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“House” Character of Popular $20-$30k Speakers

I’ll be upgrading my speakers in a bit (after I add a turntable to my system). I’ve always thought that people two often end up attempting to correct or compensate for a quality they don’t like in one of their system components. My thought is that speakers and amps shouldn’t try to “correct” each other, but rather, they should complement each other, while sharing many similar qualities in their sonic signatures.

With that in mind, I’d describe my Gryphon Diablo 300 with the internal DAC (fed by an InnuOS Zenith MK3 streamer) as being rich, lively, engaging, slightly warm but moderately detailed, with dramatic dynamic swings that can often simulate a live sound. Smooth but energetic and engaging at the same time. My speakers I’ll be upgrading from are B&W 803 D2’s. Big full and bold sound but with finesse and moderate quickness too.

What brand of speakers would be along the lines of the sound I describe above? I’d be hoping to follow this sonic signature in my next speaker purchase, but adding some small capabilities with transparency and detail, imaging, and low end presence.

The speaker brands I have in mind to look into are:

-Magico (would check out the A5’s. I hear the A5’s could be too analytical for some, but have an excellent and clean bass presence.  Bust most rave about the A5)

-Sonus Faber (heard these are too relaxed for some?)

-Wilson Audio (if I can get over how they look)

-Monitor Audio

-Dynaudio: Maybe this brand could be a sweet spot?

-B&W: I’ve tested many and find them lacking in bass presence resulting in a mid forward style. That said the 802 D3’s I auditioned matched the sonic character of their upper ranges very well.

Would be interested in how others describe the house sounds if the brands above…

 

 

 

nyev
ejr1953
895 posts
 

@styleman I was lucky enough to get a pair of Focal Sopra No2's when they first came to the U.S. and they will probably be the last pair of speakers I purchase.  I find they "work" with all sorts of musical styles, from soft acoustic to loud rock and roll.  When I was auditioning them I did find they didn't "shine" being driven by some amplifiers, sometimes sounded "edgy", but being driven by smooth sounding electronics, they really sing!

ghdprentice
6,362 posts
 

@mournbladeiv

 

Thank you.
 

Btw, my audio guy brought over one of his employees to listen to my system. He turned it up louder that I ever would even consider or thought it could go… no clipping, just perfect musical reproduction at really high volume… with 70wpc.

lemonhaze
409 posts
 

I second the suggestion to consider Vandersteen which IMO represent excellent value. Also check out Egglestonworks.

nyev OP
1,020 posts
 

Thanks for all these other suggestions, but only the brands I mentioned are available near me.

I was also thinking, my room may reduce my choices even further. Given my room configuration, even though the room is quite large, I can only have about 20-25 inches behind an average dimension speaker. I think this might rule out rear-vented models (SF Cremonese recommend twice this distance behind the speaker for example). The Magico A5’s again look promising in this regard as their manual suggests trying with 20” behind and adjusting a bit from there….

I think the Wilson’s might be out of the question because of this with their rear ports.  Same with the SF Cremonese (but the Amati’s could work).

Also, regarding the Magico’s being for listening to mating crickets for your thesis (lol), from what I’ve read the A5’s are more musical than typical Magico’s. One review I read suggested these are the first Magico’s that won’t be polarizing to people. And my Diablo should in theory add the the tone and liveliness with it’s slight coloration. It’s done that with other speakers including my current B&W’s.

 

kennymacc
241 posts
 

You Know, there's a plethora of very fine sounding, full range, floor standing speakers out there.  It all depends on your own personal preference and how deep your pockets are.  If you want a proven, true world class, true full range floor stander, that's very reasonably priced new, let along what they could be had for on the used market, save yourself some time and hassle and just go with a pair of Revel Salon 2 speakers.  You will not be disappointed!!!!    

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