WHICH SPEAKERS?


I'm shopping for new speakers and have narrowed it down to four models: magnepan 1.6QR, Talon Audio Perrigran, waveform solos, or Newform research R645. Waveform and Newform make you purchase the speakers and audition them at home for 30 days, Oliver at delve may send me the talons, and your lucky to find a dealer that has 1.6s to hear. Any thoughts are appreciated.
morasp10b3
Dolphin, I have too many speakers already, and don't feel this design would better any of them in overall performance, based on what I've learned about them...no offense. BTW, whenever I hear "custom designed", to me it means very little. I hear it all the time, and it's always just some minor variation on normal production drivers, usually from one of the terrific companies from Denmark.
Well, as folks are adding their two cents regarding the Talons, I might as well too. Don't listen to them. I wish I hadn't. I came home with an awful case of speaker envy. They are really quite astounding. Secondly, for the nay-sayers, I think that a lot of the rumpus about the Tallons (what makes them arguably somehow more than one stunning sounding speaker among a hoast of stunning sounding speakers) is the fact that they really are designed along some different principles. (Which I won't even pretend to know enough about to be able to go into). I think that, on the Khorus, there are five patents pending on, among other things, the bass driver and the porting system--more than just another "custom designed" variation on a theme--or so I have been led to believe. I suppose that only time will tell whether there is anything genuinely innovative going on here or it is just another array of smoke, mirrors and hype (Bose, anyone?...although I feel it almost criminally negligent to mention Bose in the same posting). In the meantime, however, at least it gives us addicts something to quibble over. Oh, that and the fact that they really do sound wonderful. Try'em. If you can get them home, even better. Worst case scenario, you like them enough to make you like your current speakers a little bit less. Sadly, it happened to me.
Mr Eber, thanks for your contribution to this post. Please keep sizing up speakers by their parts. That is your right. If I had done that I never would have heard the beauty of Quads, Spendors, the Walsh driver, or a number of other speakers that cannot be summated by looking at their parts. If you ever listen to them, I would LOVE to hear what you think.
Somehow, I doubt that very much. I tell you what, get a dealer in my area to carry them, and I'll give them a listen. And anyway, the whole is never greater than the sum of its parts. I like to know how speakers work, and even design some myself. I never take anything at face value, where speakers are concerned. If this makes me "closed minded" to your gushing on this company, then so be it. I can live with that...........And Mezmo, I've never heard any dealer's system whose setup and room dialing in was even in the same league as mine, so I wouldn't be at all worried about hearing any speaker at a dealer, and thinking it better than any of my speakers...........................What speakers do you have, that were so "blown away" by these particular Talon ones? And do you have a fully treated listening room?
Me? I've got some Thiels, the 2.3. My room sucks. There is no treatment at all. And, yes, I know that there is a lot to be done to improve things. No question. That said, however, the right to an opinion cannot be bought, by treating one's room or otherwide... Alas, but we must all do the best with the materials at hand. (Admittedly, the single best upgrade that I could now hope for is a better home to put my equipment in...someday, but at $350k for a modest one bedroom, the NYC housing market is not one that seems worth even trying to crack at the time being). Anyway, Carl, you're right to be dubious about anything you haven't heard, especially something that claims to be new and improved (as if you need me to tell you that). I was as well. It's fun to be pleasantly surprised, though. No need to go out of your way, but well worth the listen if you get the chance. As for being blown away, although I can't deny a pension for hyperbole, that may be a little strong... Cheers