[Aman]

Hi guys!

I have finally made my decision, and have chosen to upgrade my speakers. I am looking for a pair of monitors that will run me somewhere along the lines of 700 dollars for a used pair. I will put an extra 150-200 dollars in for stands from Skylan.

Any suggestions? I want good imaging/soundstage and midrange above all else - but bass extension would be nice too so that I don't start missing the sound of my Ohm Model Es Oh, and I also need to be able to drive them on my Pioneer SX-450, so nothing below 90dB sensitivity if possible.

I listen to:
60% Jazz
30% Classic Rock/Fusion
10% Classical (Orchestral)

Thanks in advance!
-Andrew

 

[BigD]

I'll be in the very similar boat soon. Supposedly you want 2 way bookshelf under this budget.

There were few models I'm very interested in: Von Schweikert Model 1, Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 luxury edition, Totem Rainmaker, Revel M20, Sonus Faber Concertino. Sofar I'm leaning toward Aurum Cantus and Sonus Faber for their sheer beauty.

 

[Twombly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigD I'll be in the very similar boat soon. Supposedly you want 2 way bookshelf under this budget. There were few models I'm very interested in: Von Schweikert Model 1, Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 luxury edition, Totem Rainmaker, Revel M20, Sonus Faber Concertino. Sofar I'm leaning toward Aurum Cantus and Sonus Faber for their sheer beauty.

Whoadude, when he said monitors I believe he meant something for the desk. Them Concertinos sure are pretty though.

 

[Aman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twombly Whoadude, when he said monitors I believe he meant something for the desk. Them Concertinos sure are pretty though.

No, definitely not.

I am looking for exactly what he described, actually. By monitors, I meant bookshelf speakers that explore a 60hz and above frequency.

Thanks BigD! I am scouting some of the VR-1 deals currently.

 

[Twombly]

Ah, I was thinking of the floorstanding model of the Concertinos. Carry on, then!

 

[gpalmer]

Ahhh, you could get those or you could get a manly set of monitors.

All kidding around aside, these run about 850 used, +-1.5 db 39-20kHz, include two amps apiece and each unit is within 0.5 dB. They also sound really good, I'm running them right now and they'd kill any audiophile monitors I've heard so far...

EDIT, and they come in a lovely shade of black too!

 

[fjf]

I've been looking at those Mackies and they are very interesting. Being self-amplified, can they be connected to a DAC directly (even a balanced DAC!) or do they need a preamp (such as one or the headphone amps with preamp outs)?.

Regards.

 

[BigD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twombly Ah, I was thinking of the floorstanding model of the Concertinos. Carry on, then!

You're thinkin Concerto or Cremona series. All are superbly handcrafted. Yes I got to audition these italian beauty and I really liked the airy sound.

Anyway where can I audition Von Schweikert? I'm tracking dealers down for each models to really make decision. I'm having some difficulty locating the stores which carry Aurum Cantus (Red Rose). Nothing mentioned on their websites. Anyone know any store that carry these in NYC?

 

[tennisets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigD You're thinkin Concerto or Cremona series. All are superbly handcrafted. Yes I got to audition these italian beauty and I really liked the airy sound. Anyway where can I audition Von Schweikert? I'm tracking dealers down for each models to really make decision. I'm having some difficulty locating the stores which carry Aurum Cantus (Red Rose). Nothing mentioned on their websites. Anyone know any store that carry these in NYC?

Uh, at Red Rose Music of course! It's the only dealer, as far as I am aware. It's at 191 7th Ave at 21st St., 2nd Floor. Happy auditioning!

 

[TheSloth]

When you wrote monitor it somehow makes me think of an Active Speaker. Anyway, my absolute fav. bookshelves in this range are QUAD 12L's. The only model on their website is the passive model, however they also make an active, biamped model that they sell through pro channels. That's what I use as my main speaker system and find them to be fantastic. The Active's MSRP is $2000, but they sell for a lot less than that - I picked up mine on ebay for just over $500. Not a speaker I expect you would be able to audition anywhere, but as you seem to be in NYC, you can come and listen to mine if you like. The passive 12L's should be auditionable at any of the NYC QUAD dealers.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjf I've been looking at those Mackies and they are very interesting. Being self-amplified, can they be connected to a DAC directly (even a balanced DAC!) or do they need a preamp (such as one or the headphone amps with preamp outs)?.

That's an interesting question that I'm still playing with. Right now this is a transportable system for me so what I'm doing is feeding the DAC1 from my portable DVD player's optical out. I had the Mackie's hooked up to the balanced outs directly from the DAC1 for a couple of days and first impressions were it sounded great. I ran into a problem with the volume control though since I do a lot of low volume listening and the DAC1 really seemed to change volumes quickly on the low end of the scale. I think these issues could have been resolved by tweaking the output of the DAC1 down, but since I wasn't a huge fan of the DAC1's built-in headphone amp, I decided it was time for plan B.

Plan B was hooking up the DAC1 to my Gilmore V2-SE which has Black Gates and a 42 position stepped attenuator with a constant 1.5 dB between steps. This gave me the low level performance I wanted together with an outstanding headphone amplifier. It's a very nice system, turning my back on the setup and guessing the price tag, I'd come up with about 12K.

So far I haven't heard the Mackie's do anything bad. Sound stage is excellent, low level detail with the preamp is excellent. I go to sleep with the Gilmore set to a gain of 1 and set at 2-4 clicks from the bottom most nights, so it's down 65.5 to 68.5 dB. I have to read my Benchmark manual again since I thought I remembered them having the gain set down 10 dB also for powered monitors, but I'm not sure of that or that it applies to the RCA outs. Even at these volume levels, the sound remains music with distinct dynamics instead of undergoing that clock radio sort of phenomenon of becoming a stream of one volume. The system also does a great job on piano. Chords are particularly well rendered, I wouldn't expect the sort of sound I'm getting from an audiophile speaker under the 4K mark. The bass on them is first rate also, I'm not sure how they rate their cut-off points but it is the equal of most full size speakers and then some. Highly recommended!

 

[BigD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets Uh, at Red Rose Music of course! It's the only dealer, as far as I am aware. It's at 191 7th Ave at 21st St., 2nd Floor. Happy auditioning!

Mucho Thanx.

Although the sound is the most important thing in our hobby, I'm a sucker for psycho-aesthetic aspect of objects. Now this is an exemplary build for its segment and price.

 

[JiiEf]

Amphion Helium2s and Argon2s might be worth checking out as well. Due to the low cross-over point their sensitivity is under 90, though.

/JF

 

[Twombly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigD You're thinkin Concerto or Cremona series. All are superbly handcrafted. Yes I got to audition these italian beauty and I really liked the airy sound.

Okay, I fail. Concerto it is.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSloth The passive 12L's should be auditionable at any of the NYC QUAD dealers.

there are no nyc QUAD dealers, unfortunately (ASFAIK). i was looking awhile back, and the closest one i found was somewhere upstate. i've heard great things about them, though, and am dying to audition a pair.

my favorite monitors atm are the ASW Genius 100. they're german-made and above your budget at $1375, but when i listened at Cosmophonic Sound, the imaging and soundstage were absolutely mind-blowing, the bass was oh so tight, and they sounded simply alive. however, they did get a touch bright on the trumpet solos i heard.

i listened to the sonus faber concertinos... which are apparently being discontinued (so said the salesman)... so you might be able to find deals. they are stunning looking and very well made. they have a nice, sweet sound, but VERY laid back and they never really "disappeared" like the ASW's do. probably best for classical and mellow jazz.

you might also want to check out Revel's new entry-level line. they've gotten some fantastic reviews and come from a good pedigree. i think they're 90dB sensitivity.

you can also find the Onix Ref 1's on audiogon for $650-700 new in box, because of the amp/speaker pkg that av123 has been offering. although these might not be sensitive enough for you.

or what about Paradigm Studio 20s? the latest version with the front-firing port sounded great to me, the last time i listened (awhile ago).

add: Rega makes a really affordable monitor too, which is also supposed to sound great for the dough.