Silverline Speaker Opinion


Awhile back I traded for some original Silverline Menuets. It's the smallest speaker I've owned. 

After putting them in a bedroom system without a sub, I'm really enjoying them. I find myself reading and listening more opposed to watching TV in bed.

For those of you familiar with Silverline, is the Minuet similar to the rest of the Silverline lineup, or just special?

Also, what other speakers are a dead ringer for my tastes if I like the Minuet sound? I'd like to explore other options as I'm starting to understand my preferred sound. Maybe duplicate the experience in my main system. I currently use Usher floorstanders in a 15x18' room, and am happy - but curious.

I'd appreciate your opinions.

Thanks,
gary






uncledemp
Ghosthouse,

Great info, thanks. I feel pretty safe buying blind sometimes - no hifi dealers near me in Arkansas, unfortunately.

Some of your descriptions match how I feel about the Minuets. I tried to explain to an audio buddy today how they sound, but ended up just telling him I listen to them more than I usually do- it's as simple as that. 

There are probably many speakers I could feel that way about, but I feel fortunate to have found one for me. The fact that the price is within my comfort zone is great, too. 
 
Thanks again for the great info- I'm glad you're enjoying yours. Hope to join you at some point.

Warm regards-

PS Gary...

Do read Frank Alles' StereoTimes review(s).

You might try contacting Alan Yun (Silverline Audio) directly and see if you can negotiate some sort of in-home audition.  He will sell direct.  Not sure if he has demo units, however.

A few additional comments...
I didn't mention imaging in my lengthy note above, but it is crazy good.  Center fill (which the Forests also did very well) is really solid.  "Palpable" is an adjective that comes to mind.  Stage depth is more evident than I've heard before, though I'm not saying the Pluses produce it for every track of every recording.  Sometimes it just seems like those audio cues are missing from the recording.  This brings up another point - these speakers seem to make differences in recording quality album to album and even track to track more noticeable.  

I realize a review of the Prelude Pluses was not the intent of your initial post so I hope these comments will give you a some more data points to use in your purchase decision.

I appreciate your insight on the Plus, it sounds like it may be a good fit.

If I could trouble you a little more, how far into the room did your Plus's settle to give you the stage depth you mentioned? I know rooms are different, etc, but it seems like some speakers suffer more than others near the front wall. Depth of soundstage is important to me.

Thanks again,
gary
Hey there Gary, no problem.  I have the Pluses set up about 36" from the wall behind them; that's 3 feet from the wall behind them to their back panel.  They are both at least 4 feet from sidewalls.  If you look at my system page, they are positioned just to the outside of where the Forests are in the photos.
Gary, you didn't ask, but FWIW, IMHO, depth of field is more of a product of the distance from the rear wall (and side walls) than the design of the speaker, i.e. even the best design will lose depth of image in direct proportion to the distance to the wall. The really big difference in rear wall placement is usually the affect on the bass frequencies. My big speakers are out 6ft into the room to optimize  both tone and imaging issues. At 3ft the bass is overwhelming in a not so good way and depth collapses. A small pair of stand mounted speakers (not Silverline) placed three ft from the rear wall has good  bass, good tonality, but looses the same depth of image that my main speakers did. As I said, FWIW.