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I need speakers, and some advice, please

kattz

kattz

Inconveniencing electrons every day...
So, here are my listening tastes:

Pink Floyd
Solo David Gilmour
Alan Parsons
Steely Dan
Donald Fagan
Smooth Jazz
Some metal, and what they call classic rock
Classic R and B, funk, even disco, well, some of it...

Audio source will be vinyl where possible, CD and SACD, and FLAC.

Speakers should have presence...

I've been pondering these from local sources -
Bozak 302A
Pioneer CS-88A
Pioneer CS-63DX
Pioneer CS-99a's, but can't find any
Graphyx SP-10
Sansui SP-3000 and SP-X7700
JBL Aquarius S109's in great shape
B & W DM330's

Among these, what's recommended, and other than these, what's recommended?

I also found:
JBL C36's
Infinity Reference Five's
Marantz HD-66's
Sonab upward firing units, need work
Kenwood KL-777a's, need tweeters
INFINITY RSB4

Please advise your opinions/experience.

Thanks.

Kevin
 
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Some questions for you - what is the rest of your system? How big is your room? Could you clarify what you mean by "presence"? What speakers have you been using? What did you like/not like about them?
 
Marantz 2238B receiver and also a Sansui 9090DB receiver
Technics -D3 turntable
Pioneer Elite SACD player
No speakers yet

Area is a 15 x 18 ft area, drywalled and carpeted.

Presence means you feel like you're there.

I,like firm bass, not punchy or harsh, and brilliance in the mids and vocals. Horns should sound like horns.

Sound should be clear, not muddy.

My last speakers for music listening were Bose 901's back in the 80's. All my speakers now are Klipsch and are for home theatre, which is an entirely different animal. They are flat for music, being pushed by Pioneer Elite AV receivers.
 
ChrisNC said:
Some questions for you - what is the rest of your system? How big is your room? Could you clarify what you mean by "presence"? What speakers have you been using? What did you like/not like about them?
Click to expand...

These are all important questions...But, of the speakers listed by the OP I will single out three, only because I know them, which doesn't mean there are others as good or better in the complete list: (In order of preference)

1. Infinity Reference 5 - Excellent speaker, the EMIT tweeters are very well regarded. They do well with the material you like to hear. They need amplification of 100WPC or so, to get them to sound at their best.

2. B&W DM330 - Also very good it is a warm speaker, sort of laid back, detailed, and not overbearing, and a nice mid sound. If you want to compare this speaker, you could say that JBL went properly British. This will do very good also with the music you hear, especially Classic Rock.

3. JBL Aquarius S109 - I heard a pair of Version I, and I found them very enjoyable. If you read around you will see that Version IV gets mixed reviews, so these you will have to audition probably for a longer period than the others.

I have not heard a Bozak speaker before, but Bozak has sort of a cult following and are highly respected. This is an interesting read on the Bozak 302A.
 
kattz said:
Marantz 2238B receiver and also a Sansui 9090DB receiver
Technics -D3 turntable
Pioneer Elite SACD player
No speakers yet

Area is a 15 x 18 ft area, drywalled and carpeted.

Presence means you feel like you're there.

I,like firm bass, not punchy or harsh, and brilliance in the mids and vocals. Horns should sound like horns.

Sound should be clear, not muddy.

My last speakers for music listening were Bose 901's back in the 80's. All my speakers now are Klipsch and are for home theatre, which is an entirely different animal. They are flat for music, being pushed by Pioneer Elite AV receivers.
Click to expand...

Since you like Klipsch, you might want to try and find some of Klipsch classic (heritage series) models like KG's, Forté, RF-7 (expensive, only you know your pocket capabilities), and Heresy.
 
As long as the 15' X 18' is not a basement , klipsch La-Scala's would be what you want or Cornwall's .
 
In the OP's case, I think the DM330's would be a wise choice, as I think they would cover the most bases. The Steely Dan/Fagen, the classic-rock, the smooth jazz, the Floyd, etc. EVERYTHING, really. It's a larger speaker too, so the bass will have more realism. Good bass weight is important. If I was in the OP's shoes, with the gear he's got, I'd go with those.

That said, if the OP REALLY wants to explore his inner classic-rock/funk/R&B/disco, I suggest you check out the large Wharfedales from the '60's at some point, especially the early to mid '60's models with the cone tweeters. Not what I would call a good metal speaker, but for '60's and '70's classic-rock/pop and classic-funk/soul stuff, you'll have a tough time finding a better speaker than the W90 or W70. I've never heard horns, classic-rock guitars, & Hammond organs sound better (Great for electronic instruments and effects from the '60's and '70's like the Mellotron, classic analog synths, guitar effects like the Univibe and Fuzz Face, etc.). Timbre is probably their biggest strength. Perfect for Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Deep Purple, James Brown/JB's, Sly & The Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, mid-era Temptations stuff, Al Green, Tower Of Power, etc. But they're at their best with a good vintage tube rig in the 20-40wpc range. The 2238 would be right in terms of power, but Wharfedales are notoriously-tube-friendly, and that's what you'll need if you really want to make them shine brightly (W90's and a Marantz 8b would be off the hook, but I can't speak for their solid-state amps and receivers... Tubes are their lifeline). Anyway, something to think about.
 
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The only speaker I've heard that you listed is the Infinity Reference Five, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. Just got them a couple weeks ago and haven't been able to stop listening. Nice and forward, but incredibly well balanced sound. Crystal clear highs, plenty of nice low bass, but also very fast. Tons of tech in there due to the EMIT-R tweeter and the IMG woofers. And, I suspect the price is right. I see these going for FAR less than what they should. All the ones I see need refoams, but it's easy enough to do. Some people think it's a great big process due to the IMG woofers, but it's pretty much the same as any other.
 
One other question - where are you located?

Not sure what Klipsch you have in the home theater set-up, but have you tried the front main speakers with the Marantz or Sansui? That might give you some indication of whether the flatness in the HT setup is the receiver or the speakers (though I haven't heard Klipsch described as sounding 'flat').

Just a thought to perhaps help you gather a bit of data.
 
Kevin, I guess that your list is based on what you were able to find in your neck of the woods...Where are you?

As you can see Klipsch vintage/classic (aka Heritage) is recommended, as well as the Infinity Ref 5, and the B&W's; I lean to those two. As for Marantz 8b amp, nice dream, but keep it real for the time being, you will need many $$$ and time to hunt one down.

Gang Twanger brought up a good point, if you are into classic rock and the other genres he mentions, a vintage late 60's to late 70's British speaker (ie. Wharfedale) might be your cup of tea; not that difficult to find in the used market.
 
Out of your list, the Infinity RS4b with the 9090db or perhaps the Bozaks/JBL C36 with the Marantz 2238B.
Disclaimer - I have a 9090db and have owned the RS4b's. I know that would be a good combo. As for the other I have or have had similar units, but not those exact units...
 
PR Audio said:
Kevin, I guess that your list is based on what you were able to find in your neck of the woods...Where are you?

As you can see Klipsch vintage/classic (aka Heritage) is recommended, as well as the Infinity Ref 5, and the B&W's; I lean to those two. As for Marantz 8b amp, nice dream, but keep it real for the time being, you will need many $$$ and time to hunt one down.

Gang Twanger brought up a good point, if you are into classic rock and the other genres he mentions, a vintage late 60's to late 70's British speaker (ie. Wharfedale) might be your cup of tea; not that difficult to find in the used market.
Click to expand...

I'm in Ohio, near Cincinnati.
 
ChrisNC said:
One other question - where are you located?

Not sure what Klipsch you have in the home theater set-up, but have you tried the front main speakers with the Marantz or Sansui? That might give you some indication of whether the flatness in the HT setup is the receiver or the speakers (though I haven't heard Klipsch described as sounding 'flat').

Just a thought to perhaps help you gather a bit of data.
Click to expand...

My problem is that I spent 15 years around USAF jet engines (F-16's) and almost 20 years now around high pressure waterjet cutting systems. My ears are sensitive to certain things. For example, I can listen to FLAC or MP3 and tell the difference most of the time.
 
OK, narrowed down -
DM330's
Reference 5's
Aquarius 109's - they want a lot of $ for those, about $400 and all original, which means everything needs repair.
RSB4's.

I can get the 330's for about $200.
Reference 5's are 2.5 hours away and $275.
Aquarius 109's - kind of scared of those for the price. Still has the boxes - 1971 models.
RSB4's - $349. Just refoamed.
 
Gonna go get them in the AM. $185 in their original boxes. Seems the seller's dad was an audiophile. Now no longer among us. Seller has a pair of B&W 808's... mmmm...
 
So... I got some good quality 16 ga speaker wire and snagged one of my Monster Cable patch cords. Pulled these babies out of their boxes and hooked them up to a Pioneer Elite CD/DVD/SACD player. Burned a copy of Steely Dan's "Gaucho" from FLAC to CD and tossed it in.

Hooked them up to the Marantz 2238B first. They sounded... meh. Muddy. Don't get me wrong, they certainly didn't suck, just not as good in the mids and depth as I'd hoped.

So, I then switched over to the Sansui 9090DB receiver, and very carefully warmed that up. Now that I could hear it, the pots sounded like a bowl of Rice Krispies... snap, crackle, pop. I gotta watch that link and get some cleaner in those pots.

HOWEVER - night and day difference. Punchy, great presence, superb brilliance, made a heckuva difference. He has two more pairs in the box and I'm buying them both.

Thanks for all of the advice, guys. Appreciated. Respect.

Kevin
 
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