What other speakers sound like McIntosh???

[two dot]

Ok, most of you know I have been on a major upgrade path...

Now for the speakers. I really love my vintage Klipsch Cornwalls... but still want to know what else is out there.

I know that B&W's sound amazing, I just cant get my head around their styling.

I went and auditioned 802's this past weekend, and of course, I am impressed...

The SF's I have heard are a little thin, and lacking in the low end...Although beautiful and accurate

Then I heard the XRT-1's... now that is the sound I want...

But, I don't have that much scatch OR that much power...

I had been thinking of the discontinued XLS 360's

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,


Stephen aka two dot

 

[jdandy]

Find a PMC dealer, and audition the PMC EB1i speakers. At slightly less that half the price of a pair the XRT1K speakers, the EB1i speakers sound very good. I don't know about North Carolina dealers, but if you are in southern California, PMC has many dealers in that area. Go audition a pair. That part is free.

 

[two dot]

I know that I am opening myself up to a lot of trouble here... but I really value your guys' opinions.

 

[2uberoller]

B&w:thmbsp:

 

[two dot]

Find a PMC dealer, and audition the PMC EB1i speakers. At slightly less that half the price of a pair the XRT1K speakers, the EB1i speakers sound very good. I don't know about North Carolina dealers, but if you are in southern California, PMC has many dealers in that area. Go audition a pair. That part is free.

Dan,

I am very interested in this line of speakers... based on what I have read AND your recomendations.

I have called all of the dealers that I can find and have not found any speakers except for the "low end"

I really like the style and shape of the pair that is right above yours... the ones that sit on stands.

Wish I could hear them.

But, something tells me that there must be some synergy between the Mc amps and Mc speakers.


Keep the ideas coming.

THX.


Stephen

 

[@TOMMY@]

There is a replacement for XLS360. It looks like a mini XRT1K.

 

['cisco]

Find a PMC dealer, and audition the PMC EB1i speakers. At slightly less that half the price of a pair the XRT1K speakers, the EB1i speakers sound very good. I don't know about North Carolina dealers, but if you are in southern California, PMC has many dealers in that area. Go audition a pair. That part is free.

+1....not exactly the EB1 i , just the GB1 i

I heard the 1k's and they were fantastic.....way out of my budget and too big for my small listening room. :tears:

 

[jdandy]

I really like the style and shape of the pair that is right above yours... the ones that sit on stands.

But, something tells me that there must be some synergy between the Mc amps and Mc speakers.

Keep the ideas coming.

two dot.......That would be the PMC IB2 (see attachment). The major difference between the EB1i and the IB2 is the soft dome midrange driver. The tweeter and woofer are the same. The midrange dome in the IB2 is the same one used in thier big pro studio monitors, rated for higher power levels.

I agree with you on a certain synergy with Mac speakers and amps, but I can tell you this, I auditioned the XRT1K's with the MC1.2kw amps at a dealer in Gainesville, Florida, and no doubt, they sounded incredible. I was not moved so much as to consider trading my EB1i speakers for them. When I returned home, and fired up my humble system, I was equally thrilled at how good this system really sounds. The PMC EB1i speakers are excellent performers in thier own right.

 

[Gregory]

Ok, most of you know I have been on a major upgrade path...

Now for the speakers. I really love my vintage Klipsch Cornwalls... but still want to know what else is out there. I know that B&W's sound amazing, I just cant get my head around their styling. I went and auditioned 802's this past weekend, and of course, I am impressed. The SF's I have heard are a little thin, and lacking in the low nd...Although beautiful and accurate. Then I heard the XRT-1's... now that is the sound I want. But, I don't have that much scratch OR that much power. I had been thinking of the discontinued XLS 360's. Any help would be appreciated.

Stephen aka two dot

Yeah, I've noticed you have a pair of Cornwalls, and I had Cornwalls home for a demo some years ago. They are efficient and dynamic but really not audiophile class (but still keepers?) I also tried out Vandersteen, McIntosh http://www.roger-russell.com/speakers.htm#xd717 and Thiel CS speakers. Had a pair of NS1000s for a while too (read hearing damage.)

You may think the SF are "thin" compared to Klipsch but I'll bet they are quite smooth in frequency response. I found B&W to be very authoritative... but overall IMHO a coherent speaker is the way. The guys with huge amplifiers seem to go with B&W however Roma likes the SF in his small room (Still in that room, Roma?)

It also depends if you like to buy new.. or tinker, disassemble, fix and rebuild. My days of loud music are over.. with a constant ringing and shift in the left ear, so a coherent speaker with very flat response suites me fine. 89dB/1watt and 75 to 250 Mc WPC work well these days. We are thinking of going to a less efficient speaker (87dB) with even flatter response in order to better utilize the 200/200 McIntosh Watts. Even so, we are many times astounded at the beautiful sounds that fill our room!!

-Gregory

 

[Lord Patrick]

I spent a few hours last week listening to PMC MB2iXBD’s - nearly 7ft tall but they were stunning. The PMC MB2 is the top half of those more or less which are likely to be more domestically friendly.

 

[Gregory]

I spent a few hours last week listening to PMC MB2iXBD’s - nearly 7ft tall but they were stunning. The PMC MB2 is the top half of those more or less which are likely to be more domestically friendly.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/not_enough/mb2xbd_install-2.jpg

Hmm.. are those of tunnel-port design? Many many years ago, perhaps 30 years, there was a speaker design like that, and I heard them in a dealer's sound room. Still have the data sheet around here somewhere!! Now THAT would be worth a listen.

Check this:
http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/998pmc/index.html

Measurements:
http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/998pmc/index5.html


Say again what McIntosh amplifier you're using, two dot?

-Gregory

 

[JohnThomas]

Ok, most of you know I have been on a major upgrade path...

Now for the speakers. I really love my vintage Klipsch Cornwalls... but still want to know what else is out there.

I know that B&W's sound amazing, I just cant get my head around their styling.

I went and auditioned 802's this past weekend, and of course, I am impressed...

The SF's I have heard are a little thin, and lacking in the low end...Although beautiful and accurate

Then I heard the XRT-1's... now that is the sound I want...

But, I don't have that much scatch OR that much power...

I had been thinking of the discontinued XLS 360's

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,


Stephen aka two dot

What is your budget?, New or used? The XRT-1's puts you in the big leagues. Meaning big $$$, as well as big amps. There's a pair on Audiogon for $18,000.
If you are impressed with B&W 802 you will be shock by the sound of the PMC IB2. Talk to Ryan at AC he sells both and he will tell you the same thing.
If your every in Pittsburgh and want to here IB2's hooked up to the 501's give me a jingle. Then I let you hear the Hansen Princes and see if you hear a difference!!!!!!!!!

John

 

[Klipschfan]

two dot-Not sure how much you want to spend. PMC's are nice.....if you want to spend 8 thousand plus.

For 300 to 1,000 bucks you could rebuild the Cornwalls and wind up with a speaker that is outstanding and would be hard to beat for anything under 10 grand. Within the last year I had crossovers rebuilt for a pair of original Cornwalls and Cornwall II's. Currently using the Cornwall II's with MC602/MDA1000/MS750. Crossover photos of the Cornwall with Vcaps/AlK B design and Cornwall II with Mundorf silver oil caps/Alpha Core inductors.

Klipschfully......

 

[ltleo]

you guys might call me crazy, but i have just a speaker that blew me away. Totem winds. for 8900 retail. these beat out side by side sonus, wilson, dali, they disapear like no other, quick tight bass, sonics are out of this world. they do take about 400 hours to break in, so if you go and check them out, make sure they are broke in, huge diff. just my two cents.

no one ever thinks about totem but they make one hell of a product

 

[vintage_tube]

If you like Vintage Cornwalls then you'd probably like something in the Tannoy Prestige lineup as well -- the Canterbury SE or Westminister Royal speakers have dual concentric hi/low drivers, a high sensitivity rating (96 & 99) and are tuneable to your room.

Tannoys have always been a great match w/McIntosh.

IMO, your MC402 can push the XRT1K's -- but not to their optimum and are best suited with larger mono amps.

The unknown question is what's your budget??

 

[two dot]

two dot-Not sure how much you want to spend. PMC's are nice.....if you want to spend 8 thousand plus.

For 300 to 1,000 bucks you could rebuild the Cornwalls and wind up with a speaker that is outstanding and would be hard to beat for anything under 10 grand. Within the last year I had crossovers rebuilt for a pair of original Cornwalls and Cornwall II's. Currently using the Cornwall II's with MC602/MDA1000/MS750. Crossover photos of the Cornwall with Vcaps/AlK B design and Cornwall II with Mundorf silver oil caps/Alpha Core inductors.

Klipschfully......

Thats kinda where I feel I am.

My crossovers have been replaced, tweeter swapped, everything recapped etc...

They sound GREAT!!!

Just wondering what the next level might be like.

 

[two dot]

Thanks for all of the great responses. A lot of good opinions here!

My room is not optimal, but 12 feet wide and my listening position is ~12 from the speakers.

I am using a MC402 and realize that to step up to the big Mc speakers I would need a power upgrade, that, I do not think I have the space for.

As far a budget... something is going to have to really blow me away to get me to part with 10K, but I guess I would.

I was kinda hoping that a used pair of XLS 360's might do it for me.

Also, I would really like to avoid the use of a sub.

 

[two dot]

If you like Vintage Cornwalls then you'd probably like something in the Tannoy Prestige lineup as well -- the Canterbury SE or Westminister Royal speakers have dual concentric hi/low drivers, a high sensitivity rating (96 & 99) and are tuneable to your room.

Tannoys have always been a great match w/McIntosh.

IMO, your MC402 can push the XRT1K's -- but not to their optimum and are best suited with larger mono amps.

The unknown question is what's your budget??

The Tannoy's interest me... especially the Glenair...

I would like to hear some.

 

[Vesuv1us]

XLS360's are great and you can probably find a pair on AG for a reasonable price. The new XR200's are coming very soon, and should seriously rock - but they will be above the price point of the XLS360's.

I think I saw a used XRT1K setup on AG just yesterday... was about half price if memory serves correctly - but even a MC402 may prove to be underpowering for 1K's.

 

[PHC1]

I would suggest you audition 2 pairs of speakers that I know will have great synergy with your system. Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus and Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grand. Reasonably priced, warm, romantic, non-fatiguing. The totem Winds would also be a high recommendation but will not work too well given your room dimensions.