Loudspeakers

[Solitary Wanderer]

I'm upgrading my Mission V63 floorstanders.

What are some suggestions for new speakers which have a great dynamic range and which will be especially great for classical music listening?

I'm looking to spend $3-5k

[Que]

I'm upgrading my Mission V63 floorstanders.

What are some suggestions for new speakers which have a great dynamic range and which will be especially great for classical music listening?

I'm looking to spend $3-5k

I'm a Mission fan myself, but I guess for that budget you could upgrade!
On my wishlist are speakers by QUAD.

Q

[Harry]

I'm upgrading my Mission V63 floorstanders.

What are some suggestions for new speakers which have a great dynamic range and which will be especially great for classical music listening?

I'm looking to spend $3-5k

My dear friend whatever suggestions you get, you can take them with you of course.
But what you really need to do, if you want to spend that much money on new speakers, is first take into consideration the amplification you have, and then take you ears to a hifi shop, and start listening, and comparing, and if you have finally established what brand you want to have, try them first with you amplification at home. and I consider it very important out of experience, to buy good cabling and interlinks.
Good hunt.

[71 dB]

Harry has good advices.... 

Couple recommendations of Finnish loudspeakers:

Gradient Revolution [Reviews]

Amphion Xenon [Reviews]

Both of these loudspeakers have resistance boxes for midrange resulting a hypercardioid radiation pattern. This increases the directivity on middle frequencies and makes these speaker sound good even in not so good acoustic conditions.

[Todd]

Where you live will influence what you can get.  I'm partial to Joseph Audio, and have both their RM22s (for my third system) and RM25s (for my main system), and find them to be better suited to my tastes than any other comparably priced speakers.  The 25s, in particular, offer superb dynamic range for only using two 6.5" woofers each, and all Joseph speakers offer superb clarity from top to bottom.  Some listeners find them a bit cool, but depending on electronics, that may or may not matter.  Josephs aren't widely available even in the US, and are harder to find elsewhere. 

But the 3-5K range (assuming US$) means that B&W, Sonus Faber, Vienna Acoustics, KEF, Monitor Audio (I've owned or own speakers from all five of these makers, and all have strengths and weaknesses), Usher, Focal, Rega, ProAc, and who knows how many other types of speakers are out there.  Your associated electronics and room will obviously have to be considered.  I say be prepared to do a lot of demos.

[Shrunk]

Rather than thinking about specific makes, I would suggest thinking in terms of of broad categories of speaker types first.  Most people confine their speaker choices to the dynamic sealed or ported box types.  However, make the effort to hear some of the less common genres, such as planar/electrostatics, horns and single-driver speakers.  Listen to a few examples of each type, and if one seems to sound particularly good to you then focus your search on various brands within each type (of course, your amplification might make some of these categories non-starters, but then nothing stopping you from upgrading your amp, too, right?  )  Don't forget the used market, as well.

This is an opinionated but fun website listing some of the best hi fi components, past and present:

http://www.high-endaudio.com/

[Solitary Wanderer]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I appreciate the question is a bit like 'how long is a piece of string?'

I need to upgrade my reciever as well I guess.

I'm just getting some general ideas at the moment. Thers a high-end hi-fi store locally, but they are exclusive dealers for various brands so they always push that, so they're biased.

But I'll keep chipping away and try to demo some [at home if possible] before I lay down any hard cash.

By the way that figure was NZ$ which is worth less 20% US$

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Auditioning is really the safest bet. 

Relying on recommendations, even from friends, can lead to a dead end. No matter how enthusiastic the friends and/or recommendations may be.

This exact scenario played out with me while searching for the 'perfect' stand-mount speaker. One of my good friends who's been in the audio sales biz for a few years now (currently he's a sales rep for Rega) had high praise for a particular Linn stand-mount and felt it would suit my small room needs perfectly.

I was stoked to be able to take a (worn in) pair home and audition them in a most natural environment. But try as I might I couldn't hear in them what my friend did. So back to the shop they went.

My hunt continued (sans friend this time) and again I landed a home audition of another contender: a pair of B&W 705's.

These I liked much better but, alas, back they went - tail between legs - owing to the brouhaha my wife made of their "ugly" design. I, myself, couldn't see the ugliness she saw but, well, we know how far that goes. So score one for the wife...

Of course, none of this is related to the issue of personal taste (well, mine, anyway...) but there is a silver lining here.

After sorting through the great labyrinth of speaker choices (KEF, Rega, Rourk, B&W 805's, Sonus Faber, Monitor Audio, as well as a couple of floorstanders valued in the five figures!) without finding much success I finally hit on the right stand-mount speaker for me: a pair Revel M20's.

The silver lining is that had my wife not poo-pooed my earlier choice I'd have been blissfully ignorant of the existence of the Revel's. And I'd have missed out on just the right speaker for me!

So score yet another one for the wife...

[Solitary Wanderer]

Auditioning is really the safest bet. 

Relying on recommendations, even from friends, can lead to a dead end. No matter how enthusiastic the friends and/or recommendations may be.

This exact scenario played out with me while searching for the 'perfect' stand-mount speaker. One of my good friends who's been in the audio sales biz for a few years now (currently he's a sales rep for Rega) had high praise for a particular Linn stand-mount and felt it would suit my small room needs perfectly.

I was stoked to be able to take a (worn in) pair home and audition them in a most natural environment. But try as I might I couldn't hear in them what my friend did. So back to the shop they went.

My hunt continued (sans friend this time) and again I landed a home audition of another contender: a pair of B&W 705's.

These I liked much better but, alas, back they went - tail between legs - owing to the brouhaha my wife made of their "ugly" design. I, myself, couldn't see the ugliness she saw but, well, we know how far that goes. So score one for the wife...

Of course, none of this is related to the issue of personal taste (well, mine, anyway...) but there is a silver lining here.

After sorting through the great labyrinth of speaker choices (KEF, Rega, Rourk, B&W 805's, Sonus Faber, Monitor Audio, as well as a couple of floorstanders valued in the five figures!) without finding much success I finally hit on the right stand-mount speaker for me: a pair Revel M20's.

The silver lining is that had my wife not poo-pooed my earlier choice I'd have been blissfully ignorant of the existence of the Revel's. And I'd have missed out on just the right speaker for me!

So score yet another one for the wife...

Good story.

Yes, my wife will have the final say regarding the aesthetics; style, colour etc.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

And I consider it very important out of experience, to buy good cabling and interlinks.

This is good advice but I'd warn the novice purchaser to closely scrutinize cable choices and audition as broad a range of makes/models as possible, emphasizing SYNERGY within their particular system above all else - even over COST!!

My own cable choices, after auditioning several via loans and purchases, came down to a very expensive half-meter interconnect and - most importantly - a very INEXPENSIVE pair of speaker cables! And I mean bottom of the barrel, one dollar per foot speaker cable!

They simply trumped all other comers!

Improbable, perhaps, but obviously not impossible...

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Yes, my wife will have the final say regarding the aesthetics; style, colour etc.

Could this be why male bonding was invented...?

[beclemund]

[...] a very INEXPENSIVE pair of speaker cables! And I mean bottom of the barrel, one dollar per foot speaker cable!

They simply trumped all other comers!

Improbable, perhaps, but obviously not impossible...

I suppose it would be foolhardy for me to mention speaker cable and placebo effect in the same sentence here, eh? It might stir up a mess. 

[Harry]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I appreciate the question is a bit like 'how long is a piece of string?'

I need to upgrade my reciever as well I guess.

I'm just getting some general ideas at the moment. Thers a high-end hi-fi store locally, but they are exclusive dealers for various brands so they always push that, so they're biased.

But I'll keep chipping away and try to demo some [at home if possible] before I lay down any hard cash.

By the way that figure was NZ$ which is worth less 20% US$

Even if they are biased, it does not mean that they haven't good gear right.
So again open your ears, and listen, there is no other way!

[Harry]

Could this be why male bonding was invented...?

Funny, the same question came up with me!

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I suppose it would be foolhardy for me to mention speaker cable and placebo effect in the same sentence here, eh? It might stir up a mess. 

It's a thorny subject, you got that right. And I'm reluctant to enter into it all because of the toes I'm bound to step on.

But, what the heck...

Let me start off by saying in my experience there's no denying that cabling makes a whopping difference in an audio system. At least in a high-end audio system. Why that should be I don't know and am chaffed to find out. Even my audio industry buddy hasn't a clue.

However, what seems apparent to me is that price is a poor indicator of cable quality. That's of course borne out by my speaker cable experience. I actually jumped for joy when I learned that the bottom-dollar speaker cable would make the best choice for my system. No, I don't have a neon-glam python-of-a-cable ranging across my floor to show off what I'm endowed with speaker cable-wise but what I have gets the job done admirably (mind you, I could've had the neon stuff had I wanted it).

Which begs the question: just what are the cable companies up to? It would seem to me based on my experience that the cable companies might possibly be dabbling in coloring their cable somehow to produce a desired 'signature sound'. Don't know how they'd manage it but it seems the only plausible thing.

This theory is also borne out by my very EXPENSIVE interconnect! There's no denying it actually surpasses the bargain-basement interconnect I keep around, try as I might to wish otherwise. Bottom line is it's a worthy performer that defies any prejudices I might have regarding expensive cabling. It rounds out my system on equal footing with my cheaper speaker cable.

Although I have to believe the expensive interconnect performs well because it simply 'fits' into my system's acoustical schematics. So given this, that's where I put the credit, not the high price tag.

So, what to do with cabling (or anything hi-fi)? For me I just keep clear of the glam and be methodical. And audition, audition, audition......

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Funny, the same question came up with me!

They mean well...right?

Right??

[Harry]

They mean well...right?

Right??

I guess so.....................

[jlaurson]

He's right. Through my Canton Ventos in my main listening room the recording sounds spectacular. But last night, listening to "mid-fi" speakers attached to my computer, clarity was lost. The viola and cello turned to mud. It was difficult to hear individual lines. The performance is exciting as hell so I didn't mind but I want to second Jens' warning. If you think the sound might be a problem for you, you should consider one of his other choices.

Sarge

It wasn't until I heard the recordings on these puppies, that I discovered their 'hidden' audiophile nature:

Thiel SCS4

[Sergeant Rock]

It wasn't until I heard the recordings on these puppies, that I discovered their 'hidden' audiophile nature:

Thiel SCS4

I'd like to hear them (I've been considering replacing my old Polk bookshelves in my den) but according to the website the only distributor in Germany is in Munich. Well....I'll just have to find another excuse to make the trip (if I tell Mrs. Rock we were on a quest for speakers, she'd probably balk  ) I'd like to hear Thielemann before he departs. Maybe we'll get down to your neck of the woods this fall. Take in a concert with a side trip to the Thiel shop.

Sarge

[jlaurson]

I'd like to hear them (I've been considering replacing my old Polk bookshelves in my den) but according to the website the only distributor in Germany is in Munich. Well....I'll just have to find another excuse to make the trip (if I tell Mrs. Rock we were on a quest for speakers, she'd probably balk  ) I'd like to hear Thielemann before he departs. Maybe we'll get down to your neck of the woods this fall. Take in a concert with a side trip to the Thiel shop.
Sarge

If you let me know well ahead of time, I could probably arrange something on the ticket front for you & Ms. Rock. I know where the Thiel shop is, too... what had kept me from the purchase so far was the steep premium one had to pay in Europe over their perfectly reasonable cost in the US. But a good deal of that has evaporated with the currencies moving toward each other. They're not the grooviest speakers, but I loved their response, their precision and accuracy, how explosive and immediate everything sounded on them... total detail. Perfect for a smallish place or room (like mine), perfect for detail-fetishists, perfect for 5.1 (w/subwoofer).