Looking to buy some Meadowlark speakers, what input can you give on these?

I am looking at purchasing a used set of Meadowlark, Heron i, speakers to use as my front mains in a SS system. I am asking an open ended question looking for your input on these speakers, or other Meadowlark speakers that you have experienced. Thank you and have a great day.

 

I can't provide any useful info. Dan, but Nice choice!

 

Steve, this particular pair of used speakers are in the $3300 range. I have talked with the owner I am fairly certian that he will let them go for that, or maybe even a little less. They are the cherry finish, so no fancy wood here, but they are in near perfect condition. I say near perfect because if they are used they are almost never perfect anymore.

 

They disappear nicely, but don't bother trying to listen to rock.

 

I have the Heron Hotrods and I love them. These speakers and create a beautifully wide, deep & natural soundstage. Bass reproduction is very smooth and not congested. The mid-range is outstanding. They do give the impression that the musicians are playing in the room. Enjoy....

 

I've had some experience listening to both Kestrels and Shearwaters, both in their Hot Rod versions, and I think they do some amazing things for the price. They absolutely disappear in the listening room, and they soundstage and image like crazy. I actually came close to buying the Shearwaters. They are very fun to listen to, and some of the wood veneers offered are stunning. I'm not as nuts about the new versions, though, in this respect.

The Meadowlarks do lack the midrange magic of some of my faves from Spendor, Harbeth, and of course Quad. They definitely suffer in direct comparison. For instance, for the $3300 you'll wind up paying for those used Herons, you can get a new pair of Harbeth Monitor 30s, which is simply the best small speaker I've ever heard. The Herons probably will sound bigger and wider and deeper, but they won't sound nearly as musical. You can also find used examples of Quad 63s and Spendor SP100s for MUCH less than $3300 (probably closer to $2000), and I bet you'll prefer them over the Herons.

 

CleanDan,

Meadowlark is a very (very) good speaker company. They put out a quality product. If you find that those Heron i's float you musical boat, buy them and enjoy them. You'll have made an excellent choice. Could you spend that $3300 differently (note, I don't say better, because that qualification is up to each individuals taste)? Sure. But as I said, if you enjoy the Heron's, then don't worry, just enjoy your music collection all over again.

 

I gave the Heron i's a listen on Saturday. I, along with another forum member (Strabo) went and listened to these for about two hours on Saturday. I called ahead and had them hook up some SS equipment to get a fair comparison, but I can't remember exactly what they had it hooked to, except to say it was very nice gear. Strabo brought his favorite Patricia Barber cd and I brought a few others for a wide variety of listening. We listened to, SLOOP JOHN B (Beach Boys), I WALK THE LINE (Johnny Cash), THE BOXER (Simon/Garfunkel), TIME (Pink Floyd), MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB studio version, RUDE MOOD (live) (SRV), a couple by Dido, and of course a few by Patricia Barber. I was really surprised by the low end power these has with the dual 7" woofers. Powerful, swift, and precise. The midrange was right on for for vocals and the high end was never harsh, although quite a bit softer than what I am used to. The imaging and soundstage were very nice, although quite focused. If I was more than 20 degrees off of the sweet spot there was a noticed change in the soundstage and the image was totally gone before that. This was also pronounced with elevation as well. Sitting in the sweet spot chair, everything was just right, although not quite enough to elicit that uncontrollable grin when you hear "it". If I stood, or crouched, at that same spot everything went away. The one thing I found missing was the detail, especially on the SRV, RUDE MOOD live recording. On my so-so mid-fi system I can hear fingers on the strings, some slight audience noise, and a few other things that you only get with live recordings. The Heron i's just simply made all that go away, and the applause at the beginning of the song sounded dull and lifeless, almost like I was hearing it through a heavy curtain. I hope Strabo will chime in and give his own opinion on these speakers. In the end I will not be getting these Meadowlarks because of the lack of detail and sharply focused listening area. They are some very nice speakers, so don't get the wrong impression. When I do finally upgrade however, I am not going to "settle". So, staying within my $4000 speaker limit, I will just have to suck it up and endure the torture of listening to more high end speakers...woe is me. HEY Strabo, you free next weekend too?

 

Personally I was really enamored with the Quad speakers. The ones I listened to were $8k, yet they have another new pair in your range available. For me (I believe I am alone here) I love the ESS AMT 1 series of speakers. AMT 1T is my favorite due to the tight bass down to about 32. For $400 (used)you would be very surprised at the exceptional open sound.

 

Hi,
Was taking a break from the web for a while so I have some catching up to do.
Anyway, sorry for the long post and I'm sure I left out a lot:
As Dan said, we listened to the Heron's on Saturday. It was a great day of auditioning some great stuff and lounging around a really fun store.
I auditioned the Heron's about six months ago on some VTL amps and pre running off some decent CD player that I don't remember and was reminded again yesterday what I liked about them. Namely, the sweet and rich midrange. It was a great test to come back six months later to listen to them run off of SS to see how different things might sound.

I don't remember what amp was used this time but they were controlled by a Bel Canto pre-amp.
Like the music or not, I use the Patricia Barber SACD to test how well a speaker is able to handle the echo and the Heron is one of the few that I've found reproduce a really sweet and believable wet echo and reverb off of that disc. My Forte's play it enough so that you know it's there but it's not a drenching wetness that is believable. I found the Soliloquy 6 series can pull it off, but not the 5's. Neither would the Silverline Panatella's, but that was tested using the original version of the disc, not the SACD.
I haven't listened to a huge selection of speakers because I learned that the ones that I want based on my criteria are outside my budget so I quit auditioning before I got too depressed.
I found the bass from those speakers to be amazing considering only two 7 inch cones. Warm, without being overpowering.

What I think the problem was and I think Dan would agree (or not), whether it's right or wrong, I just can't make the jump from the forward sounding Klipsch to something as relaxed as the Heron I's. That is not to say that the Meadowlark sound is too soft, it's just too much of a jump from the brighter, more forward sound of my current speakers to the very soft high end of the Meadowlarks. It is too much of a leap for me at this time.
Part of this may have been caused by the room where they were set up since it was carpeted floors with floor to ceiling cork on the walls and acoustic tile ceiling. A very dead room with no reflections. In that respect, Dan, in a little way, I wish you would try the speakers in your larger listening room that has a very large reflective window on one side. I'm not trying to talk you into anything, and totally respect your choice, considering it was my choice too. But it would have been fun to see how they would work at home.

In the end, for that amount of money, you have to ask yourself if that would be something that you would be happy about for the next one to ten years (insert your upgrade plan here). If not, then like me, either keep looking or be content with what you have. Up to you, the listener.

My mindset when I walked into the store was to keep my money in my pocket and enjoy what I have. But there were a couple of points when listening that gave me goose bumps because it was so awesome.

BTW Dan, I'm back on the web tonight researching those Quicksilvers. I think I will be calling at 10:00 and seven seconds to try to get a home audition. I should have brought them home yesterday. Wanna bring over that tube tester next weekend?

P.S. My Lexicon may be going on the auction block in a couple of weeks.

 

Want to listen to the Silverline Sonata's and Sonatina's, Dynaudio's, or Totem's? I haven't had a chance to listen to them yet and they are on my list.
The Silverline's and Totem's are in your neck of the woods otherwise, up for a road trip near St. Cloud for the Dyn's? Can bring the wives and hit a couple of malls.

BTW Dan,
Did you go to work today, or did you get a new computer?