• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Time to go speaker shopping!

J

jeffreypi

New Member
I found myself fascinated with the sound of a pair of Martin Logan ESLs when I wandered back into my favorite hi-fi dealer a couple of months back after not visiting the store for a number of years. I've yet had the opportunity to go back for a serious listen, but have been doing some research and discovered the MLs might not be really satisfy my needs, although they sounded amazing when they were playing Joni Mitchell / Jackson Browne styles of music through them - music without a lot of lower bass. I subsequently spent about 15 minutes recently in a Best Buy and had a chance to A / B them against a set of ML Motion 40's, which had better bass, but sounded almost muddy in the midrange and highs compared to the ESLs. My musical tastes run from Jackson Browne to ZZ Top and a lot of in-between, including regional Mexican music with lots of horns.

I'm looking to replace a pair of B&W DM640s that I've had for about 30 years.

My audio gear is in a living room / dining area / kitchen. It's a rectangular space about 14' x 40', with the living room anchoring the last third of the space. I can get the speakers about 30" from the back wall; the right speaker 3' from the side wall and the left speaker has no nearby wall. I have decent spacing between the existing speakers and have a good soundstage when sitting on the sofa across from the speakers.

I have plenty of power to drive a pair of speakers with my McIntosh MC7270 amp. My budget is around $3k or the pair. Suggestions?

Thanks all!
 
Register to hide this ad
I have a pair of Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 bookshelf speakers that I love. Crisp, clean, detailed, accurate and with enough bass for a smaller (office) space. Not so much for a larger room. If I had 3K to spend, I'd get the towers for my main system (with the Raal tweeter, of course. They make a huge difference). http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRT/srt.html

No matter what you get, a sub (or 2) to augment the bass, couldn't hurt.

Happy hunting, and welcome to AK.
 
Your budget is sufficient to allow you to select from maybe a bazillion candidates. While a specific recommendation is impossible because I don't have your room, your musical tastes, or your ears, take your time and get an in-home audition if you can. If not, make sure you have return privileges if you need to.
 
Welcome Jeffrey.
You're in a sweet spot $. and you have good quality power.
so efficiency isn't that much of a priority. There's a huge amount of
used speakers, for sale, all the usual places, US audiomart, Fleabay,
Craigs list ect. go and listen to as many different types of speakers as you can .
Vintage, Horns, ESL's open baffle's prepare to get tons of recommendations.
Mostly all good. Have fun.
My vote. Altec 604's Doable on your budget if you can do some cabinet construction or reparations. Unbelievable for Vocals!
 
if you're fascinated with the ML stats buy them.

Several years ago I had ML Vistas and that they didn't dig super low was of no concern to me, what was of concern was their excellent tonal balance, superb clarity and ability to form a soundstage of great width and depth. When I move back to Chicago in a few months I'll probably buy new ML stats; that or GPA 604s.

Of course keep in mind that because I like something doesn't mean others should.

461C5FF7-A852-479C-B3C1-D18E6655CDD0.jpeg
 
I have a mixed history with Martin- Logan speakers.

Their newer models (after about 2000 or so), just don't interest me much. Just not the warmth and fullness I expect from a speaker.

OTOH- there are some models from the 1990s that were just fantastic. The Quest, ReQuest, Aerius, and Prodigy were outstanding. Large enough panels to be able to blend with their bass drivers well (no awkward transition in the lower midrange), and they just seemed to sound great virtually everywhere. Efficient enough to drive with pretty much any standard medium- to high-power amp, no problem.

Yes, some of these are getting old enough, that replacement ESL panels are sometimes an issue- but if you can find one that has good panels, or if you can find spare panels for them, in case of future problems- then, they can be very rewarding.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
I don't know about post 2000 ML not having warmth. I've been a fan of B&W for the last 25 year's and have only recently seriously listened to ML. The Motion 40s and 60s I thought were warm and tremendously articulate.

Now that may be because I'm coming from an aluminum dome tweeter history or that I'm a fan of string music however I'm auditioning them with heavy horn cuts by The Motets as well.

The comparison between ML and B&W is stark and with vocals like Cassandra Wilson I thought ML was quite lush.
 
Last edited:
The OP should go listen to speakers. He will get as many opinions as there are forum users here.
Click to expand...

True enough but there is value in hearing from others with experience in a particular speaker. Someone else may be able to point out a dip in frequency or particular flaw to keep an ear out for when they do go listen. Throw it out - decipher the bullshit.
 
jeffreypi said:
but sounded almost muddy in the midrange and highs compared to the ESLs.
Click to expand...

It's very hard for a box speaker (regardless of brand or $$$) to match the open fidelity of stats. On the other hand stats lack the dynamics of cone speakers specifically in the bass.
Depending on how loud you listen and the overall size of your listening area you may have to go with stats and sub combo or investigate the OHM brand which tries to combine the best of both worlds in their Walsh series.

Unfortunately their prices went up 35% on Sep. 1st. That said, used ones are a great value
 
Okra said:
I don't know about post 2000 ML not having warmth. I've been a fan of B&W for the last 25 year's and have only recently seriously listened to ML. The Motion 40s and 60s I thought were warm and tremendously articulate.

Now that may be because I'm coming from an aluminum dome tweeter history or that I'm a fan of string music however I'm auditioning them with heavy horn cuts by The Motets as well.

The comparison between ML and B&W is stark and with vocals like Cassandra Wilson I thought ML was quite lush.
Click to expand...

I haven't liked a B&W product, really, since the late Matrix series (the Series 80 models).

Too bright, too hard and too cold sounding to me. Same problem as the post-2000 MLs, just on a much bigger scale.

BTW: Just did a comparison, for a client, between the new B&W 801 D4 and the Von Schweikert Endeavor E5. Both retail for about $45K a pair. The E5s just, IMHO, just obliterated the 801D4s. Much richer, tighter bass, much less bright, and MUCH better imaging and soundstage.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Splat's advice: Listen to as many speakers as you can BEFORE you decide...new and used. I found my main system's speakers on the list of Craig, and all of my speakers were bought used, IIRC. Oh wait, I still have my first pair of "real" speakers - I did buy them new.
 
For your budget, the biggest bang for the dollar will be Tekton. I love the Von Schweikert stuff, as mentioned by @GordonW. Their stuff is amazing but out of my budget. I ended up,with Tekton Double Impacts. They are large, but they do almost everything right for me, unless I had major dollars to spend. IMHO
 
OP - that's a budget to be reckoned with. You could piece together altec a5's for that price...

It's been said but, listening is really the only way. People might put you down the right path depending on what you like, or they might send you down a ribbit hole... I like presence, staging, and 3-dimensionality. I want to feel like my face has become the microphone, and Van Morrison's very spittle is getting in my eyes. So I like large format horns covering mids. But I know that electrostats are beloved for the same reasons, the ultra clear top end and realistic feeling. And you'd make good use of the power capability of your amp...

For me, it would make a big difference in my shopping to look for complete systems. I almost never do this. Less playing around involved. Im going to want to modify, so better if it's not completely original...
 
JoeESP9 said:
I've always thought it was disingenuous of Ohm to use the name Walsh on their speakers. None of them use a Walsh driver.
Click to expand...

True enough. However their main driver goes to 8k Hz + on all their models and their super tweeter is there just to add nuances to the top end and provide better overall specs.

So it's not one driver for all frequencies but rather one driver for the most critical frequencies. Nine out of ten octaves ain't bad.
 
They may sound very good. That makes no difference. There are no Walsh drivers in any of their speakers. Calling their designs Walsh speakers is misleading and totally wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom