BASS AND THERE IS NO DEALER
IN NEW YORK STATE TO EVEN AUDITION KHARMA. THANKS FOR ANY LIGHT THAT YOU MAY SHED ON MY SEARCH.
kjl
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
This is way above my league (my whole system cost $5000), but it strikes me that if you're completely happy with the Quads except for the bass and sense of scale of the sound then you should try to get a home demo of a good quality subwoofer, like a higher end REL, or audio-physic.
I was in the same situation with my system (based around spica-angelus, which have fabulous midrange and imaging, but can sound a little thin and lacking in dynamics) and the addition of a REL sub completely fixed my system. Now orchestras sound like orchestras.

It's worth a try before swapping speakers, and would probably cost you around $3k for a good sub.
jwaugh
103 posts
 
I would suggest either as speakers that might let you get closer to the music, particularly in soundstaging, but have some concerns about the amp/speaker match. Unfortunately, I doubt that the pairing of Thor with Avalon will allow much above moderate listening at best (but it should be pretty magical if quiet!). The Thor/Kharma combo will probably have more luck. I have owned speakers from both, and personally prefer Avalon but loved the Kharmas as well (and plenty of A-gon regulars would feel the reverse).

... there's my $0.02 (MSRP)

Jacob
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owl
139 posts
 
The Kharma 3.2's should definitely be added to your list and listened to. Let's say when I put them in my system after having the Wilson Sophia's, and a couple of other fine speakers they brought new meaning to the word bass in my very large (55x44) listening room. I had Dynaudio Temptations before that, and they had better usable bass than them as well, not to mention better musicality, liquidity and a MUCH larger soundstage. I do have to say that this effect was much more prominent with SS (Bryston) than tubes (Tenor). Tubes with the Kharma's were sublime.Can't speak to the WP7's which I haven't heard, but compared to the Sophia's the Kharmas were just in a different league re transparency and spooky "they are here" imaging.
easytrader123
1 posts
 
Get a pair of Klipsch cornershorns. Take the money you save and pay for one of your grandkids's college semesters!
holzhauer
201 posts
 
Please go to Richard Shahinians shop in New Medford New York and listen to his Shahinian Diapason Loudspeakers. They cost $12,000 for a pair and I'd say they are worth much much more. They have the same magic as the Quads but with absolutely amazing dynamics. They are in fact designed to reproduce the symphony orchestra at levels anywhere from a whisper to a roar. The soundstage is simply real. I have heard the 988's and I have owned the Soundlabs. Both great speakers but the Shahinians rule the roost. As John Marks of Stereophile puts it the Shahinians are capable of reproducing the full gestalt of the original performance. Your Thor amp probably won't have the cajones needed to drive these babies but an inexpensive (relatively speaking) bedini or Plinius will.
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