Speaker Recommendations $5K - $9K

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by mds, Apr 15, 2017.

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  1. mds

    mds Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Audio Note was one speaker I was going to audition, due to the fact I felt it compared nicely against the Devore O93 which was another speaker I wanted to listen to. I need to understand all the models better that Audio Note manufactures, it is overwhelming. My price range goes no higher than $9K although I would prefer to spend between $6K - $8K max, including standing if required and sales tax. If you could recommend the models that fall into this category in US dollars that would really be a big help.

    My short list at this point are; Devore O93, Audio Note ?, Focal 1038BE, KEF R1, and Vivid V1.5 (maybe the B1 if I can locate one used). I have three different styles to listen to and further short list prior to seeing if I can audition at home. The Devore and Audio Note being of similar style. The Devore has been a speaker, based on reviews and style that has my initial interest. Based on what you have said about the Audio Note I may lean toward them due to savings. In addition I have an old house with very heavy plaster walls so a corner arrangement might work, but would require a major change to my room. Glad to hear they work well free standing, that is what put them back on my list. In appearance they certainly look similar to the Devore. Now to understand their models and pricing.
     
  2. Erocka2000

    Erocka2000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    I own the DeVore O/93s and feel like they have a little more impact and snap than the Audio Note speakers I've heard at shows, which tend to be rather polite. The O/93s can also be placed in a room easier than the AN's, which tend to need corner placement to sound their best.
     
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  3. Billion$Baby

    Billion$Baby Forum Resident

    Location:
    IM AT WKRP
    Don't want to speak for Richard but I think this is what would be recommended as far as Audio Note goes in your price range. These went for around 6500 a couple of weeks ago.

    Audio Note UK AN-E/SPe HE Speaker!!! | Monitors | Audiogon
     
    mds likes this.
  4. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Not sure why you're spending so much effort considering conventional home speakers. You've got RCD SCF6000 midfield monitors now, among the best studio monitors ever made. Ruler flat anechoic response, tremendous power handling and absolute clarity are hallmarks of those monitors.

    You're well used to their excellent sound, and for that reason it's unlikely that you're ever going to 'beat' them with non-studio designs. The Focal recommendations in the thread seem more on the money, I think. So consider hitting the local pro shops to audition the Focal Professional studio monitors. I'd bet real money that's where you'll find something that really outshines your old SCF6000.
     
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  5. mds

    mds Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    You are one of the first people I have come across that has any knowledge on these speakers. You are correct they are fantastic and ruler flat, can handle a ton of power but are very efficient and therefore will work with a modestly powered amplifier of top quality. The key here is top quality.

    Yes it has been hard to find speakers I like better, however I have lived with these for close to thirty years and am wanting to try something new and maybe even with a slightly more home stereo sound as opposed to studio monitor sound. You are also correct, each time I audition speakers in the $5-8K range I haven't been satisfied but I was looking at Joseph Audio & Harbeth speakers, which were really nice sounding but not as nice as mine. I thought the Devore would be a change in the sound but still very enjoyable. I thought the Focal might be in a similar vein but an improvement, giving a little bit more of an audiophile home speaker sound. I could be wrong but I am willing to give each a good listen to see where they stand in sound and how much I would prefer the change from what I currently own. I would just be moving the current monitors into my Home Theater room where I have the exact same speaker now as the rear channel. This would give me front and rear speakers all being identical and maybe a different speaker sound in my dedicated listening room by incorporating the Devore or Audio Note with my tubes. I would create a sound that is more home audio oriented.

    One aspect of my current speaker that constantly pulls me back to them is the pin point accuracy in placement of the performers and how well defined the sound stage is. Very hard to beat and enjoyable to listen to. The one aspect of the speakers I do not enjoy and would be looking to improve on is the fact they are very unforgiving of poorly mastered recordings.

    I wonder where and how you know about the RCF/EAW SCD6000 speakers. I believe these were a joint venture between RCF and EAW: RCF drivers, EAW crossovers and enclosure.
     
  6. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    But all the Focal Pro monitors are active designs, and, as good as they are, if the OP was going to go that route he should just go with active ATCs and be done with it.
     
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  7. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
    yep, for active, id go atc scm50 asl with new atc tweeter and dont look back or try as well Geithain Cardioid active speakers.

    for passive under 10k, lots of good option already in this thread.
    id want to try Graham ls59, new pmc twenty5 series, ATC passive, Harbeth 40.1 used, ect
     
  8. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Between 1974 and 1991, I either extensively auditioned (in home, in studio) or purchased eighteen different pairs of studio monitors. Came across the RCF/EAW speakers through a company called Oakwood Audio (Winnipeg, Canada).

    EAW was located somewhere in Mass., I think. I agree - the company did all the electronics for RCF.

    I recommended auditioning Focal Professional monitors because I think they'll appeal to you after so many years with the RCF.
     
  9. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Why ATC? I've heard the RCF monitors and owned anpair for a while - though it admittedly was a long time ago - and I think Focal Professional is the next big step up for the OP from the RCF. Everything I've heard through most ATC speakers I've owned or auditioned has been very, very good too, but a sideways move compared to the RCF to my ears.

    Can't hurt the OP to audition ATC speakers though, that's for sure.
     
  10. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
    from what I read on gearslutz, theres not a single model from Focal that is active that comes close to the ATC SCM50/100 ASL.

    the new focal trio be is good but still not in the league of Geithain or ATC active speakers and id add Kii three to this list.
    op should try Focal, but most def as well ATC. the new ATC tweeter is a game changer
     
    Linger63 likes this.
  11. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Sounds like you're just summarizing what you've read on or just retained from Gearslutz. I'm posting about speakers that I have actually either extensively auditioned or owned. Doesn't make me 100% right at all, but the OP seems to have asked for impressions from actual auditioning and ownership as opposed to theoretical musing. I'm offering first-hand impressions, and you should too if you have any that are relevant to the OP's needs.
     
  12. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada

    I heard the whole range of focal pro monitors, from sm9 to focal trio be, ect. used to own focal cms50 as well. imo, whole range is overpriced.
    I dont really like any of them compared to others cheaper options like passive amphion. if you want to make recommendations, make good ones. Id never recommend any active focal for listening pleasure.

    I never heard ATC scm50/100 nor Geithain but read enough comparison to know they are much superior then anything focal makes in active speakers.
    especially for musical active loudspeaker, id recommend Quested, Geithain or ATC.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2017
    Linger63 likes this.
  13. mds

    mds Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    I currently am using a tube amplifier and will continue to use tubes in this room, so whatever line of speaker and model should not be self powered.
     
  14. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Fair enough, and it makes sense no doubt. Based on my recollections of the RCF monitors - the clarity, perfect balance, and great detail that I recall, I mean - the Spendor D9 might be one of the best choices. I spent almost three weeks with the earlier D7 speakers at my place in London last Fall and the experience was real eye opener. I had previously auditioned them in Toronto at Audio Eden, twice, in early 2016. So when the opportunity came up to get a home demo in London I jumped at the opportunity. To my ears, they're very similar in sound to the RCF monitors, without as much bass weight, but with the added attraction of providing a much more realisitic soundstage, better dispersion into a typical listening room, and an aural appeal that is thoroughly enjoyable. I've now auditioned the D9 in Toronto and they're everything the RCF monitors are, with even better (clearer, more detailed, even better controlled) bass, and all of the realistic soundstage and superb dispersion of the D7.

    The ATC SCM100 SLT is the only model from ATC that comes close to the RCF, to my ears. It's the passive version of the SCM100 ALT. My auditions with them were at dealer showrooms and comparatively brief, in Toronto and at (IIRC) Audio Affair in Birmingham, England. As other members have touted, ATC is not to be ignored, but they're not up to the Spendor D7 or D9, to my ears.

    The U.S. speakers and Canadian makers are not to be ignored. The DeVore Fidelity O/93 and O/96 speakers are very good, but extremely different from the RCF. If a radical change is what you're after, then DeVore is very well worth a listen. I have spent a total of one week with a pair of the O/93. The gorgeous midrange warmth, clarity and detail rivals the Spendor D7 and D9, and the Harbeth SHL5+, Harbeth Monitor 30.1, Focal Sopra No. 2 and a couple other high peak-price models. To my ears though, the O/93 doesn't have the bass weight and bass clarity of the RCF, the ATC, the Focal, or the Spendor D9. The O/93, to my ears, goes head to head in the bass department with Spendor and Harbeth. I personally want to like the DeVore speakers a lot more than I actually do. They just aren't quite right to my ears, but that's why all those different speakers make all those different speakers.

    One of the speakers that has repeatedly caught my personal attention over the past two years or more is the Totem Acoustics Forest Signature. It's a stellar floorstander from Totem in Quebec. I owned it's slightly smaller brother, the Hawk, for about six months and really liked them. The Forest Signature model is a whole other thing though, with the bass weight and control, a glorious soundstage and superb instrument and vocal placement no matter how complex the music, a midrange that approaches Harbeth, and a beautifully extended treble. The Forest also offers all of the wonderful balance and power of the RCF, but then so do the Spendor models, both Harbeths (the SHL5+ moreso than the Monitor 30.1). The Focal Sopra No. 2 stands above the crowd, and it well over your budget I think.

    If I were you and had to narrow the field, and narrow the audition list, I'd go after the Spendor D7 (small-to-medium size listening room) and D9 (medium-to-large listening room), Focal Sopra No. 1 (the standmount), Harbeth Monitor 30.1 (if you've got a small-to-medium size listening room), Harbeth SHL5+ (if you've got a medium-to-large listening room), and the ATC SCM100 SLT. If you've got a dealer that handles the Totem Forest Signature, I'd add it to the list as well.
     
    brew ziggins, snorker and mds like this.
  15. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
    good recommendations, in the under 10k passive, id add PMC new twenty five series, atc scm40 and scm20 v2 passive.

    I compared spendor d7 to the SHL5 and prefered both c7es3 and shl5. there was something I didnt like in the mid of the D7. I should maybe revisit as it was a 30 minute audition

    have you heard the Graham ls5/9?
     
  16. mds

    mds Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    The Focal Diablo Utopia speaker including the stand are on sale for $7495 on Audiogon. Seems like a fair price. Haven't heard the speaker, certainly would need to before putting a bid. Are you familiar with this 2-way stand mount speaker? I understand paired with a sub-woofer it is supposed to be a killer combination.
     
  17. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    The AN E/SPE HE is $7471US and their dedicated stands run $500. But this is list so you could probably get this all a bit cheaper. And there is resale consider here as well. I sold my AN J/Spe for nearly 20% more than I paid 13 years prior. All these other speakers - well that's not happening - you'll be lucky to get half what you paid for them - so that's a cost element - NET cost price paid and amount received on the back end. My AN J/Spe gave me 13 years and cost me virtually nothing - inflation.

    Read some of Rafe Arnott's posts on these boards as he had the Devore Orangutan in his home and before that Harbeth and now Audio Note Es. The latter replaced the former for a reason IMO because it sounds better and costs less.

    But of course what sounds better is always somewhat subjective. It is room dependent as I noted that I have had speakers perform bottom 5 at one show and top 5 at another. At the last California Audio Show the AN E didn't crack my top 15 rooms even though I own the speakers. They just had trouble getting away from the cheap vibrating hotel room walls. Meanwhile MBL was excellent and they are omni-directionals and should also have trouble in bad rooms and yet they did really well. The previous show in an arguably better room I found them utterly dreadful.

    There have been a lot of AN speaker haters over the years - and I didn't like them when I first heard them either. I am however patient with posters who rag on them because there have been people who hated the speakers at like 8 shows and then they heard them properly set up in a non sucky room and hailed them as the best sound they ever heard. There is a reason they have won more than a reasonable share of best sound at show accolades. There is a reason that a reviewer on the staff of virtually every stereo magazine has a pair...and when they sometimes go to another speaker that speaker winds up being significantly more expensive. For me the speakers that I would go to would run over $50k and I would need a massive room to support.

    Take ATC - I really like ATC - I bought my amplifier listening to ATC 100s so I get the appeal of that sound over the Audio Note E. There is some overlap in similarity and there are things you can point to as being better on the ATC - it has the sort of crushing bass slam and impact with nearly zero distortion and it has the pro monitor flat frequency response that obviously make them great in a studio. If one likes that sort of clean high impact presentation then you like it. But what is great about them is also their weakness - I find them difficult to relax to. My ear is constantly listening to the recording quality and listening for whether I can hear the spittle of the trumpet player or the Oboist farting. It's cool in the sort of pin drop way but it takes me out of just being able to listen to the music and go with the overall flow of the event.

    This reviewer from Stereophile owned highly accurate professional gear - big SS amplifiers etc and is a measurements guy. Wes then heard the AN E based system and pay close attention to the last two paragraphs. Ongaku Means Ecstasy
     
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  18. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Don't know it. Could be great. Auditioning is half the fun!
     
  19. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
    im sure the focal diablo are great. never heard a 6.5 inch speaker defy physics though. expect world class performance over 200hz.

    I know RCA praise the previous model, the micro utopia be iirc.
     
  20. mds

    mds Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Would needed to be supported by a pair of good subwoofers.
     
  21. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
    thats a given, but even then, a 6.5 inch woofer doing bass will never be ideal, sub or no sub.
     
  22. Erocka2000

    Erocka2000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    All the Focals I've heard always tend to veer towards brightness. Not sure if they've addressed that in their new offerings.
     
  23. mds

    mds Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Good to know because that is one trait I want to avoid. Once I audition a few I will let you know if this is what I found or not.
     
  24. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    To be fair part of the treble issues come from the fact that most of the time LE speakers at shows or dealers are being run with Solid State (often etchy sounding) amplifiers. So garbage in garbage out. Metallic tweeters IMO seem to always give themselves away - the better ones take longer to notice but I always get that sense. Someone once noted that the KEF LS-50 had a metallic aftertaste and that's the sense I get from my pair. It's not terrible like most speakers with metal tweeters but it's there so you have to consider the pluses to determine if they outweigh the minuses.
     
  25. mdelrossi

    mdelrossi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn nyc
    I don't find the Focal 1008be2 to be harsh or bright, just airy. But then I came from the Totem Rainmakers, so…
    I run them with either a Sansui au-717 or a Yaqin tube. I enjoy them more with the tube, but that has more to do with soundstage and tube lushness. I heard them with a simaudio moon integrated and they sounded great.

    But your ears are the final judge.
     
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