Recommended Modern Speakers

Got to hear the top levels of the Von Schweikert line recently. If I had an extra 10,000-300,000 dollars laying around to buy speakers, I would sure consider them.:rolleyes:
 
You seem to be much of the same opinion of the Stereophile reviewer who said:

"Conclusions
Every day I listened to the Wharfedale Diamond 225s, part of me wanted to write, "Hey, these new speakers are nice, musical, even-tempered, and easy to live with. But they're nothing special. They're not designed in a wizard's shack behind a British row house and manufactured in some quaint Station Road factory with a pub down the way." I almost wished I could say, "The 225s were created by some secret war-room consortium of Dr. Strangelove imperialists," or to declare something like, "They play music just pleasantly enough—in a general, average sort of way—to fool the scruffy underclasses."

But none of it was true."

https://www.stereophile.com/content/wharfedale-diamond-225-loudspeaker

At the start it was really tricky to have the speakers play with a balanced sound in the existing setup. An interconnect and a passive attenuator had to be swapped out to get it to sound right. The older speakers were on the bright side and the 225's were the opposite. After a few days, i was worried that i had bought something that just wouldnt work. With the 225s having more bass weight and extension (compared to my older bookshelves), i also had to add some diy acoustic panels. After a bit of hair pulling, grumbling, some DIY-ing and a few face palms later... its sounding balanced. :D
 
I didn’t go through the whole thread to see if anyone mentioned them already, but for $73 on sale, the Sony SS-CS5 bookshelf speakers far exceeded my expectations. They replaced a pair of 20 year old unknown model 5.25” Polks that have always sounded flat to me. Bass is more than I expected, highs aren’t harsh to my ears... running off a 15 watt Sony STR-1800 with the tone controls flat.
 
I am interested in the Wharfedale Diamond 225’s because I think they may have the “New England Sound” which has been my favorite in the past ( Deluxe Advent, AR4x and Dynaco A-25). They would replace my Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers in my study, which are amazingly good for the price. I am going to be 82 at the end of this year and I would like to get them then. I want to hear as much as possible about the Diamond 225’s as I can. Thanks for the review!
 
^ I'm not sure that the 225's would give you enough of a bump up to make them fully worth the purchase. You might consider looking for a sale on the Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Bookshelf Speakers--perhaps during the summer or on Black Friday. You might also consider the Diamond 10.2, which currently can be had through an Amazon quality third party seller for $225.
 
The anniversaries are beautiful, and a good size. At sale price of $500 they may be beyond my home WAF, the 10.2 at $225 is certainly in range. Well, there is plenty of time. Thanks for the input!
 
Time to shake up this thread with some Totem Acoustic Rainmakers. It's a lovely 2-way bookshelf that has been in production for 15 years! Still going strong, it's a true 4 ohm design with high end crossover parts and carefully selected drivers that easily project a deep soundstage if your electronics aren't degrading the signal(more common than you may expect).

I've owned 2 pairs of them and currently own 2 of the Rainmaker centers that I'm employing as stereo speakers. The sound of the Rainmaker is definitely musical, with the smile faced frequency response that I believe is called the "British Sound". Surprising bass as well, going down to 42 Hz. The full frequency range is 42 Hz to 20 kHz +- 3db with a power rating of 100 watts and a sensitivity of 87.5 db. The Rainmaker responds to better cables, and can be fussy about electronics. Retail on these is 1200(used for about half of that), and they've been picked over the Kef LS50 in reviews I've seen.

I had the now retired NAD C375BEE, and the Rainmakers just didn't sparkle with it, while they loved the Adcom 555SE with a Parasound P5 pre. I've heard from other owners that reported great synergy with Naim, and Arcam as well. If you are in the market for a musical bookshelf speaker, these must go on your short list. The pics aren't mine, but give a look at the Rainmakers. They don't come with grills, as Totem finds they affect the sound. They can be ordered separately if you must have them.

totem-rainmaker-photo-540x390.jpg
 

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I like a lot of different Totem speakers, and dislike none. Vince Bruzzese is "eccentric" to put it mildly, yet he somehow manages to put out some amazing products. Their Tribe Tower is about the most incredible 36.81" tall, skinny little monoliths with two 4" drivers and a 33mm tweeter that would blow most any mind. His little Totem sub is one of the best values in a small sub. Only the Sunfire True Jr beats it. The shining star in their bookshelf speakers, IMO, is the Signature One.
 
I used to have Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1 and 2. Ascend's approach is to make the speakers as flat as possible in frequency response. I found myself dissatisfied and couldn't put my finger on just why, but when I tried some Tannoy and Totem speakers that I picked up used, I was really drawn to them.

The Rainmaker was a revelation, I ended up selling the Ascend stuff. They are fine for those that want ruler flat response, but my experience told me that a more musical speaker is not ruler flat. That's probably why Tekton has gotten so popular(although I abhor the looks!). I also have the Totem Hawks and Dreamcatchers.

I tried out the Sky bookshelf, but couldn't get them to shine. I'd love to try the Signature One's or even an old pair of The Ones, Totem really has a winning formula! I've actually checked out the Tribe Towers as well, they do look very intriguing although the budget is getting way up there.
 
I am very excited picking up Rainmaker this coming weekend. Currently owned Sierra-2 and can't wait comparing them using newly acquired Sansui AU-777A, hope it can handle 4 ohm load otherwise Primaluna will take the driver seat.

https://imgur.com/Hgm3J4I
Hgm3J4I.jpg
Hgm3J4I
 
I recently acquired a pair of Tekton Pendragon speakers. I find them by far, the most accurate and pleasing pair I have yet owned. I have had well over 1000 pairs of various speakers. Seriously, some good ones included JBL C-60 Sovereign S8R, Snell B, Snell C-V, E-V Cardinal IV's, Klipsch LaScala's, etc. Basic system is Carver 4000t preamp(Bonzoro rebuild) and Carver Silver 7t amps(Dennis Miller restoration) with Carver TX-11b tuner, OPPO BDP-105D disc player, VPI Scout 1.1 TT and a Gramafon WiFi streamer. I sold my Snell C-V's after hearing the Pendragon's. Big? YES. Worth it? YES!IMG_0092.JPG
 
Glad you called me out on that 42htz of quality Bass is good for the size of the speakers. I would use A few good Subwoofers. That's what I like. They work best in small to medium sized rooms. Like totems A lot...
 
The Totems are great speakers. Not much low Bass though.

That's been the exact opposite of all my experience with every Totem speaker I've ever heard. Every. Single. One.

Go audition a pair of Tribe Tower sometime. That little 34" tall pointy thing hits a reliable 30hz, and deeper with room gain. Their bookshelf speakers typically get deep too, and the newer and pricier ones are shocking.
 
I recently bought a pair of KEF R3s to use as speakers for my computer desk. Excellent speakers. Put them on a stand and they'd probably sound good just about anywhere. $1999.00
 
I recently bought a pair of KEF R3s to use as speakers for my computer desk. Excellent speakers. Put them on a stand and they'd probably sound good just about anywhere. $1999.00

Oh my. Those are fantastic speakers though a very large one for a desk! I assume your desk is quite spacious. I had my LS50's on my desk for a time. Well, the left one on the desk and the right one on a same-height table next to the desk and thought they were just too big for that close. They're on stands now, a couple feet further way with slight toe-in.

At $2k that's not a budget for the vast majority, and even my LS50's at $900/pr seem over-the-top. Congratulations on getting nice speakers. I hope you get the chance to set them 8' to 12' apart, a couple feet from the rear and side boundaries, and sit 8' to 12' from them. That's where those will really sing.
 
Well, I have decided that the Yamaha RS 201 receiver and my Pioneer BS22LR speakers are an excellent combo in my small 10x11’ study. The 201 has been replaced by the 202 which has Bluetooth, but I am using the Audioengine B2 Bluetooth adaptor, so I don’t need to upgrade .
 
Got myself a pair of Dali Oberon 5s recently. I use an Arcam A19 amplifier and an Arcam CDS27 cd player. I am still running them in but they sound great already. Beat my old B&W 685s and Q Acoustics 3050s for sound quality.
 
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